IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
| Simon, M.A. | |
| Status of the Iberian Lynx populations in And£jar-Carde¤a and Do¤ana - Progress made in conservation projects in situ since the I seminar in And£jar - Issues, challenges and future of current conservation efforts | |
| 2004 Conference Proceeding | |
The Iberian lynx is the most endangered feline on Earth, being the only species of this family classified by the IUCN as "critically endangered". Currently there are only two populations with verified reproduction, one in the area of the Do¤ana National Park and the other one in the Natural Parks of And£jar and Carde¤a Montoro (eastern Sierra Morena). It is estimated that fewer than 200 individuals survive. Historically this has been a globally rare specie because of its peninsular endemic nature, and its significant vulnerability derived from an absolute dependence on a single prey-specie, wild rabbit. Rabbit appears in between 85 and 99% of lynx scats, and the lynx requires at least 1 to 5 rabbits / hectare to settle down in a territory and breed. The decline of this specie is due to different causes, although human persecution has played a major part in this negative trend, as already pointed out by µngel Cabrera at the turn of the 20th century and Jose Antonio Valverde in 1963. In fact, the last lynx populations detected in different areas with a high rabbit density in Sierra Morena and Montes de Toledo became extinct between the 80s and 90s of the 20th Century for this reason. The poor situation of this species already described in the mid 20th Century, was aggravated by the rabbit catastrophe of myxomatosis in the 50s. It is estimated that this viral disease wiped out 90% of rabbit numbers. And if this was not enough, in the early 90s, a new epidemy, the hemorrhagic-viral disease struck the already limited rabbit populations once more, severely aggravating the situation of the lynx. Another factor that favoured this regression was the loss of habitat, the Mediterranean mountain and scrubland, specially due to the expansion of agricultural and forest crops, the elimination of river vegetation and excessive clearings, essentially for cattle and farming purposes. |
|
 |
PDF files are only accessible to Friends of the Cat Group. Joining Friends of the Cat Group gives you unlimited access and downloads in the Cat SG Library for one year, and allows you to receive our newsletter Cat News (2 regular issues per year plus special issues). More information how to join here |
(c) IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group ( IUCN - The World Conservation Union) |