One of my most memorable
wildlife sightings happened when I was 10, when I lived in Andalucía, South of
Spain.
We where heading home from
Gibraltar and as was normal for me I would be staring out the car window
spotting the local wildlife. Vultures and other Raptors fascinated me until the
sight of black spotted, tan coloured cat the size of a dog ran along the side of
the field and jumped up the rocks and out of sight. I instantly knew it was a
Lynx but what I quickly learnt is this was the endemic and almost extinct
Iberian Lynx.
For the next 35 years I would
be trying to see this elusive cat without much success. For decades their
stronghold would be the National Park of Andujar and Doñana National Park and even here it
would not bring any success. Mainly due to the fact that numbers hit lows of
100, but with conservation efforts to bring rabbit numbers back up (the main
diet of the Lynx) and re-introduction into these areas and also into the Sierra
Morena. Numbers have risen and around 400 animals roam here and parts of
Portugal. With even a tracked animal being recorded in my birth province,
Galicia in the north.
For the past 5 years I have
been visiting my good friend Agustín at Alpasin. 4 years ago and thanks to him I
would see the reintroduction of a young female back to the wilds of the Sierra
Morena. What a honor and what a buzz. However this did not produce the
excitement I felt 31 years before.
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| Female Iberian Lynx - Re-Introduction (Collar edited out) |
With a week left till the Fat
Man visits with presents for us all.....Erin and I would get up at 1:30am and
leave for the airport to catch the first flight to Malaga. 12 hours later we
would arrive tired and hungry in familiar lands, Adamuz in the heart of the
Sierra Morena. A quick bocadillo de lomo and out to the hides, Agustín has been
working on for the past few years. Sightings at these hides have been superb
with at least 3 adults and a cub visiting.
Tired but not sleepy we
settled in for a long wait......or so we thought.
Around two hours in and a
stunning young adult female Iberian Lynx came out the undergrowth to the alarm
calls of the various birds.
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| Wild Female Iberian Lynx makes her first appearance |
She sniffed around to find the
rabbit that was left hidden away for her. Didn't take her long to finish it off
and then head back into the bushes.
All the memories and
excitement of 35 years ago came flooding back and I felt 10 years old
again.
A truly wild Iberian Lynx came
within ten metres and she stared straight at me with a look I will never
forget.
Near 300 photos in low light
and as my heart was still racing.....she returned and sat down for a drink in
the pool before a quick groom and back to the wilds of this stunning area of
Spain that is Called the Sierra Morena.
No wonder I keep returning
time after time!!!!!
Thank you my good friend
Agustín for giving me a fantastic early Christmas present.
