For the iconic Iberian lynx, 2014 is already a record-breaker. Sadly, for the world’s most endangered wild cat, the landmark is nothing to celebrate. So far this year, 19 animals have been killed following collisions with cars, the highest annual total since records began.
Add to that a further 14 which suffered the same fate last year and an average of 1.5 are dying on Spanish roads every month. That represents a staggering 10% of the entire species (based on a recent global population estimate of 332).
The elusive creature favours dense woodland, and scrubland away from human activity, feeding almost exclusively on rabbits. But a 40% decline in its main source of prey due to disease has forced the cats to travel further afield in search of food. This has resulted in a greater number of lynx encountering vehicles on roads in Andalucía, where the species’ two known breeding populations live. It’s happening so frequently that road deaths have become the biggest cause of non-natural lynx mortality in Spain.
Conservationists claim the deaths are having a catastrophic effect on lynx numbers and have lobbied for road improvements aimed at protecting the felines. They have been highly critical of the Andalucían regional government, which they accuse of failing to fulfil its obligations under EU law.
Andalucía’s public works ministry, for its part, has pledged €1 million for the construction of specialised lynx crossings and for the upgrading of existing roadside fencing. The work, which has yet to start, must be completed by March 2017.
The regional government department is a partner in Life Lince, an EU-funded lynx conservation scheme, which aims to restore the cat to its traditional range across Spain and Portugal.
Today the species is restricted to the Sierra Morena and Doñana National Park, but once roamed large tracts of Castilla la Mancha and Extremadura, as well as Portugal.
But the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) blames authorities for a three-year delay in agreeing to improve four lynx-death ‘black spots’ on roads in Andalucía. The issue came to a head earlier this month when the campaign group wrote to the European Commission outlining its concerns. The letter states that Spain has a duty as a member state of the EU not to obstruct corridors that allow the geographical distribution of the Iberian lynx. It also accuses the regional government of failing to install crossings that allow for the safe passage of the lynx, and of not maintaining fencing.
“It is unacceptable that the European Commission is investing great efforts in the conservation of the lynx, through the largest project ever created, and that outcomes are being compromised because of the public works ministry,” said Juan Carlos del Olmo, secretary general of WWF Spain. “We have been demanding for some time that the necessary measures be urgently implemented so that the lynx and other protected species can cross highways safely,” he added.
Despite the recent decline, lynx numbers have increased steadily in recent years, from a low of 94 in 2002 to more than 300 in 2014, due largely to concerted conservation efforts. But the distinctive animal, which remains on a list of critically endangered species, faces an uncertain future.
Let’s hope the next record to be broken by this alluring creature is of an altogether more positive nature.
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Picture credit: El País
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