The Iberian Lynx is the most endangered cat species in the world. The decline in lynx populations is due to a number of factors including scarcity of prey, loss and fragmentation of its cork oak and maquis habitats, road casualties and illegal killing.

It is vital that we not allow this most vulnerable of cats to die out. Please help us protect the lynx.

Fauna & Flora International is implementing a strategy for the conservation of the Iberian Lynx in both Portugal and Spain, with funding from the FFI’s Arcadia Land Trust , Nando Peretti Foundation and WildInvest. The strategy aims to secure and manage a belt of land across southern Spain and Portugal that will provide a corridor of suitable habitat large enough to support a viable population of this threatened cat. In addition to protecting a habitat of recognized global importance, the corridor will allow for the reconnection of currently isolated lynx populations and, in the future, for the secure reintroduction into the wild of individuals reared in sanctuaries.

A key to the recovery of the Iberian Lynx is the restoration of the rabbit population. Rabbits, which are native to the Iberian Peninsula, form more than 90% of the Iberian Lynx diet. A male Iberian Lynx catches one rabbit a day, whilst a breeding female will need up to 5 rabbits a day to raise her family. The introduction of myxomatosis and the subsequent impact of haemorrhagic fever almost resulted in the local extinction of rabbits in Iberia, and populations now stand at only 5% of their 1950s levels. Land management strategies include improving the habitat for rabbits, which will benefit breeding lynx.

Fauna & Flora International has formed partnerships with leading conservation NGOs in both Portugal and Spain. A small but highly effective lynx project team has been established within the Portuguese NGO, Liga Para A Protecção Da Natureza (LPN) focusing on securing land in the Algarve and southern Alentejo, whilst FFI has recently developed links in Spain with CBD-Habitat to support their on-going work in the Sierra Morena mountains.

Please support our hard work on the Iberian Lynx.

This project is supported by Arcadia through FFI’s Arcadia Land Trust