Saving Iberian Lynx Linked to DNA Test

Scientists trying to save the Iberian lynx from extinction are using the latest DNA technology to track the cat by its scat.

The scientists want to put several healthy cats in a captive breeding center in the Don~ana National Park in southern Spain, but the lynxes are proving hard to find, let alone catch.

Researchers at the center are using DNA testing on carnivore feces, or scat, collected in the wild to determine exactly where the animals live.

“The lynx is a nocturnal animal and it is difficult to track,” said Francisco Palomares, the project’s director. “But with the DNA testing we can confirm if they are there or not.”

The testing is 99% accurate in separating lynx feces from that of other carnivores living in Spanish forests.

Once the population is located, DNA testing will reveal whether inbreeding is further endangering the dwindling species by producing unhealthy offspring.

Because the animal lives in scattered, isolated pockets, the chances of inbreeding among small groups are high, said Dr. Paul Toyne, director of the World Wildlife Fund’s Campaign for Europe’s Carnivores.

The idea is to capture several cats from different regions and bring them to the breeding grounds. There is currently no stock to breed.

The lynx, which stands about 2 feet tall and weighs between 20 and 28 pounds, has a gray spotted coat, pointed ears, a stumpy tail and a beard.

The last time a complete census was taken, in 1988, there were only 1,200 Iberian lynxes on the peninsula, an 80% drop from 1960, the fund reported. Estimates indicate there are no more than 600 lynxes in Spain and 50 in Portugal. Toyne said that if the decline continues at the current rate, the animal could be extinct within 10 years.

“Everyone thinks of a tiger or a jaguar as the most endangered cat,” Toyne said. “But it actually lives here in Europe.”

The lynxes declined as their habitat was destroyed and disease reduced the number of rabbits, their main prey. Cars run over and kill lynxes on the highways. Others are maimed or killed by steel leg traps used for hunting rabbits and foxes.

Hunters take their toll, killing several lynx a year because they do not know the cat is endangered or do not care, Toyne said.

Toyne said the government needs to educate people about the lynx and complete plans to preserve its habitat.

Spain passed legislation in 1989 that included the lynx as a protected species, but no other measures were taken, mainly because each of the country’s 17 autonomous regions must draft legislation matching the national law.

Rosa Pradas, a spokeswoman for the Environment Ministry, said several of the regions are drawing up plans for habitat conservation.

“I think the Spanish government has woken up to the fact that this is a disaster waiting to happen,” Toyne said.

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On the Net:

www.worldwildlife.org

www.wwf-uk.org/animals/lynx/lynxwwf.htm (Campaign for Europe’s Carnivores)

www.andalucia.com/environment/protect/donana.htm