10 Animals on the Brink of Extinction - Iberian Lynx

               The Iberian (Spanish), Lynx lives in very small areas of central and southern Spain (Andalucia). It  used to live throughout Spain and Portugal but its numbers have been drastically reduced to the point where it is now one of the most endangered wild cats in the world.
In the early 1950s a virus named Myxomatosis was illegally introduced by a French scientist to wild rabbits on his estate to protect his vegetable patch. Tragically the virus spread rapidly, and killed about 90% of the wild rabbits in France.  Spanish rabbits also died  in huge numbers even going completely missing in some areas,  so thousands of lynx starved to death. Habitat loss, hunting and trapping also have decimated the lynx. They are protected now, but they still get caught in fox traps.  Another cause of death recently is getting hit by cars in Donana National Park.


Population size: approximately 100 – 150

Reproduction: Females breed about once a year, with a litter size of 1-3 cubs. In breeding captivity programs, a litter of 3 cubs was born in 2005, and another 3 cubs in March 2009.