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Why did the Iberian lynx become critically endangered in the early 2000s?
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lynx
Also known as the Spanish lynx or the Pardel lynx, the species bears a strong resemblance to the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), but it may be distinguished by its smaller size; short, dark-tipped tail; and the presence of long, white, beardlike fur under its chin.
The Iberian lynx became critically endangered in the early 2000s due to a combination of human-driven pressures and a catastrophic decline in its primary food source.12
The species faced significant threats from:
- Prey Decline: The European rabbit, which constitutes 80 to 100 percent of the lynx's diet, suffered massive population losses due to diseases such as myxomatosis (beginning in the 1950s) and rabbit hemorrhagic disease (from the late 1980s).23
- Habitat Loss: Extensive agricultural and industrial expansion caused an 80 percent reduction in suitable habitat between 1960 and 1978.2
- Human Activities: The species was historically subjected to hunting for its fur and as game. Furthermore, it was long persecuted as vermin, a status formalized by Spain’s 1953 Vermin Law, which legitimized its killing until the species received legal protection in the 1970s.2
By 2002, these combined factors reduced the wild population to fewer than 100 mature individuals, leading the International Union for Conservation of Nature to classify it as critically endangered.2