Lince ibérico

Description category

description

Latin name:

Lynx Pardinus

Common Name:

Lince ibérico (PT) / Iberian Lynx (EN) / Lynx ibérique

Foto:

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered

CITES status:

YES, Appendix I The Iberian lynx resembles other species of lynx, with a short tail, tufted ears and a ruff of fur beneath the chin. The Iberian lynx has distinctive, leopard-like spots with a coat that is often light grey or various shades of light brownish-yellow. The head and body length is 85 to 110 centimeters; with the short tail an additional 12 to 30 centimeters. The male is larger than the female, with the average weight of males 12.9 kilograms and a maximum of 26.8 kilograms. The Iberian lynx is restricted to the Iberian peninsula, confined to scattered groups in the southwestern quadrant of the Iberian peninsula as a result of the fragmentation of their natural habitat by agricultural and industrial development. Only two or three groups in Spain are considered to have populations which could be viable in the long term. It is possibly extinct in Portugal. http://mapservices.iucnredlist.org/IUCN/mapper/index.html?ID_N O=12520 The Iberian Lynx is a naturally vulnerable species because of its dependence on only one prey species, the rabbit, and its narrow habitat spectrum. The dramatic decline in rabbit populations, caused by habitat changes and myxomatosis since the 1950s and Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) since the late 1980s, has therefore had a direct impact on lynx numbers. Over-hunting of rabbits and other human activities have further compounded the problems of prey scarcity. In recent years, prey scarcity has been

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compounded by high rates of non-natural mortality and habitat destruction and fragmentation. Habitat destruction, deterioration and alteration have impacted negatively on the lynx for centuries.