Performances in Andalusia to reduce the risk of run over

The design of actions performed with the agencies responsible for roads and Ministry of Public Works, and monitoring by the technical team of the Project Life+Iberlince has revealed the effectiveness of measures taken on the roads to try to prevent abuses. Clear examples of the decline in the number of violations, and the inherent risk offering concrete sections have been revealed in conflicting ways such as the A-421 (Adamuz-Villanueva de Córdoba), the A-4 (Andujar-Zocueca) or the a-481 (Hinojos-Villamanrique).

Until recently, these stretches of road accumulated several outrages of Iberian lynx, identified as black spots, which led to perform actions to try to avoid them, a fundamental objective of the project. The measurements made on these roads, as already made in other and where the abuses have declined (cases of the A-494 in the section Matalascañas-Mazagón, the A-483 between Rocio and Matalascañas or the path of Villamanrique-El Rocio), include vertical signs warning of the presence of lynx, the perimeter fencing of dangerous sections or adequacy and channeling of cross structures (bridges and/or drains) present to act as steps insurance wildlife, all completed outreach performances for the participation of drivers, among other measures.

Thanks to camera traps has been tested using bridges or channeled drains and suitable as wildlife crossings, having thus secured the safe flow of Iberian Lynx on both sides of the tracks without limiting its territorial expansion or displacement. Thanks to the human and economic efforts from Iberlince where partners such as the Ministries of Environment and Public Works of the Junta de Andalucía and the Ministry of Public Works have a role, the Iberian lynx and other wildlife species can cross so more secure these roads.

These run over are still one of the leading causes of unnatural death affecting the Iberian lynx. The increase in the number of members of the species and its area of occurrence in the last three decades, is a great success of the conservation program of the species, but a direct consequence of this population growth and distribution, as well as the presence of its main prey (rabbit) in the vicinity of the tracks, is the increased likelihood of abuse, as they are more numerous transport routes immersed in their domains and they have to save on their travels. There is still much work to do, but are main objectives of the Life+Iberlince project and its partners act in preventing abuses in risk areas and implement remedial action in trouble spots where unfortunately outrages Iberian lynx occur and as involve society and this case, especially for the road users to reset the communications for signaling and speed limits.