Rare Iberian lynx reappears after a 700-mile trek

A RARE Iberian lynx has appeared in Barcelona after journeying almost 700 miles from southern Portugal, where it was released two years ago.

The young male, named Lithium, was last seen in the Guadiana Valley in the Algarve in 2016, days after its release into the wild as part of a project to save the endangered species.

The GPS signal from a device on its collar then disappeared, and for two years, its whereabouts were unknown.

But Lithium has now become the first Iberian Lynx seen in Catalonia for more than a hundred years, after conservation officials tracked it down to a wooded area in Barcelona following reports of sightings.

To avoid attracting crowds, authorities have declined to release details of the cat’s location.

Conservation officials released pictures of the lynx lying in the shade of a tree, apparently in good health.

They are now working with experts from Iberlince, the Eu-funded rehabilitation programme, on a plan to capture Lithium as it is “in an unsuitable location to guarantee [its] security”, close to roads and urban centres.

“This is the first time the presence of an Iberian Lynx has been detected in Catalonia since the beginning of the 20th century,” they said.

Santi Palazón, a biologist from the Catalan government’s flora and fauna service, told El Periodico newspaper that, while the “adventurous” lynx seemed to have adapted to its environment, it “made no sense to leave [it] in Catalonia, alone”.

The lynx’s trek across the Iberian Peninsula is all the more impressive given that a previous attempt to introduce it to the wild ended in failure.

Born in 2014 in a captive breeding centre in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia, Lithium was released the following year. However, it was recaptured in early 2016 as it was struggling to adapt.

Showing signs of weakness, it spent a spell at an endangered species recovery centre before his second release.

Iberian Lynx numbers dwindled to just 94 in 2002 but rehabilitation efforts are paying off, with 589 found in a 2017 provisional census of the species.