2010 International Year of Biodiversity

FFI is also on:

Focus On: The Iberian lynx

Did you know that the world’s rarest cat species is in Europe? There are only around 200 remaining in the wild.

We thought it appropriate to choose such an endangered – and beautiful - species to start off our International Year of Biodiversity.

Iberian Lynx quick facts

IUCN Red List status: Critically endangered.
Historically, lynx roamed all over Spain and Portugal.
Only two breeding populations left, in the Coto Doñana National Park and in the Sierra de Andújar, Jaén, both in southwest Spain.
Threats - land conversion to golf courses and intensive agriculture, roads fragmenting habitat, road kill, hunting, accidental deaths in traps for other animals.
Adults are about the size of a medium-sized dog
Life span of up to 13 years.
Solitary, with territories ranging from 10-20km2 depending on food availability.
A litter contains 2-3 cubs, which stay in the mother's territory until they are 20 months old.
Would be the first cat to go extinct since the saber-toothed cat, 10,000 years ago.

IYB Issue: Flagship Species

The Iberian lynx is a classic ‘flagship species’. Not only is it highly charismatic but by protecting its habitat, we are saving all the other species that rely on that land too, from rabbits to black vultures. Flagship species are an invaluable way to garner support for conservation – and so are bound to play a crucial role in this International Year of Biodiversity.

“LPN and FFI through the lynx programme have managed to secure some of the best land in the country for Iberian lynx. I think with time and common effort, we’ll be able to secure a future for lynx in Portugal.”

- Eduardo Santos, Liga Para A Protecção Da Natureza (LPN)

Learn more about our work to save the Iberian lynx.

What can you do to help the Iberian lynx?

Buy wine with natural corks. The lynx needs a combination of cork oak woodlands and open scrubland to survive. Cork harvesting is both traditional and sustainable – the outer layer of bark is peeled off, leaving the tree standing and able to grow it back for the next harvest. So by buying real corks, you are helping to maintain cork oak trees and indirectly, the conditions for the Iberian lynx.

The stunning Iberian Lynx could be the first big cat to become extinct since the saber-toothed cat
The Iberian lynx is the world's most endangered cat species, due to a catastrophic combination of habitat loss, lack of prey and incidental and intentional killings.

Partnering to prevent Iberian lynx extinction
Fauna & Flora International and our Portuguese partner, the League for the Protection of Nature (LPN) reflect back on the start of our efforts to save the world's most critically endangered cat species, the Iberian lynx. This project was, and still is, funded by the EU LIFE Programme.

Working to protect vital Iberian lynx habitat
Fauna & Flora International and our Portuguese partner, the League for the Protection of Nature (LPN) explain how we are protecting habitat for the critically endangered Iberian lynx. Together we have managed to turn around opinion in Portugal and now there is government and public backing to our lynx conservation programme.

The future of the Iberian lynx
Fauna & Flora International and our Portuguese partner, the League for the Protection of Nature (LPN) on the future of the Iberian lynx and our conservation programme on the worlds most endangered cat species.

Photo: some of the best images from our library for you to order as prints and begin your own collection of nature’s rare and fascinating sights

We know that the scale of global biodiversity loss can make you feel helpless sometimes, but here are five things you can do to protect the variety of life.

FFI will be highlighting a different species or habitat every month in our new Focus on section. Discover more about May's Focus on - the pygmy hippo

The UN has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. It’s an opportunity to reflect on our achievements to safeguard biodiversity and focus on the urgency of our challenge for the future.

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