Research overview: conservation medicine of the Iberian lynx

The critically endangered Iberian lynx has been the focus of intensive conservation medicine within recovery programs combining captive breeding, reintroduction, and disease management. Veterinary concerns have included infectious diseases such as feline leukemia virus outbreaks in wild populations, the impact of declining rabbit prey, and the genetic vulnerability of a small population. This overview synthesizes the conservation literature rather than one citation, describing the veterinary challenges in lynx recovery, why disease surveillance and rapid response to outbreaks are vital in tiny populations, and how integrated medical, genetic, and ecological management supported the species' recovery from the brink of extinction. It matters because the Iberian lynx is a leading example of how veterinary science contributes to pulling a felid back from imminent extinction through coordinated conservation medicine.