Breeding takes place in spring and the lynx takes shelter in caves or in hollow trees or logs. Two to four kittens make up the average litter.
The lynx is a very beautiful animal, so we must do anything we can to save them. Many people do not class the Spanish Lynx as a valid species as it is a subspecies of the Eurasian Lynx. It is smaller than the Eurasian Lynx and has much more noticeable spots with a white under side.
Environment:
Wild lynx are found across the temperate and sub artic zones of the northern hemisphere. The environment of the Spanish lynx is the Mediterranean forest. In Spain, the lynx is found in the national parks of Doñana (Huelva), Cabañeros (Real Madrid, this is the Principal Sanctuary for cats) and the natural park of Monfragüe (Cáceres) although the animal is very well protected in these habitats it is still legal to hunt them everywhere else. It is a very rare animal across Spain and is also found in the Toledo Mountains in Madrid and in isolated parts of Portugal. The population is continuing to decrease they are being hunted and also their habitats are declining because of the leg traps being left in their habitats for the rabbits.
This was once distributed over all of and . It is now largely restricted to mountainous areas, because it is extinct in the lowlands. Spanish Lynxes prefer open grassland with few trees. They hunt at night, and in the daytime they hide under the shrubs.
Problems:
The Spanish lynx is a quiet animal, never plentiful and limited to little inhabited zones. So it is very difficult to know with precision its distribution and its number.
In 1987-1988 after studying both parameters scientists determined that the lynx occupied more than 11000 square kilometers (out of more than 500.000 square km) in Spain. At that time the world population was estimated at more than 1000 lynx. The Lynx is heavily hunted as it is considered as pest and its fur gets a high price.
Information:
Lynxes are agile climbers, spending some of their time in good weather on the branches of trees.
Shy and elusive, the Spanish lynx is one of the world's rarest animals, existing only in parts of southern Spain. It is estimated that no more than 200 of these animals exist in wooded hills and mountain ranges. Like a small leopard with a tom cat's face.
Unlike other cats the Spanish Lynx does not have an efficient sense of smell, relying on its ears to pick up sounds in the undergrowth. You are most likely to see one in the Doñana national park, as there they are protected from poachers who, although conspicuously breaking the law, are willing to risk legal action to possess a Lynx pelt.
Apart from being hunted by poachers and killed by farmers, who perceive the Lynx as a nuisance, the main reason for dwindling Lynx numbers is their poor rate of reproduction. When a pair mates the female's gestation period is often more than three months and the litters are small, at around two to three kittens.
A Lynx den usually consists of a leaf-lined hollow or hole, from where the mother will hunt prey to feed her young. The female Lynx has to do a lot of work to satisfy her own hunger, since a full grown Lynx can eat a rabbit a day before providing for the litter. This can mean that the kittens don't eat enough and as a result many become weak and die. A male and female Lynx won't mate in captivity so the possibility of artificially repopulating the species is remote. The Spanish government has responded to the extinction threat by attempting to protect the Lynx as much as possible and to keep a close watch on the surrounding environment. Hopefully we won't have to see the extinction of one of Europe's few remaining species of big cat.
They are excellent swimmers and hunters.
Biology:
Mating season: January-July, peak January-February, males and females do not associate other than for mating. Females will only mate with males that occur within their own territory.
Birth season: March-April peak.
Period of time they carry litter for: approx. two months.
Litter size: 2-3.
Survival to independence: 1-2 kittens per female.
Age at independence: 7-10 months. The females nurse and care for their young in their den until they reach this age.
Age at dispersal: independent kittens remain in their natal territory until an average of 20 months, and then they go to find their own territory.
Age at first reproduction: Females are able to breed in their first winter, but the time of first reproduction depends upon demographic and environmental factors. In a high-density population, such as that in Doñana National Park, age at first reproduction depends upon when a female acquires a territory. This normally occurs because of either death or expulsion of a resident. One female did not reproduce until five years of age, and this only occurred when the mother died and left the territory vacant.
Age at last reproduction: 10 years.
Longevity: up to 13 years.
Behavior:
Iberian lynx are primarily nocturnal animals. Their activity peaks around twilight as they prepare to hunt through the night. They traverse an overall average of 7km throughout their waking hours, males average a longer travelling distance than females.
These cats are strong tree climbers when there is a need.
When prey is caught, Iberian lynx drag or carry the carcass for quite some distance from the kill site. Then it is consumed and the remains buried.
Territorial boundaries of like sexes do not overlap. Male territories overlap with those of several females.
Breeding lairs of females include a variety of places such as hollows under thickets, burrows, hollow trees, and old stork nests. After her kittens have reached an age of several weeks, the mother will move the cubs to a larger lair, often under a bush.