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Iberian Lynx No Longer Endangered After Remarkable Recovery
...Iberian lynxes were once far more widespread across the Iberian Peninsula, playing a carefully balanced role in the ecosystem as predators. However, with the 20th century came decades of hunting and loss of habitat to agricultural land, to the point where at the start of the new millennia, only two isolated breeding populations remained in southern Spain.
Then, in the early 2000s, a concerted effort began between governments and non-governmental organizations to bring the cats back from the brink of extinction.
This involved bumping up the numbers of its primary prey, the European rabbit – which is also endangered, making this a 2-for-1 conservation situation, despite the bunnies getting, y’know, gobbled up – bringing their scrubland and forested habitats back to life, and cracking down on hunting and road safety.
As a result, the Iberian lynx has expanded its territory from just 449 square kilometers (279 square miles) in 2005 to at least 3,320 square kilometers (2,063 square miles) to date, and with the help of breeding programs, the total population is now estimated to be over 2,000...
https://www.iflscience.com/iberian-lynx-no-longer-endangered-after-remarkable-recovery-74758
Then, in the early 2000s, a concerted effort began between governments and non-governmental organizations to bring the cats back from the brink of extinction.
This involved bumping up the numbers of its primary prey, the European rabbit – which is also endangered, making this a 2-for-1 conservation situation, despite the bunnies getting, y’know, gobbled up – bringing their scrubland and forested habitats back to life, and cracking down on hunting and road safety.
As a result, the Iberian lynx has expanded its territory from just 449 square kilometers (279 square miles) in 2005 to at least 3,320 square kilometers (2,063 square miles) to date, and with the help of breeding programs, the total population is now estimated to be over 2,000...
https://www.iflscience.com/iberian-lynx-no-longer-endangered-after-remarkable-recovery-74758
This *is* Good News: though the headline is more than a bit Pollyannaish for whilst this remarkable cat was moved from "Endangered" to the much better "Vulnerable" classification, they are still—in the ordinary meaning of the word—endangered.
Hope is where you find it!
Conservation efforts increase population of world's most endangered feline species tenfold in twenty years
The population of the wild Iberian lynx, the world’s most endangered cat species, has increased tenfold in the last 20 years, from 94 individuals in 2002 to 1,111 lynxes in 2020 according to the Iberian lynx census results published on Friday [31May24]. Of these, 239 are reproductive females (up from 27 in 2002), an important indicator of the viability of the species...
https://www.wwfmmi.org/?3573891/Iberian-lynx-recovery-highlights-importance-of-EU-nature-legislation
The population of the wild Iberian lynx, the world’s most endangered cat species, has increased tenfold in the last 20 years, from 94 individuals in 2002 to 1,111 lynxes in 2020 according to the Iberian lynx census results published on Friday [31May24]. Of these, 239 are reproductive females (up from 27 in 2002), an important indicator of the viability of the species...
https://www.wwfmmi.org/?3573891/Iberian-lynx-recovery-highlights-importance-of-EU-nature-legislation
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