The third round of the Iberian Lynx releases will be launched in 2016 in the reintroduction areas of the Iberian Peninsula

The goal of the Life+Iberlince Project is to start recovering the historical range of the species by reintroducing in favorable areas that meet a specific and demanding requirements for hosting the Iberian lynx.

The 19 partners of the Project Life+Iberlince Portugal, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia and Andalusia began the work by selecting areas for reintroduction in the year of 2012 and it was in March 2014 at a meeting in Cazalla de la Sierra, Sevilla, that the results of these previous selected studies were analyzed and the start of loose agreed in Vale do Guadiana - Mértola (Portugal), Matachel Valley - Badajoz, Sierra Morena Oriental - Ciudad Real and Montes de Toledo - Toledo. These areas were selected for their quality of habitat, its high density of wild rabbit and social support at the start of reintroductions, so to guarantee the success of releases.

In 2001 the Ministry of Environment of the County of Andalusia launched the Program of Actions for the Conservation of the Iberian lynx, which was completed in 2002 with the approval of the Life Project "Recovery of the populations of Iberian lynx in Andalusia". LIFE02NAT / E / 8609 '(2002-2006), which meant an important role in the conservation of the species milestone. The main objective of these projects was to stabilize the populations of Iberian lynx in Andalusia, ensuring long term of only two extant populations viability and isolated from each other: Doñana and Sierra Morena. In 2006 a new project that a qualitative leap in conservation with the inclusion of two new actions, the reintroduction of lynx in some of its areas of historical distribution within Andalucía and the genetic reinforcement of the population of Doñana it approved.

The work and the selection and preparation of new lynx areas is being done through a rigorous work in potential reintroduction areas that culminated with the first releases in Andalusia in 2010, lynxes from the field, in the area of Guadalmellato, to and from these followed Guarrizas 2011, to wild lynx released bind those born in captivity disengaging from the first lynx breeding centers has allowed spending in Andalusia of 94 individuals registered in 2002 to 327 last census of 2014.

The whole experience was the basis for the Life+Iberlince Project and thus, in the spring of 2014, the first releases of lynx outside Andalusia began.

This time elapsed from the first reintroductions, have released a total of 124 Iberian lynx, 83 in Andalusia, 22 in Castilla-La Mancha and 10 in Extremadura and 9 in Portugal.

This year, 2016, it will be launched the third release after those in 2014 and 2015. All reintroduction areas are functioning properly and in April 2015, 10 months after the first Iberian lynx reintroduction in the Valley of Matachel (Badajoz), one of the females released gave birth to the first Iberian lynx cubs born in freedom outside Andalusia.

Three factors have been decisive for the successful reintroduction: The work carried out within the LIFE projects that allowed consolidate existing populations and begin reintroductions, the success of the program of ex-situ conservation, and social support and direct participation in the conservation through cooperation agreements with landowners and hunting societies.

By 2016 the release of a total of 48 lynx, 45 of them are expected from the captive breeding centers and 3 captured in the town of Cardeña-Andujar, Andalusia, with the following distribution by areas of loose: Vale do Guadiana , 9 (3: 6); Matachel Valley, 9 (4: 5); Eastern Sierra Morena, 9 (5: 4) and Montes de Toledo, 10 (6: 4); Guadalmellato, 5 (1: 4), Guarrizas 6 (1: 5) and perhaps a release for genetic reinforcement in Doñana that is currently pending of analytical occurs.

On the last year, 2015, and after 13 years of great conservation efforts, the Iberian lynx has been downgraded in the Red List. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (UICN) has reclassified the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) from "critically endangered" to "endangered.

The evolution of the populations of this feline, after six decades of population decline and its area of presence between 2002 and 2012 the size of the lynx population has increased continuously reaching 156 mature individuals, this implies who has spent 27 breeding females in 2002 to 97 in 2012. In addition, the area of this species has also experienced a significant increase. As a result of this, the Iberian lynx has moved from the category of "critically endangered" to "endangered".