Villanueva del Rio y Minas, SpainSecreto looked at the box for a moment, then he ran off to freedom.
Sirena followed shortly, but she didn’t hesitate before escaping to a new life of freedom in the countryside.
This rare opportunity to see two Iberian Lynx being released into the wild was offered by a private estate located in the countryside near Seville, southern Spain.
The sight of the animals’ pointy, tufty ears, and distinctive dotted hairs brought cheers to those who saw Secreto or Sirena embrace the wild.
It is hoped that the males and females will help to reproduce the Iberian lynx species, which has come back from near extinction.
Around 1,100 lynx were found in southern Spain and Portugal 40 years ago.
Near extinction
However, this number had dropped to just 94 by 2002 due to humans hunting, the destruction its natural habits and a series of diseases among its favourite food source, the rabbit.
This rare cat was designated as critically endangered and faces the same fate that the sabre-toothed Tiger, which died 11700 years ago.
Twenty years later, after an ambitious breeding program, the most recent census of lynx numbers for 2020 showed that its numbers have increased to 1,100.
The feline has made a remarkable recover but it is not yet safe. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it is still considered endangered.
The lynx was saved by a large number of rabbits. These were introduced to the main breeding grounds in 2002 and 2020 at a cost over one million euros ($1.1m).
In the framework of the animal program Life +Iberlince in Toledo, an Iberian lynx was released [Fila: Ismael Herrero/EPA]We waited for these rare cats while we waited. It wasn’t hard to figure why the Arenillas estate was chosen. Rabbits were hopping everywhere as we waited.
Life LynxConnect is a feline restoration project. The veterinarians responsible for it, Life LynxConnect chose this spot with care.
After one year, the lynxes can be released in areas with a known population.
As proud parents, the project participants follow the lives of the animals in the wild via GPS tags.
Javier Salcedo is the leader of the five year Life LynxConnect. He stated that the goal was to increase the population so that it can be classified as endangered instead of vulnerable.
There are four breeding centers, three in Spain and one in Portugal.
Al Jazeera was told that the project aims to connect different nuclei in lynxes to increase diversity and ensure they are not isolated.
Salcedo, who has been leading the project for two-years, said itThis is a huge satisfaction for me.
Budgets in the tens of millions
Since 2000, Europe has been working to save the lynx.
60 percent of Life LynxConnect’s budget of 18.7million-euro ($20.8m), from 2020-2025, is provided by the European Commission. The remainder comes from the Spanish and Portuguese governments as well as private companies and charitable foundations such the World Wildlife Foundation.
It is not enough to just throw money at an endangered animal and hope for the best.
The photogenic feline has been saved by the public relations battle to win landowners, hunters, and the general public.
Every year, organisers name animals after a letter from the alphabet. This year’s letter is S.
Local schoolchildren chose Secreto or Sirenas names. Children are invited to view the lynxes disappear into the undergrowth after they are released.
Marina Espila Zorrila, eighteen years old, placed a special importance on the lynxes at this time.
She was a victim of leukaemia and was encouraged to adopt Secreto or Sirena to aid her in her fight against the grueling chemotherapy.
It was her prize today to come along to the hatch to let them out if they got better. Her aunt Irene Zorrila Delgado from Malaga, southern Spain, said that the lynx have encouraged her.
Through their lives, we have shown them pictures of the lynx. It has given her strength.
Marina, who has made a full and complete recovery from cancer, smiled to say: They were beautiful.
Protecting the ecosystem
Fatima Ramirez was the owner and operator of Finca Arenillas where the lynx were released. She said that the felines were good for nature.
We are very pro-lynxes. We have experienced an invasion by foxes. If nothing is done, the other species will disappear. Lynxes can be a good thing because they eliminate any competition for food. She explained that this compensates for the ecosystem.
General Francisco Franco, a Spanish dictator, introduced a law in the 1950s that classed the Lynx as vermin. Hunting continued for decades until the ban was implemented in the late 1970s.
Myxomatosis and haemorrhagic diseases decimated the rabbit population in the 1990s.
The main threat to the lynx today is being run over by cars or hunting. This is making a comeback as the population of these felines is increasing.
Jorge Barciela, a veterinarian who analyzes how lynxes get killed, stated that secret lynx hunting has become a growing problem.
They are regarded as big trophies. The fines are very severe. He said that we can close down estates where this happens, but it is very difficult for us to determine who is doing this.
Destruction of habitat
Barciela claimed that the Iberian lynx had been driven to the point where it was extinct by progressive road building in rural areas, forestry programmes that destroyed its natural habitat, hunting, as well as a succession of diseases that decimated its rabbit population.
Guillermo Lpez his veterinarian colleague said that, despite the lynx’s charming appearance, the public relations battle was not over yet.
Is the Spanish society now willing to support our efforts? It all depends on where you are from. He told Al Jazeera that if you are from the city, it is true. However, if your origins are from the country then no.
Some farmers and poachers oppose it. But, internationally, we are doing well.