Climate Change Will Wipe-Out Rare Iberian lynx within 50 Years, Researchers Say

Climate change could wipe out the last remaining individuals of Iberian lynx- the world's rarest cat species- in the next half century, according to a study. Researchers say that the species will go extinct in the near future despite conservationists' efforts to save the cats.

The Iberian lynx is the world's most endangered species with number of individual cats falling between 84 o 143 adults. The cat has a prominent beard around its face and black ear tufts, according to WWF.

Experts believe that the current strategies to save the cats from extinction aren't enough and that climate change is playing an important factor contributing to its dwindling numbers.

"We show that climate change could lead to a rapid and severe decrease in lynx abundance in coming decades, and probably lead to its extinction in the wild within 50 years. Current management efforts could be futile if they don't take into account the combined effects of climate change, land use and prey abundance on population dynamics of the Iberian lynx," Dr Damien Fordham, from the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute, lead author of the study, said in a news release.

Currently, the remaining few individuals of the Iberian lynx are holed up in two places in southern Spain- Sierra Morena and the Donana National Park.  The past few decades has seen its habitat reduce from 15,600 square miles to 463 square miles, reports AFP.

Scientists said that policymakers should aim at releasing cats bred in captive in habitats that are least fragmented, which could help the cats survive for a long period of time. At present, conservationists plan on releasing about 20 to 40 of these cats in the wild.

Recently, scientists from Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research IZW, Berlin, Germany collected and preserved Iberian lynx embryos in hopes that they could help the cat survive.

The present study is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.