Seville (EFE).- The free-ranging Iberian lynx population has grown for the first time in Andalusia by 105 individuals in 2022, reaching a figure of 627 lynxes, compared to 522 the previous year, -189 cubs and 126 territorial females-.
This is how the Andalusian Minister of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, has advanced this Tuesday in parliamentary commission, specifying that this data, which includes the last census of 2022, is “a milestone that is the result of effort and dedication that is being carried out from Andalusia and with which we can affirm that the lynx population in Andalusia is beginning to be self-sufficient”.
In the specific case of Doñana, the Iberian lynx populations have been growing significantly, so that the census of this population in 2022 has a minimum of 108 lynxes, thus exceeding one hundred for the first time, which represents another milestone.
“Within the framework of the strategy that is being developed, we want to interconnect all the nuclei of individuals and one of the main challenges is to connect Doñana with other nuclei, since the other nuclei have begun to interconnect,” he added.
He has detailed that Andalusia leads the Life LynxConnect transnational cooperation project; a project that was born in 2020 with a five-year horizon and that works in a large area in the center and south of the Iberian Peninsula.
Protection of lynxes and expansion to Murcia
The project is made up of 22 partners, after the latest incorporation of the University of Córdoba, and consists of 34 transversal actions designed to more efficiently achieve the objectives. In total, it has a budget of more than 18.7 million euros, 60.6 percent co-financed by the European Union.
As he explained, his main objective is to connect all the existing lynx population centers to achieve a self-sustaining and genetically viable population within five years and the specific objectives include reducing the risk of extinction, improving their population status, combating the threats that affect it, implement conservation and habitat improvement measures and expand the presence of the species to Murcia and Sierra Arana so that both areas become two new reintroduction areas.
Within the framework of the defense and protection of the species, progress has been made that a collision prevention system between animals and vehicles (AVC PS) has been installed on three Andalusian highways in Vílchez (Jaén), Adamuz (Córdoba) and in the surrounding area. of Donana.