Cromo the Iberian Lynx—His Species' Last Hope?

Zoltan Istvan
National Geographic Channel

December 5, 2003

At 17 pounds (8 kilograms), Cromo, an 8-month-old Iberian lynx captured
in the wild, hardly looks bigger than a house cat. But he bears a
weighty responsibility.

Cromo is the only male Iberian lynx in captivity. Cromo's species faces extinction, authorities say, and more births are crucial.

The Iberian lynx is sometimes called the European tiger because of its spots and hunting prowess. Adult males grow to 3 feet long (90 centimeters), 2 feet high (60 centimeters) and 31 pounds (14 kilograms). Its range once extended to southern France. Now the Iberian lynx lives only in isolated pockets of Portugal and southern Spain.

A 1998 survey reported 1,200 Iberian lynx in the wild; a survey last year, 300. Any animal with a population less than 1,000 usually is considered severely endangered.

"Latest estimates of the cat total about 150," says Eduardo Goncalves, director of SOS Lynx, a nonprofit conservation group in Lisbon, Portugal, and co-author of a new book about the lynx, The Algarve Tiger.

"But even those numbers might be too optimistic. We're clearly in the pre-extinction phase of the Iberian lynx."

Starvation, poaching (for the fur) and road kills are the Iberian lynx' leading cause of death. Development, including road-building, has long shrunk the habitat. Last year, wildfires in Portugal consumed 600,000 acres (243,000 hectares), driving out the lynx and its prey.

Finding A Match for Cromo

"The wild rabbit, the lynx's favorite food, is also threatened by imported diseases and forest fires," says Maria do Rosario Rodrigues, administrative director of the Association of Municipalities of North Alentejano, a government organization that helps protect the lynx's habitat.

At the Jerez Zoo, director Inigo Sanchez and a team of zoologists and veterinarians are developing a lynx breeding program. They're trying to acquire 12 healthy cats—the minimum necessary for the breeding program, they believe.

So far, they have four females and Cromo.

Since 1994 the zoo has been housing and sometimes breeding the American bobcat, a close relative of the lynx.

"We're drawing on experience with breeding our bobcats and advice from experts around the world," Sanchez says. "We're cautious but hopeful that if we can get all the lynxes we need, we'll be able to add to the population in the wild."

Cromo is sharing an enclosure with Attila, a juvenile bobcat born in the zoo. Sanchez is hoping that Attila and Cromo will learn to socialize together so that when Cromo reaches age two—and is ready to mate with a female lynx, he'll know some cat etiquette. A video monitor records events in the enclosure around the clock.

Dwindling Stock

With so few lynx in the wild, one mission of the breeding center is to boost the cat's genetic stock. Recent sightings of an "all-black" lynx show the impact of inbreeding.

"With the diversity of the genetic code dwindling, lynx are increasingly less resistant to disease," says Jose Aguilar Inigo, a Jerez Zoo veterinarian who feeds Cromo and works with the animal.

The Jerez Zoo and SOS Lynx are coordinating an effort to create a network of prey-stocked lynx reserves. A lynx-conservation education campaign is also under way as well. Awareness of the lynx's plight by communities is key to the cat's survival. With so few lynx around, one road kill or snare catch can imperil the future of a group of the cats in an area.

Conservationists also are lobbying Spanish and Portuguese governments to stop building roads in lynx territories, to crack down on poachers, and to help replenish wild rabbit populations and to help establish reserves.

Otherwise the only remaining cats will be in captivity, like Cromo.

"Europe has long been known for chastising developing countries for not protecting their endangered big cats (like the tiger and jaguar)," Goncalves says. "Wouldn't it be ironic if a big cat went extinct right on our doorstep? Well, that's exactly what's going to happen if more isn't done to save the Iberian lynx."

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