On 11 March, coinciding with the 4th International Congress on Conservation, Hunting, Culture and Sport of the Murcia Hunting Federation, the LIFE LYNXCONNECT project, through its partner Fundación Artemisan, offered a talk designed exclusively for the hunting sector.

The aim was to present the initiative in an autonomous community without a stable presence of Iberian lynx for many years. To this end, the event was chosen to be held in the region of Lorca, which has been chosen as a reintroduction area, with the presence of all the hunting societies in the area. It is there where 4 specimens have been released, which are getting used to the environment and in a few weeks will be free to settle in the area.

Thus, at the end of the Congress itself, the attendees were able to learn about the selection, methodology, deadlines and possibilities that have to do with the return of the feline to the Murcian countryside. Firstly, it was reported that the individuals were in a confined space in the natural environment so that they could get used to it after their birth in the breeding centre and that they would be observed to analyse through their behaviour whether they adapt to the countryside of Lorca.

The current situation in other regions where this protected species already coexists with other game species was then discussed. The Artemisan Foundation has been able to verify that the interaction of the Iberian lynx causes a balance in the private estates where it is installed, which is very beneficial for predator control, and this is what has been conveyed to the managers or owners, and also hunters, of Lorca.

The intention of the project is to carry out a follow-up also in this autonomous community in order to know the impressions once the coexistence is real, so this meeting will be repeated in the city once the summer season has arrived and enough time has elapsed for the Lorquians to have an opinion.