An announcement was published in the Government Gazette to stipulate a time-frame for the work, being overseen by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), which falls under the tutelage of the Ministries of the Environment and Agriculture.
The ICNF also coordinates the Iberian Lynx recovery project in Portugal, developed jointly with Spain.
The reintroduction of the Iberian lynx in Portugal is part of the transnational LIFE Iberlince project, whose objective is to establish stable and viable populations of the species in the Iberian Peninsula, which was at one point critically endangered.
The Iberian lynx is “an emblematic species and important to Mediterranean ecosystems”, and their conservation and management of their habitat “allows the preservation of many other species of flora and fauna, as well as being an opportunity to promote the development of the territories where they are found”, according to the ICNF.
Last week, the ICNF announced that there are 12 cubs that make up the first three litters of Iberian lynx born this year in the Alentejo’s Guadiana Valley Natural Park, the area of reintroduction of the species in Portugal.
The three litters, comprising four offspring each, were given birth to by the females Mirandilla, Malva and Jacaranda.