The Iberlince project director participates in conferences on endangered species organized by the University of Porto

Theses conferences are framed within the 'Photo Ark' photographic exhibition, a National Geographic project to sensitize the population about the conservation of these species

Last Saturday, the director of the Life Iberlince project for the 'Recovery of the Iberian lynx’s historical distribution in Spain and Portugal' (2011-2018), Miguel Ángel Simón, participated in a series of conferences on endangered species organized by University of Porto’s Science and Natural History Museum, within the context of National Geographic’s 'Photo Ark' photographic exhibition.

Specifically, Simón intervened as a guest expert on the topic 'Iberian Lynx: Stories of the world’s most endangered feline', along with Pedro Monterroso, researcher at the University of Porto’s Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Research Centre, and Rodrigo Serra, Director of the Iberian lynx National Reproduction Centre in Silves (Portugal).

These monographic conferences are part of the 'Photo Ark' exhibition, a National Geographic project based on an initiative by photographer Joel Sartore, which is committed to photographing endangered species around the world and exhibiting them in order to sensitize the population regarding biodiversity and the conservation of these species.

The 'Photo Ark' exhibition will be on display at the Science and Natural History Museum’s Biodiversity Gallery until April 29th. It includes the best images captured by Sartore over the last decade, during which he photographed more than 7,000 species from worldwide, in an attempt to create one of the largest biodiversity records in the world.

Once the conferences were concluded, the project director shared views with attendees interested in the Iberlince project’s achievements in the recovery of the species, and the latest Iberian lynx population census data in the Peninsula – and, specifically, in the Guadiana Valley reintroduction area (Mértola), where specimen reintroductions began in 2014, and where a total of six specimens will be released this season.

Furthermore, at the Science and Natural History Museum, the Iberlince project presented the Guide for Responsible Iberian Lynx Watching, published by Iberlince, which includes a series of tips to minimize the negative impacts of recreational observation of this species, as well as a series of documentaries about the feline entitled 'La senda del lince' (The path of the lynx).