Research overview: Iberian lynx distribution and recovery

The Iberian lynx, once the world most endangered cat, has staged a remarkable recovery, and this overview reviews its changing distribution. Reduced to a few hundred animals in two isolated populations in southern Spain, notably around Donana and the Sierra Morena, the species has expanded through intensive conservation into new reintroduction areas across Spain and Portugal. Mapping the distribution shows a network of established and emerging populations linked by translocation and habitat restoration. This recovery, reflected in successive downlistings of its extinction risk, is among the signal achievements of European conservation. Documenting where the lynx now occurs matters for sustaining momentum, connecting populations, and guarding against the disease and prey crashes that once threatened to extinguish the species.