**Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus)**

Iberian Lynx
Photograph by Programa de Conservación Ex-Situ del Lince Ibérico.. Some rights reserved.

Description

The Iberian lynx is a medium sized cat. The coat is pale brown, yellowish brown or gray brown with prominent small dark spots like a leopard. The tail is short and stubby with a black tip. The ears have a tuft of black hair on the tips. The face has a collar of long hair down each side like sideburns. The Iberian lynx looks very similar to the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) but is smaller and has more boldly spotted coat. The Iberian Lynx is only about half the weight of the Eurasian Lynx.

Other Names

Spanish Lynx

Size

Head and body length: 85cm - 110cm. Tail length: 12cm - 30cm. Height: 60cm - 70cm at shoulder. Weight: males 13kg; females 9 kg.

Habitat

The Iberian lynx lives in mountain habitat where there is scrubland, woodland and open grassland. They hunt in open areas at night, and retreat to the protection of scrub during the day.

Food

feeds mainly on European rabbits. When rabbits are scarce it feeds on young deer and birds.

Breeding

Females give birth to a litter of one to five young (usually two or three) after a gestation of about 65 days.

Range

Portugal, south west Spain.

Notes

The Iberian lynx is the most threatened species of cat in the world.

Conservation Status

The conservation status in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals is "critically endangered".

Classification

Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Lynx
Species:	pardinus

Relatives in same Genus
  Canada Lynx (L. canadensis)
  Eurasian Lynx (L. lynx)
  Bobcat (L. rufus)

Iberian Lynx
Photograph by Programa de Conservación Ex-situ del Lince Ibérico www.lynxexsitu.es. Some rights reserved.