Looking for the Iberian Lynx
Rare cat species
The Iberian Lynx is a beautiful, but rare, predator in Europe. This medium-sized cat species has always lived on the Iberian Peninsula, occupying the top of the food chain together with the Iberian Wolf. Due to hunting, only about 100 individuals of this species had remained around the year 2000. Thanks to effective protection of this cat species, numbers have increased significantly in the following decades, so that the population is now around 1,000 individuals.
The waiting game…
In late 2022, we decided to specifically look for this species and capture it on camera. In the last week of December 2022, we left by car and started our 2200km journey to Spain. The Iberian Lynx proved difficult to spot. The vegetation in the mountainous areas where this species lives is dense and numbers are low. Nevertheless, in some places the animal is reasonably used to human activity, such as the Parque Natural de la Sierra de Andujár, but even then it is not easy to find the animal. For this reason, we had contacted an organization in Spain that had placed several photography huts on their property. Lynx were regularly spotted in the area.
The first two times we were in a hut, we sat quietly, waiting 10 long hours each day. Unfortunately, after 20 hours of waiting, we had not seen a trace of a lynx. We had booked another hut for a few days later, but thought it would also be nice to observe the Lynx in another area. So we left early the next morning for Andujár. Again, hours passed in which we did not see any Lynx. There was a lot of other wildlife in the area, though. Deer, wild boar, rabbits and even the Spanish ibex showed up.
After a long search, we finally saw a mother Lynx with two cubs later in the afternoon. The animals were sitting quite far away on a mountainside and had caught some prey. What a privilege, to observe these beautiful animals for several hours! After a few hours, the lynx disappeared behind the hillside. Feeling completely satisfied, we decided to return to our flat.
Special encounter
Our third photography hut day was planned on Monday. Would we see the lynx now? We had experienced that wild animals certainly are 'wild', and don't show themselves that easily. Full of good spirits, however, we started the long wait. After about an hour, Jacobine saw a large paw coming around the corner, right next to where Gregory was sitting. A large male stood right next to the hut and looked straight into our eyes. What an incredibly cool animal! Somewhat intimidating too, such a large animal about 1 metre away from you.... The cat scurried around briefly and disappeared back into the bushes.
It didn't stop at that one experience that day, though. In the afternoon, two more lynx passed the hut, this time slightly smaller females. What an extraordinary experience! After so much patience, the long wait was truly rewarded. This was something we definitely wanted to see again and return to Spain for.
On the way back to the Netherlands, temperatures cooled down significantly, but we had some warm memories of an impressive example of God's beautiful creation. What a great example of man taking responsibility in protecting a magnificent animal. Let us always remain committed to protecting and preserving creation. Everyone can contribute to this in their own way.
Close encounter with Iberian Lynx
Suddenly there is another one
Red-legged Partridge
