Back from the brink: Iberian lynx population rises to over 1,000

Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGOThomson ReutersMay 28, 2021 | 8:29 AM

MADRID (Reuters) – The Iberian lynx population in Portugal and Spain rose above 1,000 last year after 414 cubs were born under a joint breeding programme, in a major leap towards conserving the endangered species, Spain’s Environment Ministry said on Friday.

The initiative was launched in 2002 when the number of Iberian lynx, a wild cat native to the Iberian Peninsula, plunged to just 94 in Spain and none in Portugal, due to farming, poaching and road accidents.

By the end of last year there were 1,111 Iberian lynx living in the wild in the region, including 239 breeding females, the ministry said in a statement. The number was a record high since monitoring of the species began, it said.

“With…