Leonardo, the hero of the book “The Adventures of Leonardo the Lynx,” returned on February 5th to the Alcoutim School Group, where he was born three years ago thanks to a school project. The book was presented to 58 first-cycle students, highlighting that the Iberian lynx population is growing on the Iberian Peninsula, where, by the end of 2024, there were already 2,401 lynx, 354 of which were in Portugal. At the end, all the students received the book so they could learn more about their fellow Iberian lynx.

The following day, the book was presented to 300 first-cycle students at the Castro Marim School Group, specifically at the Castro Marim Library and the Altura School Center. The presentation also featured “friend” Urânia, a puppet who charmed everyone present.

This awareness-raising activity was promoted by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) and featured the participation of Picada Cultural and S.A. Marionetas, who conceived, produced, and performed the puppet show Urânia.

The activity involved 358 children and their teachers and was funded by LIFE Lynxconnect, a cross-border project with several Portuguese and Spanish partners, whose main objective is to continue the recovery process of the Iberian lynx, now extinct in Portugal and critically endangered in Spain.

The book “The Adventure of Leonardo the Lynx” features illustrations by students from the Professor Joaquim Moreira Elementary School in Martim Longo, Alcoutim, and is the result of the environmental education project about the Iberian lynx, “The Guardians of the Lynx.”

The book is free and can be downloaded from the ICN website.