Saturday, December 1, 2007

   Save The Liberian Lynx

Spain's Environment Ministry announced an eight-million-euro ($7 million) plan yesterday to save the Iberian lynx, one of the world's most endangered cat species.


The initiative, launched by Environment Minister Jaume Matas, aims to raise lynxes in captivity and to protect the mountainous scrubland refuges in central and southwestern Spain where some 250 cats still live.

Since the 1950s, Spain's lynx population has been decimated by the introduction to Europe of myxomatosis, a fatal viral disease in rabbits, which sharply decreased the number of rabbits - the principal food of the lynx.

The species has been classified as endangered since the 1970s, but public awareness in Spain of the plight of the Iberian lynx has remained low.

"The steps being taken under this plan include: protection and restoration of potential habitat; ending the isolation of the various populations; increasing the numbers of rabbits and other prey," the Environment Ministry said in a statement.

The solitary and nocturnal Iberian lynx, weighing between 9-13 kg (20-30 lb) when fully grown, differs from its Eurasian cousin in that it prefers scrubland rather than forests, and restricts its hunting largely to small animals such as rabbits.

The Iberian lynx is also found in parts of Portugal.

In cooperation with non-governmental organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund, the scheme also aims to improve access to water for the scattered populations of lynxes in Spain, and remove man-made obstacles - such as roads - which restrict its habitat.

Some funds will also go toward secret cameras and DNA testing to monitor the survival of lynx populations. As part of the plan, the Environment Ministry will also help finance a project to raise lynx cubs in captivity in a zoo in the southern Spanish town of Jerez.
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