View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Digital.CSIC The Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus Conservation Breeding Program A. VARGAS1, I. SA´ NCHEZ2, F. MARTI´NEZ1, A. RIVAS1, J. A. GODOY3, E. ROLDA´ N4, M. A. SIMO´ N5, R. SERRA6, MaJ. PE´ REZ7, C. ENSEN˜ AT8, M. DELIBES3, M. AYMERICH9, 10 11 A. SLIWA & U. BREITENMOSER 1Centro de Cr´ıa de Lince Ibe´rico El Acebuche, Parque Nacional de Don˜ ana, Huelva, Spain, 2Zoobota´ nico de Jerez, Ca´ diz, Spain, 3Don˜ ana Biological Station, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain, 4National Museum of Natural Science, CSIC, Madrid, Spain, 5Environmental Council, Andalusian Government, Jae´ n, Spain, 6Investigac¸a˜ o Veterina´ ria Independente, Lisbon, Portugal, 7Centro de Cr´ıa en Cautividad de Lince Ibe´rico La Olivilla, Jaen, Spain, 8Parc Zoolo´ gic, Barcelona, Spain, 9Direccio´ n General para la Biodiversidad, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Madrid, Spain, 10Cologne Zoo, Cologne 50735, Germany, and 11IUCN Cat Specialist Group, Institute of Veterinary Virology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland E-mail:
[email protected] The Iberian Lynx Conservation Breeding Program fol- INTRODUCTION lows a multidisciplinary approach, integrated within the National Strategy for the Conservation of the Iberian lynx, which is carried out in cooperation with national, Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus wild populations regional and international institutions. The main goals of have undergone a constant regression through- the ex situ conservation programme are to: (1) maintain a out the last century. The decline has been genetically and demographically managed captive popu- especially abrupt in the last 20 years, with more lation; (2) create new Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus free- ranging populations through re-introduction.