A pair of lynx released into the wild as part of Portugal’s repopulation project for the threatened species have bred for the first time.
A young lynx, or 'kitten', has been photographed with its mother in the Guadiana Valley area. The news was announced by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forestry which added that this is the first time for several decades that a pair successfully has bred.
Pictures have been released of Jacaranda, the mother released in December 2014, and her kitten (see below).
Jacaranda was released under the breeding programme together with Kathmandu. She was born in 2012 at the National Center for Reproduction of the Iberian lynx in Silves.
The Institute reported that the birth is "a milestone in the conservation of the Iberian lynx, since it is the first successful birth in a natural environment for decades."
Lynx have managed to breed in Spain, particularly in the Montes de Toledo region of Castilla-La-Mancha but this is the first home birth from the programme which is based in Portugal.
The lynx project has been gauged as a successful one with lynx bred in captivity released in Spain and Portugal from the centre in Silves.
Many heroic travellers have been released in Spain only to make the hazardous journey back to their home territory in Portugal.
Others have been run over on Spain’s roads and even poisoned but the dedicated team continues the breeding programme hand in hand with educational outreach for land owners of the lynx’s favourite wild territories.
Lynx facts:
Although the lynx is a ground mammal, lynx are often known to climb trees or swim in order to catch their prey. Lynx hunt small mammals, birds and fish but prefer to hunt larger mammals like reindeer, deer and elk if the lynx can find and catch them.
The lynx has large paws which help the lynx to balance and also give the lynx more power when pursuing potential meals. The lynx also has extremely acute hearing which allows the lynx to hear oncoming prey and predators over long distances, and the lynx also has a strong jaw and sharp teeth which the lynx uses to bite down on its prey.
Lynx are usually solitary animals and will spend their time both hunting and resting alone, however a small group of lynx may travel and hunt together occasionally. Lynx mating takes place in the late winter and the female lynx will give birth to two to six kittens after a gestation period of about 70 days.
Female lynx will usually give birth to a litter a year. The young lynx kittens stay with the mother lynx for around nine months meaning that the lynx kittens will have the mother lynx to watch over them during their first winter. The lynx kittens then move out to live on their own as young adults. It is known that adult lynx will give their young the prey to play with it before they eat it as this thought to develop their hunting skills.
Lynx live in dens in rock crevices or under ledges which gives the lynx a safe place to rest as well as a home for when the lynx kittens arrive and need safely looking after. Lynx do not normally take their kill back to their den, the main exception to this is when the mother lynx is providing for her lynx kittens. Lynx children love to wrestle with each other, then shower and go for a beer.
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