Iberian lynx found dead in Ciudad Real

On 13 January, the staff of the Navas de la Condesa hunting farm, municipality of Viso del Marqués (Ciudad Real), informed the Ministry of Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Development of the finding of the corpse of an Iberian lynx. Members of the Corps of Environmental Agents proceeded to the removal of the corpse and its subsequent transfer to the Center for the Recovery of Threatened Species "El Chaparrillo".

The identification of the Iberian lynx determined that it was Kaplán, one of the local adult males of Sierra Morena’s reintroduction area. This lynx, born the captive breeding center of "La Olivilla" (Jaén) in the spring of 2013, was released in July 2014 under the Life+Iberlince project in the "Navarredonda" farm (Almuradiel). The specimen remained in the releasing zone since it was freed and was also considered the father of the two lynx litters detected in Sierra Morena in 2016, corresponding to the females Kiki and Kiowa.

The most notable preliminary results of the necropsy carried out by CREA veterinary staff have been the absence of projectiles and fractures in radiographs, discarding shot as a cause of death. There are no lesions on musculoskeletal level, clean joints and absence of old fractures. No serious wounds or bruises were detected, so no trauma, recent fights, etc. are suspected.

In general terms, it is a lynx that has undergone a chronic debilitating process possibly of infectious type. The most remarkable of the observed picture is a renal problem, that can be cause or consequence and whose origin is expected to know after performing the corresponding analyzes.