The territory of Castilla y León was home to Iberian lynx populations until the last century, mainly in the south of the region. Various threat factors, such as unnatural mortality and the decline of wild rabbit populations, led to the disappearance of the last Iberian lynx populations in the north of the Central System.

The Junta de Castilla y León is currently carrying out studies to select areas for the reintroduction of the Iberian lynx in Castilla y León, the first result of which is the selection of two favourable areas for the reintroduction of the species: Cerrato in Palencia and Cañones del Duero in Zamora.

Within this framework, the participation of local authorities and landowners, as well as all the actors of the primary sector present in the territory and those entities or individuals that hold rights of use or exploitation or carry out a social or economic activity in the territory, is considered to be of special importance.

IFE LYNXCONNECT participated in the conferences organised on the Iberian lynx reintroduction project, which were held in Palencia and Zamora on 11 and 12 June. The Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, the Junta de Andalucía, the CBD-Hábitat Foundation and the Artemisan Foundation gave a series of short presentations on the reintroduction of the Iberian lynx in Castilla-La Mancha, the role of hunters and NGOs in the conservation of the Iberian lynx, the involvement of social agents in the conservation of the Iberian lynx and the importance of the wild rabbit in the conservation of the Iberian lynx.

This conference, open to the entire population, was attended by experts on the species, as well as the experience of other reintroduction projects and the collaboration of landowners, hunters and livestock farmers in areas with similar initiatives.

In this link you will find documents of interest on the Iberian lynx reintroduction project in Castilla León:

https://medioambiente.jcyl.es/web/es/medio-natural/proyecto-reintroduccion-lince-iberico.html