The Iberian lynx reintroduction area “Tierras altas de Lorca”, among others, was approved at the telematic meeting of the Iberian lynx working group on 16 December 2022.

The CARM’s Sub-Directorate General for Natural Heritage and Climate Change presented the report justifying this area as a reintroduction area to this working group. The CARM technical team presented the work carried out in recent years, especially in the last few months, concerning the abundance of rabbits (the main prey of the Iberian lynx), the quality of the habitat, the assessment of the social attitude towards reintroductions, the running over of carnivorous mammals on Lorca’s roads and the existence of livestock that could lead to conflict, among other aspects. This work has involved hundreds of kilometres covered on foot or by vehicle to detect rabbit latrines, measure vegetation cover, look for possible illegal methods, identify animals run over on the road or carry out surveys of the inhabitants of the area and its surroundings. The total eligible area is 22,500 hectares.

In the coming months, 8 specimens of the species (4 males and 4 females) are expected to arrive in the soft release area (pre-release enclosures), from captive breeding centres, and will be equipped with a collar equipped with GPS technology to know their position once they are released.

In the coming months, 8 specimens of the species (4 males and 4 females) are expected to arrive in the soft release area (pre-release enclosures) from the captive breeding centres, and will be equipped with a collar equipped with GPS technology to know their position once they are released.

The Directorate General for the Natural Environment (Regional Ministry of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Environment and Emergencies) of the Region of Murcia is one of the 21 partners in the LIFE LYNXCONNECT project, which is coordinated by the Ministry of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy of the Regional Government of Andalusia.