The Life+Iberlince project releases two Iberian lynx specimens in the Guarrizas reintroduction area

'Ofelia' and 'Olavide' start off the season of releases in Andalusia, where 402 of the 547 specimens registered in the Peninsula are gathered

Two Iberian lynx specimens were released this morning in the Dehesa de las Yeguas estate, located in the Vilches municipality, within the Guarrizas reintroduction area (Jaén), inaugurating the season of releases in the Andalusian region. 'Ofelia' and 'Olavide', the two released specimens from the captive Silves breeding centre (Portugal), were genetically selected to enrich the genetic variability in this area.

At the release, which was presided by the Minister of Environment and Territorial Planning, José Fiscal, schoolchildren from the Carlos III of Santa Elena Primary School (Jaén) had a chance to participate, as well as a group of journalists who visited the area yesterday to learn onsite about actions carried out at estates that collaborate with the Iberlince project.

These were the same students who, back in January, chose the name 'Olavide' through the campaign #BautizaUnLince for one of the seven Iberian lynx specimens to be released in the two Andalusian reintroduction areas over the months of February, March and April. During this period, a total of four specimens, two males and two females, will be released in the Guarrizas reintroduction area, while a total of three males and one female will be released in the Guadalmellato reintroduction area (Córdoba).

These areas were selected for reintroduction due to their habitat quality, high volume of rabbit populations, and a strong social support for reintroduction, which includes the collaboration of private estate owners and hunting societies who manage lands where the lynx population is concentrated.
Iberian lynx releases in the Guarrizas reintroduction area began back in 2010. Since then, a total of 48 specimens have been released into the wild, a group that is joined today by females' Ofelia ', daughter of' Strawberry 'and' Hermes', and 'Olavide', daughter of 'Javaluna' and 'Jerte'.

According to the latest census data (at 90 per cent of completion), the Iberian lynx population in this reintroduction area is on the rise, currently at 74 specimens, including the noteworthy 17 territorial females accounted for in 2017 – 11 in 2016. Indeed, the year registered 25 cubs born in the wild, more than doubling those registered in 2014 – a total of 12.

Still on the 2017 census, 547 specimens were registered in the Peninsula, of which 402 individuals are concentrated in the Andalusian territories where the feline is present, while the remaining 145 are dispersed over Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, and Guadiana Valley in Portugal.