Iberlince’s provisional census confirms 72 Iberian lynx cubs born in the Andalusian wild, to date

The Life Iberlince project, led by the Ministry of Environment, has concluded 40 percent of the 2018 census

Specialists of the Life+Iberlince project, coordinated by the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Planning of the Regional Government of Andalusia, confirmed that the number of Iberian lynxes born this season in the Andalusian wild has so far risen to 72 cubs. This is expressed in the 2018 provisional population census, currently at 40 percent of its conclusion.

The data is very encouraging as it not only shows the last breeding season’s record of 32 litters, distributed throughout the different areas in Andalusia where the species is present, but also indicates that the trend registered in recent years will be sustained.

According to the census, the Iberian lynx births in the wild are distributed as follows by area: in the Doñana-Aljarafe area, eight litters with at least 18 cubs were detected; in Guarrizas, six litters with at least 19 cubs; in Andújar and Marmolejo, eight litters with 14 cubs; in Cardeña and Montoro, five litters with ten cubs; in Guadalmellato, seven litters with a minimum of eleven cubs. In total, 26 litters with 54 cubs were detected in Sierra Morena.

It was last March that Iberlince specialists detected this season’s first Iberian lynx litters in the wild. Specifically, female 'Granadilla'’s three cub litter, located in the Valle del Guarrizas area (Jaén), and female 'Lupa'’s litter, detected in the Doñana area.

It should be noted that the number of territorial females in the Andalusian region rose to 109 in 2017, a spectacular figure when compared with data from fifteen years ago – namely, the 2002 population census -, which accounted for total of 27 territorial females in Andalusia.

The Life Iberlince project 'Recovery of the historical distribution of the Iberian lynx in Spain and Portugal' (2011-2018) is the third LIFE project approved by the European Commission that is committed to the conservation and recovery of the Iberian lynx. Led by the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Planning of the Regional Government of Andalusia, this project encompasses four autonomous communities (Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia) and two countries (Spain and Portugal).