The plan to reintroduce the rare Iberian
lynx to the wild in Portugal has taken a giant step forward the
country’s environment ministry has announced.
The
lynx has been allocated 2,000 acres in Mertola, 180km southeast of
Lisbon to live, hunt and breed thanks to the land owners signing
contracts with The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forestry
(ICNF).
“It is a decisive step in the project,
starting the definition of the geographic setting, working closely with
the owners and managers, of the reintroduction site of the lynx in
Portugal,” said Miguel Castro Neto, Portugal’s Secretary of State for
Planning and Nature Conservation.
The
agreement allows the lynx to live and, hopefully, thrive in a protected
area, while the land owner will be able to attract tourists hoping to
see one of the most endangered feline in the world.
The Iberian Lynx is the world's most threatened species of cat and is classed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Numbers have declined by more than 80 percent over the last 20 years.
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