The Iberian lynx has recovered from fewer than 100 individuals to over 1,000 through intensive conservation, representing one of the most successful large cat recoveries in history.
Iberian lynx recovery is a remarkable conservation success, but maintaining it requires ongoing welfare-relevant management. Individual lynx in territories where rabbit populations collapse due to disease experience starvation stress. Road strikes cause acute trauma and death in animals that have survived intensive conservation management. The fragility of the recovery — dependent on continued rabbit management and habitat connectivity — means that individual lynx welfare remains precarious despite population growth. The story of Iberian lynx recovery demonstrates what is achievable with committed, long-term conservation investment.