The Iberian lynx was once present in all the Mediterranean areas of the Iberian Peninsula and south-eastern France, but after the 1950s its population declined sharply with the reduction of its distribution area, becoming limited to ten isolated populations. In the 1980s, there were fewer than 50 lynx left in Portugal, in four nuclei (three of which were linked to Spanish subpopulations), occupying an area of 2,400 km2. Human persecution and the scarcity of its main wild prey, the wild rabbit, together with habitat destruction, have brought the species close to extinction.
At the beginning of the 21st century, there was no evidence of lynx presence in Portugal, with only around 60 adult individuals left in the wild in two isolated subpopulations in southern Spain: in Doñana National Park and in the eastern mountains of the Sierra Morena. However, at the same time, various conservation initiatives were implemented focussing on feasibility studies, improving the lynx's natural habitat and encouraging wild rabbit populations.
Since then, there has been an exponential increase in the population in terms of size and distribution area. According to the results of the 2023 Iberian Census, carried out in Portugal and Spain, 14 population centres were identified, with a stable presence and confirmed reproduction: one located in Portugal (Guadiana Valley) and 13 in three autonomous regions of Spain - 4 in Andalusia, 3 in Castilla-La Mancha and 6 in Extremadura. The area occupied by the species in both countries is around 4000 km2.
References:
Cabrera A (1914) Fauna Ibérica. Mamiferos. Museu Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, 441 p.
Delibes M, Rodríguez A, Ferreras P (2000) Action plan for the conservation of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) in Europe. Nature and environment, No. 111, Council of Europe Publishing, 45 p.
EUNIS, the European Nature Information System. Iberian lynx - Lynx pardinus (Temminck, 1827). European Environment Agency. https://eunis.eea.europa.eu/species/1442
Guzmán JN, García FJ, Garrote G, Pérez de Ayala R, Iglesias C (2004) El lince ibérico (Lynx pardinus) en España y Portugal. Censo-diagnóstico de sus poblaciones. Dirección General para la Biodiversidad, Madrid, 174 p.
MITECO, ICNF (2023) Censo lince 2023 (España y Portugal). Relatório. Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, Insituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas, 9 p.
Rodríguez, A. 2024. Lynx pardinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T12520A218695618. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-1.RLTS.T12520A218695618.en
Rodríguez A, Delibes M (1990) El lince ibérico (Lynx pardina) en España. Distribución y problemas de conservación. Instituto Nacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, Madrid.
Sarmento P, Cruz J, Monterroso P, Tarroso P, Ferreira C, Negrões N (2005) The Iberian lynx conservation in Portugal. Dilemmas and solutions. Wildlife Biology in Practice 1:156–162.
The Iberian wolf is currently present mainly in the north-west and centre of the Iberian Peninsula, with some southward and eastward expansion. It currently lives mainly in mountainous or more remote areas.
Within the Iberian subpopulation there are two distinct groups. The largest is located north of the River Douro, both in Spain and Portugal, and the smallest is located south of the River Douro. In the latter area, there is a small subpopulation of less than 50 wolves in Portugal, which has a limited exchange of animals with the groups in Portugal north of the Douro and east of the Spanish group south of the Douro.
In the project area, the species' presence has been irregular, with the establishment and disappearance of packs being recorded. From 2012 to 2016 a pack was established near the border with Spain, in the municipalities of Almeida and Pinhel, but although wolf presence continues to be recorded in the former territory of the pack, the latest monitoring efforts carried out in 2019, 2020 and 2021 as part of the National Census and the LIFE WolFlux project did not confirm the presence of the pack. The presence of wolves is unstable throughout the border area south of the Douro, including in classified areas such as the Malcata Special Protection Area.
References:
EUNIS, the European Nature Information System. Wolf - Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758. European Environment Agency. https://eunis.eea.europa.eu/species/1367
Palacios V, García EJ, Santos R, Borges C, Simões F (2017) Action D.3: Assessment of wolf presence in expansion areas in Portugal. Final Report (Ribeiro S, Petrucci-Fonseca F, Coord). Project LIFE MedWolf (LIFE11NAT/IT/069), Grupo Lobo/INIAV/FCUL, Lisbon, 61 p.
Petrucci-Fonseca F, Alexandre AS, Álvares F, Bessa-Gomes C, Cândido AT, Carreira R, Ribeiro S (1997) Conservação do lobo em Portugal. Relatório final do protocolo com o ICN, no âmbito do Programa LIFE - Projeto de Conservação do Lobo em Portugal. Grupo Lobo, Lisboa, 71 p.
Pimenta V, Barroso I, Álvares F, Barros T, Borges C, Cadete D, Carneiro C, Casimiro J, Ferrão da Costa G, Ferreira E, Fonseca C, García EJ, Gil P, Godinho R, Hipólito D, Llaneza L, Marcos Perez A, Martí-Domken B, Monzón A, Nakamura M, Palacios V, Paulino C, Pereira J, Pereira A, Petrucci-Fonseca F, Pinto S, Rio-Maior H, Roque S, Sampaio M, Santos J, Serronha A, Simões F, Torres RT (2023b) Situação populacional do lobo em Portugal: resultados do censo nacional de 2019/2021. ICNF, Lisboa.
Pimenta V, Barroso I, Álvares F, Petrucci-Fonseca F (2023a) Canis lupus Lobo. In: Mathias ML (coord.), Fonseca C, Rodrigues L, Grilo C, M. Lopes-Fernandes M, Palmeirim JM, Santos-Reis M, Alves PC, Cabral JA, Ferreira M, Mira A, Eira C, Negrões N, Paupério J, Pita R, Rainho A, Rosalino LM, Tapisso JT, Vingada J (eds). Livro Vermelho dos Mamíferos de Portugal Continental. FCiências.ID, ICNF, pp. 210–211.
Rodríguez, A. 2024. Lynx pardinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T12520A218695618. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-1.RLTS.T12520A218695618.en
