Supple but powerful, and full of energy - that is the lynx. It goes on nocturnal hunts aided by his sharp senses. It can spot roe deer at a distance of 500m, and it can hear a mouse that is 65m away. The beautifully patterned coat serves as a perfect camouflage in the woods and the soft hair protects it even from the cold Scandinavian and eastern European winter nights. But all these good attributes, which serve it well in the wild, do not protect it from its greatest enemy - man. At first it was competition for food, as the lynx hunts the same prey as its two-legged competitor. Both intensive hunting and the destruction of its habitat - the overuse of forests - made it more and more difficult for the lynx to survive. Its natural prey became increasingly rare and consequently the large feline preyed on badly protected livestock. Its magnificent coat has also had a high value on the market. Today, its greatest additional threats are the increasing segmentation and obstruction of its habitat. A major problem in trying to preserve the European lynx is the fact that the habitats of the remaining populations are very dispersed. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to encourage new populations in between these 'islands' or at least to maintain or create migration corridors which allow for a safe passage. However, some things have also improved for the lynx. Large densities of even-hoofed game provide a good food source and the area under forests has also increased.

In order to survive the lynx (Lynx lynx) needs large contiguous forest areas. However, there is also past evidence of the lynx having lived in treeless landscapes as long as there is sufficient cover. The Iberian lynx, a subspecies of the Europan lynx which occurs only in Portugal and Spain, also prefers habitats rich in scrub and hedges. This is where it finds its prefered prey - the rabbit.