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Animal profile

Iberian Lynx

Lynx pardinus

MammaliaMediterranean scrubland and open woodland mosaic with dense cover and open hunting groundVulnerable

Field profile

The Iberian lynx is a small, heavily spotted lynx confined to the Iberian Peninsula. It is almost entirely dependent on the European rabbit, which shapes where it can live. After falling to fewer than a hundred adults in the early 2000s, it has recovered through captive breeding, reintroduction and rabbit management.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-07-26

Iberian Lynx

Iberian lynx numbers came back from under a hundred

In 2002 surveys found fewer than one hundred mature Iberian lynx in two isolated Spanish populations. Coordinated captive breeding, reintroduction and rabbit habitat work have since multiplied the population many times over, and its Red List status has been downgraded twice.

Read with evidence →

Iberian Lynx | Daily Animal Facts