#cats of spain

[is-the-fire-real]

Duende approves of your arrival, and gazes in the direction of the Cat Room so you'll know where to go to pet the rest of the cat family.

[zegalba]

Alhambra Castle | Granada, Spain.

[reasonsforhope]

"One of the world's rarest cats, the Iberian lynx, is no longer classed as endangered, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

On Thursday [June 20, 2024], the IUCN, which categorises species according to the level of risk they face in a "red list", bumped the Iberian lynx from "endangered" to "vulnerable" after a significant surge in numbers.

Its population grew from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022. While young and mature lynx combined now have an estimated population of more than 2,000, the IUCN reports.

As the name suggests, the wild cat species calls the Iberian region - Spain and Portugal - home.

According to the latest census data, there were a total of 14 clusters where the animals were stable and reproducing. Of those, 13 were located in Spain and one in Portugal.

The wild cat used to be common across the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, but from the 1960s its numbers plummeted.

Habitat loss, poaching and road accidents all helped to push the species to the brink of extinction.

Now, the cat is coming back.

The increase is largely thanks to conservation efforts that have focused on increasing the abundance of its main food source - the also endangered wild rabbit, known as European rabbit.

Programmes to free hundreds of captive lynxes and restoring scrublands and forests have also played an important role in ensuring the lynx is no longer endangered.

Francisco Javier Salcedo Ortiz, a coordinator responsible for leading the conservation action, described it as the "greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved through conservation".

Mr Ortiz said there was still "a lot of work to do" to ensure the animals survive and the species can recover.

"Looking ahead, there are plans to reintroduce the Iberian lynx to new sites in central and northern Spain,” he added.

The area the species occupies is now much larger, according to IUCN, jumping from 449 sq km (173 sq miles) in 2005 to 3,320 sq km today."

-via BBC News, June 20, 2024

[renonv]

A while ago I had major autism moment and made a whole short nekotalia comic… in which baby Sebkitty goes out w Romacat and gets lost, and then Romacat and Itabby (after beating his brother’s ass for loosing his kid) go out to find him…

Sebkitty is thankfully found by Clawtonio who will help the little guy find his way home

[maureen2musings]

@tamaratoader

[romatito]

i am not immune to nekotalia spamano 😔😔🐱🐱

i think that bc roma has such a catlike personality already, he wouldnt get along with the cat version of himself very well and theyd end up just. fighting with each other constantly. which.... pisses romano off even more because. thats a fucking CAT what do you MEAN ?! and meanwhile spain just finds it all hilarious. and kind of adorable tbh.

[delpandaeyes]

CATalunya, gato dormindo. Barcelona, Catalonia . 2020

[ugartecoco]

[sitting-on-me-bum]

An Iberian lynx takes its first steps after being released in the Sierra de Arana mountain range near Granada, Spain. Five Iberian lynxes, three females and two males, were released in a mountainous area of Andalusi as part of the LIFE Lynx Connect project to repopulate this native species from the Iberian peninsula in the ecosystems most adapted to its characteristics

Photograph: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images

[natureisthegreatestartist]

Ready for some good conservation news? The Iberian lynx has been saved from extinction!

[tejennnn]

Couldn't stop thinking about Nekotalias every time I see silly kitty memes ;;;

Originals under cut!

((Casually drawing more Nekotalia redraws so I don't look really ded :')))

[is-the-fire-real]

Orange boy: Fritz Dilute calico: Bruja Silver/orange torbie: Apolonia Black kitter with cataracts: Duende

[gelthefunkyblob]

Faces of West Europe.

[pocketdays]

Chicharrona, Octubre 2024

[mindblowingscience]

A small team of paleontologists at Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC has discovered a new species of ancient feline based on study of a jawbone fossil. In their paper published in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the group describes a jawbone fossil uncovered near what is now Madrid, some of its features and where it fits in on the family tree of felines. Prior research has suggested that felines first evolved approximately 25 million years ago. In this new effort, the research team has found evidence of a feline that lived approximately 15.5 million years ago, near what is now Madrid, Spain.

Continue Reading.

[streetseeds]

Valencia 05/2024