The government has given the go-ahead for the reintroduction of Iberian lynx to Portugal. The lynx have been successfully bred and reared at the specialist lynx centre in Silves, and could be let loose near Moura next year.
The first releases in Portugal are scheduled for the first half of 2014 under the Luso-Spanish programme to conserve the species, "we are looking into different locations to see which will best suit the Iberian lynx," said the Secretary of State for Nature Conservation, Miguel Castro Neto.
This will be "the first time" that an Iberian lynx born in captivity has been released in Portugal, said Neto at an international workshop on rabbits and lynx in the Lower Alentejo - the rabbit aspect focusses on ensuring the released lynx have an adequate food supply of fresh, plump bunnies.
According to Neto, the area most likely to be the first to receive these threatened animals will be the ravines at a zone of special protection in Mourão/Moura, but this could be a ruse as the last thing these animals need is the attention of lynx-spotters, or worse.
It is not yet decided how many lynx will be freed and much will depend on an expert assessment as to the heath of the animals at the Iberian lynx breeding centre near Silves.
"It will be a source of pride for Portugal if we can do this," said the secretary of state, saying that it was "another pillar of the value of Portugal’s natural resources and biodiversity and an recognition of the potential of our ecosystems."
The reintroduction to Portugal of the Iberian lynx, an endangered species in its natural habitat, is possible largely due to breeding successes at the National Center for Reproduction of the Iberian Lynx where the birth rate has been significantly higher than initially expected.
According to Portugal’s Institute for Nature Conservation & Forestry, as part of the Luso-Spanish conservation project for the Iberian lynx, 19 have so far been released over the Spanish border in Andalusia, all of which were born in captivity in specialist centres in Portugal and Spain and all of which underwent commando training to hone their hunting and survival skills so they had the best chance of a full and healthy life in the wild.
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