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Of the 32 remaining species of big cat left in the world,
the Iberian Lynx is the most endangered, even more so than the
Siberian tiger. Western Europe’s last remaining big cat is
in serious trouble, recent estimations place the number of lynx’s
remaining at just over 100 and biologists maintain that if drastic
action isn’t taken soon then the species will be extinct
by the end of the decade – if this happens then it’ll
be the first species of bit cat to be made extinct since the Sabre-toothed
tiger died out about 10,000 years ago.
The question as to why the number of lynx’s in Spain has
plummeted to such an alarming level is down to a confluence of
a number of factors. The modernization of Spain and Portugal since
the 50’s and 60’s has seen vast areas of the lynx’s
natural habitat destroyed. Once abundant on the Iberian Peninsula,
the animal can now only be found in two breeding areas in Andalusia.
Another reason we can look to is the simple lack of enough food
to sustain the lynx population. Feeding almost solely on rabbit
means the two animal’s destinies are inextricably tied to
each other. Diseases such as Myxamatosis hammered European rabbit
populations in the 50’s and 60’s with as many as 80-90%
of adult rabbits being killed in Spain – with the decline
of Spain’s rabbit population it follows that the number of
lynx would also be hit; an average sized adult Lynx requires about
one rabbit per day in order to survive. It’s also fair to
say that it gets harder for the species to coexist with man; illegal
hunting and trapping still takes place but the biggest killer of
all is road accidents, where lynx are hit and killed by cars. In
the Doñana nature reserve in Andalusia it is thought that
80% of Iberian Lynx’s killed, die in this way and the proliferation
of roads throughout these areas continue to be a huge threat to
the species.
For many this begs the question what is to be done to reverse
the trend that has seen numbers fall from 1000 a decade ago to
the figure we see today? The obvious and most easy solution is
basically to educate people about the plight of this solitary creature – not
as high profile or well known as the less endangered Siberian Tiger,
fewer people are aware of the critical situation facing west Europe’s
last big cat species. However this appears to be changing with
pressure coming from groups like the WWF and also activities of
football club owner Corrado Correggi whose Algarve United club
are nicknamed the Lynx’s and also donate 10% of all gate
receipts and membership fees to Lynx conservation.
In his excellent article “Iberian Lynx: the last chance”,
Carlos Sanz points towards the protection of habitat and preservation
of food supply as key to saving the species: “Vegetation
needs to be regenerated, and preventing the destruction of the
Mediterranean shrub land is paramount, because it’s not only
the ideal habitat for the lynx but also for it’s main prey,
the rabbit”.
The simple equation is if there are more rabbits then there’s
more food for the Lynx and numbers will increase. There are already
programmes in place to replenish the rabbit population with healthy,
disease-free rabbits being bred in captivity and released into
lynx territory.
At the moment due to the isolated nature of the breeding communities
there’s a greater chance of inbreeding – this only
serves to weaken the species by narrowing its genetic code, making
them more susceptible to disease and defects. One way to avoid
this is to breed more captive lynxes and earlier this year three
lynx cubs were successfully born at a programme set up in the Doñana
reserve. There’s certainly hope that this majestic animals
can be saved from extinction but there’s still a lot of work
to be done with regards habitat and their food supply before these
creatures are safe – for western Europe’s last big
cat, the struggle is just beginning. |
