This is one of the measures decided to "outline a path for the return of the Iberian lynx to Serra da Malcata", announced today the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), in a statement sent to the Lusa agency. In the same note, the organization informs that the mayors of Penamacor, in the district of Castelo Branco, and Sabugal, in the district of Guarda, met on the 17th with the Regional Directorate for Nature Conservation and Forests of the Center and the Iberian lynx team of the ICNF, to unite "efforts for the return of the Iberian lynx to Malcata". The plan provides that the reintroduction of the species in the field will be complemented, in the medium term, "by the natural expansion of the species, from the territories of origin, as the initial areas of reintroduction, both in Portugal -- Vale do Guadiana -- and in Spain -- Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura -- become saturated with the young lynxes that are born in the wild every year". Serra da Malcata is one of the territories of "historical occurrence" of the species in Portugal and was included in the potential areas for reintroduction of the Iberian lynx, under the LIFE Iberlince project, but was not previously chosen due to the scarcity of wild rabbits during the 2012 and 2013 censuses. The ICNF states that, since then, the two municipalities, in partnership with other entities, have promoted initiatives to increase the presence of wild rabbits that meet not only the subsistence needs of the Iberian lynx, but also to make it possible for reproducing females to establish themselves in this territory and, at the same time, to ensure the food sustainability of other relevant species, such as birds of prey. According to the ICNF, in addition to the presence of the wild rabbit, in order to consider a wild population of lynxes, "other biophysical and social factors of Serra da Malcata" are also preponderant and evaluated, which can be improved through active management. "The return of the lynx to any territory where it has existed in the past will always be a joint effort, in which ICNF, local authorities and other participants will contribute with measures and initiatives outlined in an integrated manner, so that the path of return takes place without setbacks and can lead to the reestablishment of a population of Iberian lynx in Serra da Malcata, also known as Terras do Lince", adds the organization, in the note released today. According to the census released annually by the European Life project for the conservation of the feline, on May 17, the Iberian lynx population reached 2,021 specimens in 2023 in the Iberian Peninsula, when in the previous year it was 1,668. The data show that in Portugal, in the Vale do Guadiana, there were 53 reproductive females, 100 young and a total of 291 specimens last year. The lynx was considered critically endangered at the beginning of the century, when there were only about a hundred specimens left, and only in Andalusia. During 2023, the Lynxconnect project released 34 lynxes in the reintroduction areas created in previous Life projects and at selected points. Read Also: Iberian lynx population exceeds two thousand in Portugal and Spain (Portuguese version)