Milestone in recovery of 'vulnerable' Iberian lynx population in Murcia with first kittens born in the wild

The region of Murcia holds the stage with another milestone achieved in the conservation of the Iberian lynx in Spain: the birth, in the wild, of a litter of two by a female lynx. She herself was returned to the wild, released in the highlands of Lorca after being bred in captivity. Urtsu was released in February 2024 and has now given birth to two kittens, which are added to the 15 adults released in the Guadalentín area. The father of the litter is Tinajero, reintroduced to the area in 2023.

The births were announced on Tuesday by the president of the Murcia region in south-eastern Spain, Fernando López Miras. He supports the lynx conservation programme and posted the news on his X account: "This is very good news and the most beautiful image of the day. The Iberian lynx is breeding in the region of Murcia. Urtsu, released in the highlands of Lorca, is the mother of these two beautiful kittens."

"We remain committed to their reintroduction to the wild," he said, sharing two photographs of the kittens. Their mother was released 15 months ago weighing 7.6 kilos. She arrived from the Iberian lynx breeding centre of Zarza de Granadilla, in the province of Cáceres.

To date Murcia has released more than 20 lynx into the wild. Thanks to various captive breeding programmes, the species was moved from being classified as "endangered" to "vulnerable" last year on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species.