The Iberian lynx, one of the world's rarest cats, is no longer listed as endangered, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has announced.
On Thursday, the IUCN, which classifies species according to the level of risk they face on its “red list,” raised the Iberian lynx from “endangered” to “vulnerable” after a significant surge in their numbers.
The population increased from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022. The current estimated population of young and mature lynxes combined is more than 2,000, IUCN reports.
As the name suggests, this wild cat species calls the Iberian region (Spain and Portugal) its home.
