According to the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) “March 3rd, World Wildlife Day, marked the release into nature in Sierra Arana, Andalusia, of the 100th lynx born at the CNRLI […], since the opening of this centre”.

According to the note, the 100 lynx bred at the CNRLI have been "introduced into the wild in different locations on the Iberian Peninsula".

The CNRLI, which was inaugurated on October 26, 2009, is part of the Iberian network of breeding centers that constitute the 'ex situ' (outside the natural habitat) Conservation Program for the Iberian lynx, with 154 lynxes having already been born at this institute.

The “Iberian lynx population census of the Guadiana Valley” for the year 2022, in Portugal, confirmed the existence of more than 30 breeding females in the reconstituted Iberian lynx population from 2015, installed in the Guadiana Valley and, since 2019, also in the eastern Algarve.

The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) was once considered "the most endangered feline species in the world, and is still one of the most endangered", but, according to the ICNF, "is recovering with the help of conservation efforts on both sides of the border”.



According to the statement, in Portugal, this species reached a “pre-extinction phase” at the beginning of the 21st century, with the last traces of a lynx in the national territory being detected in 2001, in a border zone, probably from a “lynx dispersant” of populations in Spain.

“Currently, the 31 breeding females confirmed in the national territory ensure the sustainability of this population in Portugal, so that to keep growing it no longer depends on the annual release of several specimens born in captivity”, assures the ICNF.