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Second lynx litter born as part of the Lorca highlands reintroduction project
The three adorable kittens were born to Tahúlla, a lynx released in the Region of Murcia in 2023
For a project that’s had more ups and downs than the Lorca highlands themselves, the European Life LynxConnect programme in the Region of Murcia has just celebrated an incredible – and adorable – win: camera traps in the Almería municipality of Vélez-Rubio have captured the female Tahúlla, who was released in 2023 in the Lorca hills, along with three cubs born after she mated with an Andalucian lynx.
This is the second litter recorded from a female released in the Region of Murcia since the start of reintroductions, a success that “is not a coincidence”, according to regional government sources.
The male she's paired with is Queo, a cat from Doñana released by the Andalucian government in December 2024 specifically with the aim of encouraging his union with this Murcian female.
Their encounter and subsequent breeding in the Vélez-Rubio area constitute “a concrete example of the positive impact that well-coordinated technical decisions can have between regions, and reaffirm the effectiveness of the ecological corridors planned within the framework of the Life LynxConnect programme”, a government spokesperson said.
The ultimate goal of the project is for 32 animals to make this corner of Murcia their home, but the scheme has been beset by misfortune and tragedy from the beginning. From animals dying of starvation and ingesting inedible objects, to road accidents and actual disappearances, the project appeared doomed for failure on many occasions.
But now, with the birth of the this second litter of baby lynxes, known as kittens, hope has been restored.
The news comes just a few months after the birth of the first three Iberian lynx cubs in the Region was confirmed at the end of May. These were the offspring of the female Urtsu, released in the Highlands of Lorca in 2024.
Despite the set-backs, everyone involved believes that the work carried out in the Region of Murcia is at last yielding positive results and that the species is finding ideal conditions in this territory to reproduce in the wild.
Another big plus, according to Regional Minister for the Environment Juan María Vázquez, is “the fact that Tahúlla gave birth to her cubs in Almería,” which “demonstrates that ecological corridors between communities are working, and that lynxes are beginning to expand naturally, the initial objective of the project.”
You might also like: Iberian Lynx makes hopeful return to Cordoba mountains after 50 years
Image: CARM
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