The Iberian lynx is reconquering Spain and that is good news. The challenge now is to understand why

In 2002, there were 94 Iberian lynx confined to two very specific points in Andalusia. It was so obvious that the future of the species was written that no one bothered to read it. And hence the surprises: almost 15 years later, There are 2,401 copies distributed across 17 nuclei breeders in six autonomous communities (and Portugal).

But the most interesting thing is not that the Iberian lynx population has grown, what is interesting is that its recovery is so great that it now frequents places where it has not been seen for centuries.

This is what has changed and, above all, these are the consequences.

Has the situation changed that much? At least on a symbolic level, yes. Of course. In 2014, there was not a single lynx in all of Castilla – La Mancha. Today, 46% of all Spanish individuals of the species they are there and it already exceeds the Andalusian population. That is, what is happening with this feline is much more than a simple story of population growth (also 29% a year since 2020): it is a whole change in the ‘center of gravity’ of the species.

And yes, it is good news. In fact, the IUCN removed it from the “endangered” species and put it on the “vulnerable” list. Is the first species to drop two (two!) categories on that list in just 20 years.

Did we really not see it coming? The truth is that not only did we see it coming, it is what we were looking for. But, as I said at the beginning, the general journalistic account that has been done at the national level hides all this. In 2019, when the project started LIFE LynxConnectthe idea was precisely that: it is not enough to have many lynxes if those lynxes are controlled in only a couple of places.

Recently we were talking about the very delicate situation of the immortelle of Mojácara plant that survives confined to a single beach on the Mediterranean coast. That couldn’t happen with the lynx.

Therefore, the idea of ​​authorities and researchers was simple: we needed various nuclei and we needed to connect them to each other.

In any case, it is not all our merit. Because, as always, climate change has a lot to do with it. The north of the peninsula is becoming drier and has greater populations of rabbits: this has meant that there are at least two towns (in Cuenca and Palencia) which are completely outside the recent historical distribution of the lynx. And if those two populations are there it is because they can be there now.

In fact, experts rule out that the lynx extends to the Cantabrian coast because, simply, there are not an abundance of rabbits.

Okay, and what are the consequences of all this? To begin with, the ecological balances to which we are accustomed have changed. In fact, now that rabbits have become a problemmany rural communities are waiting for the arrival of the lynx to put things in place.

However, there are also numerous life safety problems (162 accidents in 2024 alone) and challenges for territorial planning.

Be that as it may, the lynx is a laboratory now that the reintroduction of species is the order of the day. Also now that they arrive invasive species at a level never seen before. There is much to learn and, I fear, little time to do it.

Image | Kenny Goossen | Ian

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