The Iberian lynx is a small relative of the European lynx which occurs in the rest of Europe. The Iberian lynx occurs exclusively on the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal). The coat of the Iberian lynx is more conspicuously patterned. It is smaller than the European lynx and its prey consists primarily of rabbits. The Iberian lynx is a highly endangered species! Experts estimate that there are only 150 to 200 individuals left. Almost all of them live either in the Doñana National Park or in the Sierra Morena. For a mammal which has a low reproduction rate this is dramatically small population size. Another factor that contributes to its demise is that its small and disjunct habitats continue to be negatively impacted upon by afforestation with non-native pines and eucalyptus, as well as by clear-felling and intensive agriculture. Additionally there are still occurences of illegal hunting activities, and its food source - the rabbit - continues to decline. It is now an important task to safeguard the last refuges of the Iberian lynx.

EuroNatur helps to safeguard the key areas for the Iberian lynx. It has given a helping hand to Spanish conservationists who have improved the living conditions for the Iberian lynx through expert habitat management. Scrublands that had been burned or clearfelled were planted with hedges and shrubs, and at other sites extensive grazing management was introduced again in order to improve habitat conditions for the rabbit - the most important prey of the Iberian lynx.

The importance of the rabbit in Spain is documented in a story told by the travel writer and conservationist Roberto Cabo: When the Phoenicians first came to the Iberian peninsula they observed small, hole digging animals everywhere. They thought these were Cape hyrax, a small mammal they knew from back home in North Africa, and called them 'shapan' accordingly which is the Semitic word for the hyrax. The land they had newly discovered they called I-Shapan-im: the land of the Cape hyrax. The Romans turned this name into 'Hispania'. If this story is true, then the rabbits have given Spain its name. For many of Spain's mammals and birds the rabbit is an indispensable part of their diet, the Iberian lynx being one example.

The decline of the rabbit from the 1950s onwards brought the Iberian lynx to the brink of extinction. Two introduced viruses almost completely wiped out the rabbit populations on much of the Iberian peninsula - myxomatosis and viral pneumonia.