Iberian lynx

[Michiko]

The [Lynx], the most endangered of the world’s 36 cats, stands on the edge of extinction. This [lynx] was once distributed over the entire [Iberian] Peninsula but now its area is severely restricted in [Andalusia]. Threatened by destruction of habitat and of its prey, the cat was killed by traps set for rabbits or hit by cars as the number of roads increase. The Spanish Government is now in the process of developing a national conservation effort to save the Iberian Lynx. Studies from March 2005 have estimated the number of Lynx to be as few as 100, down from about 400 in 2000. On March 29, 2005, the birth of 3 cubs, the first born in [captivity], was announced, a hope for the future reintroduction of the species.