Details
Lynx pardinus
Iberian lynx is a medium-sized cat endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and strongly tied to rabbit abundance. Captive breeding and reintroduction improved numbers, but road mortality and fragmentation remain threats.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It uses Mediterranean scrub, open woodland, and grassland mosaics where cover borders hunting areas. Main habitat types in this guide are forest, grassland.
Typical length 85-110 cm, weight 9 kg-16 kg. Spotted tawny fur, a short tail, black ear tufts, and cheek ruffs are distinctive.
It is nocturnal and usually solitary. Adults hold territories and ambush prey along scrub edges and clearings.
It is carnivorous. European rabbits dominate the diet, with birds and small mammals also taken.
Females den in sheltered scrub or logs, and young learn hunting from the mother.
Habitat loss and human pressure make conservation attention important. Captive breeding and reintroduction improved numbers, but road mortality and fragmentation remain threats.
