Animal Planet: The Iberian lynx - Gracious of predators.

• published: 03 Oct 2015
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The Iberian lynx is on the brink of extinction. These majestic predators are top of the food chain in a land where hungry eyes are always watching. The threats of hunting have reduced their population to less than 200. This film gives us an intimate view of this most gracious of predators. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is an endangered species of felid living mainly in the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. They are categorized as endangered by many institutions, including the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The Iberian lynx is a rabbit specialist with a low ability to adapt its diet. A sharp drop in the population of its main food source, a result of two diseases, contributed to the feline's decline. The lynx was also affected by the loss of scrubland, its main habitat, to human development, including changes in land use and the construction of roads and dams. According to the conservation group SOS Lynx, if the Iberian lynx died out, it would be the first feline species to become extinct since prehistoric times.Captive breeding and reintroduction programs have boosted their numbers. As of 2013, Andalusia has a population of 309 living in the wild. As an attempt to save this species from extinction, an EU LIFE Nature project is underway that includes habitat preservation, lynx population monitoring, and rabbit population management. Formerly considered a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the Iberian lynx is now classified as a separate species. Both species occurred together in central Europe in the Pleistocene epoch, being separated by habitat choice. The Iberian lynx is believed to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis. The Iberian lynx portrays many of the typical characteristics of lynxes, such as tufted ears, long legs, short tail, and a ruff of fur that resembles a "beard". Unlike its Eurasian relatives, the Iberian lynx is tawny colored and spotted.The coat is also noticeably shorter than in other lynxes, which are typically adapted to colder environments. Some western populations were spotless but are believed to be extinct. Studies have been carried out on the configuration of spots and determining the degree of genetic diversity within the species. The head and body length is 85 to 110 centimetres (33 to 43 in), with the short tail an additional 12 to 30 centimetres (4.7 to 11.8 in); the shoulder height is 60 to 70 centimetres (24 to 28 in). The male is larger than the female, with the average weight of males 12.9 kilograms (28 lb) and a maximum of 26.8 kilograms (59 lb), compared to an average of 9.4 kilograms (21 lb) for females; this is about half the size of the Eurasian lynx. The Iberian lynx is a very specialized hunter that has certain adaptations that better their ability to skilfully catch and kill small prey. They have a foreshortened skull, which maximizes the bite force of the canines. Their muzzles are narrower, they have longer jaws and smaller canines than animals that feed on larger prey. The Iberian lynx is a rabbit specialist — it prefers the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) for the bulk of its diet (79.5–86.7%), with the remainder composed of the Granada hare (Lepus granatensis) (5.9%) and rodents (3.2%). A male requires one rabbit per day while a female raising kittens will eat three per day. The Iberian species has low adaptability — it continued to rely heavily on rabbits (75% of its food intake) despite the latter's repeated population crashes due to two diseases: myxomatosis, which spread to Iberia after a physician intentionally introduced it in France in 1952, and hemorrhagic disease beginning in 1988. There were two major outbreaks of the latter in 2011 and 2012.Recovery has occurred in some areas — in 2013, rabbit overpopulation was reported south of Córdoba, causing damage to transport infrastructure and farms. In December 2013, however, it was reported that wildlife officials were concerned about the spread of a new strain of the hemorraghic disease, affecting mainly young rabbits. Sierra Morena's rabbit population was worst affected, falling from an average of three per hectare to less than one — below the minimum required level of 1.5 to two per hectare. Forced to travel greater distances for food, the lynx became more susceptible to death in road accidents, particularly on Autovía A-4. The Iberian lynx also hunts other mammals (including rodents and insectivores), birds (especially the red-legged partridge, reptiles and amphibians, most actively during twilight and at night.