Ten years ago, the Iberian lynx was close to extinction, but today, thanks to an imaginative conservation program that has brought hunters, farmers and the tourism industry under its wing, the numbers have tripled and bode well. The specimens went from 94 to 312.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Ten years ago, the Iberian lynx was close to extinction, but today, thanks to an imaginative conservation program that has brought hunters, farmers and the tourism industry under its wing, the numbers have tripled and bode well. The specimens went from 94 to 312.
“We can't sing victory yet, but now there is hope,” confirmed Miguel Ángel Simón, the director of the lynx recovery program in Andalusia, southern Spain. Just five years ago, the animal was classified as "critically endangered", the situation was so tragic. But then came the new project, jointly funded by the Andalusian government and the European Union.
Is called Life Lynx and started with the breeding of lynxes in captivity, in case they became extinct in the wild. But, since 2006, the Andalusian government has been working with farmers and hunters, convincing them that saving the lynx was in everyone's interest. The lynx, then, has become a tourist attraction in the area, creating 31 full-time jobs, while forestry work carried out under the program has provided employment to hundreds of small businesses in the area.
Not bad if you consider that unemployment reaches 37% in Andalusia. The second phase of the program seeks to expand the lynx's DNA in the Doñana region. For this reason specimens from the Sierra Morena were released in the area and, thanks to the efforts of a male in particular, nicknamed Caribou, last year 61% of the newborn lynxes in Doñana were descended from the animals of the Sierra Morena. The third phase of the program will start in May 2014, introducing animals to Portugal and other regions.
“The lynx is more threatened than the Bengal tiger. During 2001 and 2002 the census was carried out in Spain and Portugal with camera traps. Only 92 remained in Doñana and Andújar. In five years, in the first part of the program, the population has doubled. In 2011, the global census in the Iberian Peninsula had reached 312 ", explains Simon.
Roberta Ragni
Source and photos
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