Background Up until the 19th century, the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) could be found in all the regions of Spain and Portugal. Since then, and particularly in the last decades of the 20th century, its population and distribution area have suffered an alarming decline. The species is the most threatened carnivorous mammal in Europe. There are currently only two reproductive populations of Iberian lynx, both in Andalusia (Doñana-Aljarafe and Eastern Sierra Morena). This medium-sized feline (8-14 kg) lives in areas characterised by a mixture of dense woodland, Mediterranean scrub and pasture. It prospers in areas with an abundance of its main prey - rabbits - and where interference from humans is minimal. The main causes of its decline have been epidemics that have greatly reduced rabbit population, resulting in a lack of food and loss of habitat. LIFE projects have already worked to improve the conservation status of this species, improving knowledge and understanding of its needs, developing a captive breeding and release programme and developing rabbit populations. However, many challenges remain and the species is not yet safe. Objectives This transnational project (Spain-Portugal) aims at restoring the historical distribution of the Iberian Lynx across areas of Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura (all in Spain) and Portugal. The project will work to reinforce numbers of the species in the existing populations, and establish new populations in areas identified as appropriate. The project will introduce individual animals both bred in captivity or captured elsewhere to increase the numbers of animals in the existing populations and increase the genetic diversity of these populations. It will also seek to increase their breeding and survival rates by continuing work to improve the habitat to favour the species and particularly to facilitate a quantifiable increase of connectivity between population cores through corridors. The project will continue to develop measures to improve the co-operation of relevant stakeholders in protecting the species, particularly landowners, hunters and road users. These combined actions seek to decrease the mortality of the species from accidental road death, furtive hunting and pursuit and other negligent activities, including poisoning. The project will carefully identify areas with sufficient resources for the reintroduction of self-sustaining populations of lynx in Portugal, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Andalusia. It will then use habitat-improvement and threat-reduction measures and strategic release to try to establish four new Iberian lynx populations, each with five territorial females, in the most suitable of these. Expected results: Increase the numbers of existing Iberian lynx populations to 70 territorial females in Eastern Sierra Morena and 25 in Doñana-Aljarafe; Increase the heterozygosity of existing populations by 7% in Doñana-Aljarafe and by 3% in Eastern Sierra Morena; Decrease in mortality rates of the species from different identified causes: road kill by 30%; furtive hunting and pursuit by 20%; other negligence by 10%; and infectious diseases by 10%; Establish four new Iberian lynx populations with five territorial females each in different SCIs where the species was present historically; and Achieve a specimen fixation rate of no less than 50% from the released individuals and a recruitment of no less than 33% from the reintroduced females.