In the remote south eastern edge of the Alentejo region of Portugal, the return of an apex predator – the Iberian lynx – is anxiously watched over by conservationists. The drama of each lynx released, the risks as they go about establishing a territory and finding a mate and creating the next generation. Family life unfolds with all of its pleasure and pain, the disputes and dangers, the successes and failures all watched over by the media and the ever-present eye of hidden cameras.

The first captive-born Iberian lynxes were released in Portugal in Autumn 2014 and it is reintroduced lynxes which make up the majority of the 30 adults now living free in the Alentejo. It is here that they are establishing territories, hunting, sleeping, washing, and still some more napping – in common with domestic cats, knowing how to relax is very important!

They are also finding mates, some which have travelled all the way from Spain’s Donana, and of course giving birth and raising their young who then find new territories of their own and start this cycle anew.

Thanks to the vast network of hidden cameras and drone technology we have clearer views of this drama than has ever been possible. The Iberian lynxes return to their native Portugal is a joy to behold, thanks to modern technology it is a joy we can all behold. The ICNF  video is the fruit of 100’s of camera trap images in the Vale do Guadiana region from the last 3 years since the Portuguese reintroduction began.

Please sit down and relax and enjoy the ICNF Iberlince video, it is the return of a species to its motherland, it is a success, it is proof that we do not have to accept that once a species is gone it is gone forever.