Meet Iberian Lynx, one of the world’s rarest species of cat. This specific lynx used to life all over Spain and Portugal, but in 2005 there were only approximately 150 alive, making them one of the most critically endangered species on earth.
The species quickly dwindled after a disease wiped out all of the rabbits that they eat. Also, many of the places that they used to live in have been destroyed. Conservationists in Spain were forced to do something drastic to keep their beloved big cat alive!
Conservationists rounded up 100 lynx and have been breeding them in special centers. Now, they’re being released back into the wild for the first time. This special project may have single-highhandedly saved this rare European cat.
The experts were very careful not to domesticate the cats while raising them, and they’ve specially selected where they’re going to release them. They’re making sure that the lynx are going to be living in a hilly, forested area that’s ripe with healthy rabbits for them to eat.
Score one for the conservationists! And for the Iberian Lynx, may their species flourish!