It has been a difficult and very emotional path, but the last ten years of the National Iberian Lynx Breeding Centre (CNRLI), which has been operating since 2009 in Silves, can only be seen overall as “very positive” by Rodrigo Serra, the centre director.
Today, the Iberian lynx is still critically endangered, "but hopefully, we are moving towards it only being classified as threatened." After all, in 2009, there was no record of any lynx in Portugal at all and today "there are 105 in the Baixo Guadiana area".
To get here, the centre’s team have had to work extremely hard and, above all, learn to surpass difficulties. “It’s very stressful. Because, of course, starting such a centre is always a complicated thing. The animals received are either animals that have had problems in other centres, or are immature, and it is their first attempts at reproduction” explains Rodrigo Serra.
“In 2010 we received the lynxes a month before the breeding season began and we only had one adult female, Azahar, who had lost three young. The other females were two years old, we now know that more than 50% of females of this age lose their litters, ” explains Mr. Serra.
The second year was also complicated, “because we had nine cubs and one of them, Hydra, survived for almost four months, but eventually died of a bone disease, 2011 was a very tough year! But in 2012, 17 or the 21 that were born survived, which set a record for the program which still stands.”
Mr. Serra believes that this record-breaking third year happened because the “lynxes became mature, experienced and the centre itself began to have better vegetation. It was a natural growth process. But here we are, we made it. ”he reveals with pride.
Today there are 29 lynxes living at this centre, eight of which are cubs who will be reintroduced into the wild "in February or early March" next year.
The year 2018 was also a difficult year, given that the CNRLI had to be completely evacuated due to the August fires that caused much damage to the Monchique and Silves countryside.
This was undoubtedly "the worst moment" experienced by the centre team since its opening, but it was also "the best" given the successful evacuation and the team’s demonstrable prowess having managed to save all the animals. “It's strange, but both moments ended up coinciding. It was the worst that could happen to us and the best performance that we and all the teams that helped us could have had in such a tough situation.”
“I have an extraordinary team and when the worst things happen it brings out the best in people. That's what happened,” says the centre director.
Since 2009, 122 lynx cubs have been born at the Silves-based centre, 89 of which have survived. Of the latter, 69 have been reintroduced into the wild, some have remained for breeding purposes, others as surpluses.
Today, November 27th, an official ceremony was held in Silves to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the centre.
In other words, the balance of this first decade is frankly positive, starting with the fact that the centre itself exists and has carried out excellent work in bringing this species back from the brink of extinction.
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