Nature enthusiasts and wildlife explorers always love it when they get a chance to watch the Iberian Lynx. Andujar National Park in Spain can help you fulfill your dream if you are also an enthusiast. You can enjoy watching these wild cats at close quarters for days to study many things about them.
Sierra de Andujar National Park is in southern Spain, close to the Andalusian countryside. It is halfway between Cadiz and Valencia and is composed of many private hunting estates. In this wildlife habitat, you can get a closer view of the Iberian lynx having the time of their lives. Wildlife enthusiasts enjoy watching them because they are one of the many endangered species today.
Sierra de Andujar
Sierra de Andujar is a wildlife sanctuary where two females from the Iberian lynx have marked territory as not only their habitat of survival but also their breeding land. This territory comes right within the jurisdiction where human observers can get access to watch these species and can help you unravel the lives of these species unfold before your camera lens.
Iberian Lynx
The Iberian lynx, scientifically named Lynx pardinus, is a medium-sized wildcat from the Iberian Peninsula. You can distinguish the species by their spotted coats, short tails, and tufted ears. You can distinguish it whenever you are in Sierra de Andujar National Park from the unique facial ruff that runs along its neck and face. Its body color varies from yellowish to tints of rusty shades to blend perfectly with any bush as camouflage.
The males of the Iberian lynx weigh up to 15 to 20 kgs, and females weigh up to 10 to 15 kgs. Their maximum height will be at most 110 centimeters.
The Lifestyle
The Iberian lynx enjoys hunting at dawn and dusk. They prefer rabbit meat and hunt in scrub and open grassy regions. Their reproduction grounds should be highly dense areas with sheltered vegetation. Hence, they are found in maximum numbers in Sierra de Andujar National Park, as this park has everything they look for in a habitation.
For decades now, Andujar National Park has sheltered the maximum number of the Iberian lynx species to increase their numbers so that their name can come out from the endangered species list. You can enjoy watching their activities very closely, starting from when the cubs enjoy their time while their mother is on a hunt till, she is off for the hunt at dusk.
The mother allows her cubs to stick along for certain years till they become capable of going in search of hunting on their own. The Iberian lynx experts have concluded that these species are rabbit specialists. The wildcat knows the right place to look for rabbits, to isolate them, and to go directly for their neck for one kill sweep. As a result, the number of rabbit species in Andujar is decreasing.
Watching The Iberian Lynx
The cubs enjoy tumbling down the roads, chasing their siblings all day, running up and down the path, and skidding off the road into the nearby bushes. They enjoy their time while their mother is on the hunt for food. The constant running, tumbling down, and running here and there sometimes make it difficult for onlookers to capture the wild cat’s activities on their cameras.
Sierra de Andujar National Park has safeguarded the Iberian lynx species for decades by offering them the right habitat. You can enjoy watching all their activities whenever in this national park.