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WATCH: First Eurasion Lynx born in Spanish Pyrenees for more than a century

The Local Spain
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WATCH: First Eurasion Lynx born in Spanish Pyrenees for more than a century
The male lynx cub is the first of its species to be born in the Spanish pyrenees in more than a century. Photo: Fundación Catalunya La Pedrera

Officially extinct in the region for more than a century, a Eurasion Lynx has been born in the Catalan Pyrenees.

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The male cub arrived “unexpectedly” on May 28, taking rangers at the Fundación Catalunya La Pedrera completely by surprise, the trust said in a statement on Wednesday.

 

The newest arrival was born to a pair of Eurasion lynx that have been at the conservation centre for 11 years, having been transferred from a zoo in Galicia in 2008 after being bred in captivity.

La Pedrera released a video of the cub exploring its habitat under the watchful eye of its mother.

Although the Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) has been brought back from the brink of extinction thanks to a breeding programme in the south of Spain, the larger Eurasion Lynx (Lynx Lynx) had died out in the wilds of Spain a hundred years ago after being hunted to extinction.

Europe’s third largest predator after beers and wolves, Eurasian lynx were once prevalent across much of Western Europe.

The animals have been reintroduced into wild pockets of the Alps and now have populations thriving in Switzerland, France and Germany as well as Italy and across central and northern Europe.

There is even talk of reintroducing them in Scotland.

READ MORE: How Spain brought the Iberian Lynx back from the brink of extinction

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