PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The Iberian, or Pardel, Lynx (Lynx pardina) is the most endangered carnivorous mammal in Europe. According to a 1996 survey in Extremadura, there were about 70-100 individuals in the region shared between ten nuclei belonging to three distinct populations. This survey's principal conclusion was that the populations were very fragmented and the different nuclei, each consisting of a very small number of individuals, were in an extremely precarious situation, exhibiting a downward trend in terms of population. The main threats to these populations were the scarcity of prey (rabbits) and a high rate of deaths due to non-natural causes.
The project was a continuation of a former one financed by LIFE-Nature from 1994 to 1998 (B4-3200/94/740). The previous project mainly involved the drafting of a detailed inventory of lynx areas and an assessment of the population and recent trends, as well as the implementation of a few habitat recovery measures and setting up a surveillance patrol for the most important lynx areas in the region.
OBJECTIVES
The project's main goal was to boost lynx populations so as to guarantee its conservation in this region. The elaboration and implementation of management plans for the 11 proposed Sites of Community Initerest (pSCIs) in which the lynx occurs was planned. Increasing rabbit density in certain areas was foreseen, as well as bringing factors contributing to lynx mortality, such as shooting, traps, and poison, under control. The situation of the wolf would be investigated and management prescriptions elaborated for the preservation of this species in the areas where it still occurs.
Parallel to all this, an information campaign would be launched aimed at local inhabitants and the main interest groups in terms of land use, while public meetings would be organised to discuss the protection of the wolf and the lynx.
RESULTS
The project's main goal was to increase the Iberian Lynx population in order to guarantee its conservation in Extremadura but it could not be achieved since, unfortunately, the lynx population in Extremadura collapsed. According to the last National Census of the Iberian Lynx (2000-2002), there were less than 200 individuals distributed only in Sierra de Andujar (Andalucia) and Doñana (Andalucia). Preliminary data for Extremadura’s populations before the project start were probably overestimated and the real situation of the species in the region was more dramatic than previously thought. Nevertheless, the measures foreseen in the project were still relevant, as the National Strategy for the Iberian Lynx recognises that it is necessary to promote habitat conservation measures for the potential habitat of the species and particularly for the areas where it has recently disappeared.
The project targeted eleven proposed Sites of Comumunity Iinterest (pSCIs) and management actions were carried out in all of them. The draft of the Management Plans for these areas can be valued positively since they provided updated baseline information and settled clear management guidelines. However, by the end of the project, the plans had not been approved yet. According to the beneficiary, the regional legislation only allowed the approval of plans for the Special Areas of Conservation, but not just for pSCIs. The project also led to the preparation of a Recovery Plan for the Iberian Lynx in Extremadura.
In addition, the project carried out important measures to increase the poppulations of the rabbit, main prey for the lynx, in the most important areas for the latter. These measures, that involved opening clearings, sowing and rabbit re-stocking, were successful and allowed to create a patch landscape appropriate for both the rabbit and the lynx. Most of the measures were undertaken in private estates where protected species are found, thus promoting Natura 2000 and increasing its acceptance among the local population.
The project also brought under control threatening factors, such as poaching, through the setting up of special surveillance patrols. The project employed local rangers for the surveillance of the most critical lynx areas in Extremadura.
An awareness-raising campaign aimed mainly at schoolchildren was implemented in 38 villages, all within lynx distribution areas. It consisted of a mobile exhibition on the species and its conservation, presentations and workshops for children. A video about the species was used as an introduction to the talks. An international congress on the wild rabbit was also held on 15-17 November 2001 in Cáceres.
