World Wildlife Day tomorrow (March 3) will be being celebrated by Silves’ lynx reproduction centre with the release of a new pair of big cats born in captivity – the first to be released outside of the borough of Mértola, reports Lusa.
Odelouca (female) and Ouriço will be tasting freedom for the first time in the Zona de Caça Turistica da Herdade de Sobreira, a 20,000 hectare stretch of wilderness in the natural park of Vale Guadiana.
The heart of the park is tourist attraction Pulo do Lobo (Wolf’s leap) – a stretch of the Guadiana river narrow enough for large animals to leap from Portugal to Spain.
Both big cats will be fitted with the customary GPS collars used by Project LIFE+Iberlince to monitor their survival.
Says Lusa, since 2014 27 lynx have been released into the natural park of which only three have met confirmed premature deaths. The collar of another (female) lynx was discovered last year though the animal’s carcass was not recovered.
In contrast 16 cubs have been born in the wild and there are currently six adult females due to give birth to cubs anytime this month.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
