Breakthrough for breeding of endangered lynx 01/04/2008 00:00

Four cubs are born out of captivity in Doñana national park in Andalusia

1 April 2008

HUELVA - There was good news for the endangered Iberian lynx after it was reported on Monday that a male and three female specimens of the rare cat had given birth to at least four cubs after being freed from captivity.

The news of the births, which took place in Doñana national park in Andalusia, was welcomed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). However, the organisation also highlighted that the felines were still threatened by scarcity of food and the feline has leukaemia virus.

Watershed birth
The male lynx, Baya was freed from captivity along with three female felines called Wari, Rayuela and Viciosa.

Environmentalists believe that Baya has since fathered at least four kittens. Three of these were from one lynx and one from another one. There is no information yet on how many cubs the third lynx gave birth to.

The birth of the lynx cubs is believed to be the first time there has been interbreeding between Iberian lynx from Doñana and the Sierra Morena region.

An estimated 35 to 40 lynxes inhabit Doñana national park.

[Copyright El Pais / M. J. Albert/ E.T. 2008]

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