Research overview: Iberian lynx reintroduction and translocation

Reintroduction and translocation were central to expanding the Iberian lynx from two relict populations to a network of populations across Spain and Portugal. This overview surveys research on how release sites were selected, prepared, and monitored, requiring adequate rabbit prey, suitable habitat, manageable road risks, and local stakeholder support. Studies tracked the survival, ranging, breeding, and dispersal of released captive-bred and translocated animals, and evaluated soft-release techniques and post-release supplementary feeding. Researchers also addressed connectivity, aiming for new populations that could eventually link into a functioning metapopulation. The repeated establishment of breeding populations at new sites is among the clearest evidence of the program's success. The overview frames reintroduction as the mechanism that turned captive breeding and prey restoration into real range expansion, providing a detailed, replicable model for recovering endangered cats through carefully managed releases.