Man is still the main cause of death of the Iberian lynxes in Spain and Portugal, but now it is death by car rather than death by bullet.

The problem is increasing as the Iberian lynx returns to its historical range through successful reintroductions and the next generation of youngsters leave their mother’s territories to find a territory of their own, always a risky time for any species, and undoubtably  the greatest hazard to lynx on the move is our cars.

Since 2002, a shocking 114 Iberian lynxes have died on the Iberian roads, and the number killed each year on the roads is rising dramatically as the population recovers and expands in the wild. A massive 31 lynx were killed on the roads in 2017, a death toll only likely to rise annually still further year on year now.

The very success of the reintroductions into good territory for lynxes to breed mean more and more young Iberian lynxes will leave their mothers to disperse and find new territories of their own. As we have seen with radio-collared lynxes the distances travelled and number of roads crossed in search of this can be enormous.

68% of road deaths occur in the following blackspots in Spain A4 Jaen- Ciudad Real, CM410 in Toledo, N-420 Cordoba. A301 Jaen and EX103 Badajoz. This concentration can lead to solutions, and safe crossings for lynxes are being funded in these areas.

There is cause for concern for the future as a number of new roads built in recent years are built through old lynx territory, one example of this is the A2 motorway through Portugal connecting Lisbon to the Algarve. This was built in 2002 after lynx were deemed ‘extinct’ in the country, and it cuts right through the Algarve mountains which were formerly a lynx stronghold. With wandering lynx such as Litio already exploring the Algarve, the risks for this species are obvious, foreseeable and therefore preventable.

Litio’s journey will already have taken him on many fast roads, his search for a territory has already been incredibly arduous as well as lucky. Lets hope he finds what he needs close to his release site and settles down very soon.