This is Saliega when I last saw her in 2003. Saliega went on to great things, when she became the first Iberian lynx to give birth in the captive breeding and reintroduction programme in 2005. As such she embodied the new hope for the entire species, which had by then tumbled to less than 100 in the wild. The 2005 births were anxiously watched over by technicians in Spain’s Donana and signalled the beginning of the captive breeding programme. which has ensured the triumphant return of this stunning predator to Portugal and parts of Spain where the species had become extinct.

I first heard of the Iberian lynx in 1999 and I was swiftly captivated, I began to investigate, write about and campaign for this amazing cat, its plight swiftly engulfed all my time. This took me down some unexpected paths and to meet some incredible people, and one day in 2001 after the publication of our book ‘The Algarve Tiger‘ it took me to Jerez Zoo, where they had some incredible news. Saliega and Aura were two tiny Iberian lynx cubs, taken from wild dens, they were the runts of their litters and were not expected to survive in the wild.

This gorgeous hungry young cub was lovingly hand reared to full health, by the Jerez Zoo and in 2003 they were moved to the Donana captive breeding station. During those first few months we were able to watch these two play and grow into adolescents.

Saliega became the first mother in the captive breeding programme when she gave birth in 2005. The precious moments captured below are described by Astrid Vargas as her ‘showing’ her cubs to the technicians watching over her (through cameras) with baited breath. This is when the captive breeding programme really began. And with this the start of the recovery of this species.

Saliega, wild born, lovingly hand reared, pioneer of the return of this species to the Iberian Peninsular.

Here she is as a playful kitten in 2002. The new hope for the Iberian Lynx species.