"Iberlince Cycle Route" launches to make this European project known

• Two cyclists will carry out simultaneous crossings in areas where the Iberian lynx is present in order to show the good results achieved by the European Life+IBERLINCE project.
• Promoted by the Autonomous Organization for National Parks, the initiative will run alongside the Life+IBERLINCE project in Andalusia, Extremadura, Portugal and Castilla-La Mancha, and, with the support of their environmental administrations, it will present undertaken initiatives, emulating the routes connecting the Peninsula’s Iberian lynx populations.
• The Route’s day to day can be followed through the Life+IBERLINCE Project’s Social Networks

The results of the Life+IBERLINCE project 'Recovery of the historical distribution of the Iberian lynx in Spain and Portugal', coordinated by the Regional Government of Andalusia, will be imparted in a more informal and enjoyable way through the Iberlince Cycle Route. The initiative is promoted by the Autonomous Organization for National Parks (OAPN) as a beneficiary partner of the European project, in collaboration with the Andalusia, Extremadura, Portugal and Castilla-La Mancha governments, through which the journey will take place.

To this effect, two cyclists, who are nature and communication experts from FEDME (Spanish Climbing and Mountain Sports Federation) and IMBA-Spain (International Mountain Bicycling Association), will simultaneously cross paths through territories in which lynx recovery actions have been carried out.

The cyclists will simulate some of these felines’ journeys in the natural environment, becoming "traveling Iberian lynx" themselves to the likes of "Kentaro" or "Kanh", specimens who travelled more than 1,500 kilometres over the peninsula.

The route will begin on October 20th within the Doñana Nature Area, an emblematic territory for the species where, thanks to the support of the European Life+IBERLINCE program, numerous actions have taken place in recent years.

Once they leave the Doñana Nature Area, the cyclists will be separated over the course of 10 stages: the first will journey through the Western peninsula, crossing Portugal and Extremadura. The second will tour the East through Sierra Morena and south of Castilla La Mancha. Both will meet again in Montes de Toledo on October 29th.

Their journey will allow us to learn about the work done for the conservation and reintroduction of the Iberian lynx by partners involved in the Life+IBERLINCE project. To achieve this, they will visit and present areas characterized by natural and reintroduced lynx presence in Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Portugal.

Along the route, different events will be held. Various local groups are expected to accompany the cyclists along their trip, sharing the experience of traveling routes that could be used by an Iberian lynx to connect with other specimens of its species in the Peninsula. All this will be done in real time as cyclists will narrate their journey and experiences through the Iberlince social networks (Twitter @iberlinceEU, #IberlinceEnBici).

The Life+IBERLINCE project, coordinated by the Andalusian Regional Government, involves 22 partners, including the Autonomous Organization for National Parks, the Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Transport (which has yet to sign the Agreement), the Portuguese Ministry of Environment, and the Autonomous Governments of Andalusia, Castilla La Mancha, Murcia and Extremadura, Infraestruturas de Portugal S.A., Empresa de Desenvolvimento e Infrastruturas do Alqueva S.A., and the Moura City Council, as well as companies (Fomecam, Agroforex, Acajú), associations and non-governmental organizations (Andalusian Hunting Federation, Aproca, SECEM, Adenex, WWF- España, CBD-Hábitat Foundation, Iberlinx Association).

The LIFE+ project, co-financed by the European Commission, has allowed for the reintroduction and creation of new Iberian lynx populations in Andalusia, Extremadura, Portugal and Castilla-La Mancha, which warranted the downgrade of the species’ threat category from "critically endangered" to "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).