Research overview: rabbit decline and the lynx prey base

The Iberian lynx is a rabbit specialist, and the collapse of European rabbit populations from the viral diseases myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease was a central driver of the lynx's near-extinction. This overview surveys research linking lynx demography to rabbit abundance, showing that without dense rabbit populations lynx cannot breed successfully or maintain density. Studies document how successive disease epidemics, alongside habitat change and overhunting of rabbits, undermined the foundation of the lynx's food supply. Researchers evaluated rabbit-restoration measures, including habitat management, restocking, and vaccination trials, as prerequisites for lynx recovery. The overview emphasizes that saving the lynx required first rebuilding its prey, a vivid example of how predator conservation depends on the bottom of the food chain. Ongoing rabbit-disease outbreaks remain one of the principal threats to the recovering lynx population.