Finding the place is not easy and it is supposed to be so, but that has never stopped the National Center for the Reproduction of the Iberian Lynx (CNRLI) from showing the important work it does in the recovery of this endangered species. Now, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) wants to take this effort even further and find new ways of communicating what is happening there.
Despite the fact that there are high-profile moments of contact with the public, namely the release of lynxes in the wild in Portugal, like the one that happened on the 3rd of May in Alcoutim, few have the exact idea of what is done, on a daily basis, in the infrastructure located in the interior of the municipality of Silves, which has given new lynxes to the world.
«We can think of having another communication strategy here for the work that is being done here. It is true that we are not the only ones to do this, there are also centers in Spain. But we have been much more concerned with making an intervention and creating conditions for it to be successful than actually communicating it», he revealed to the Sul Informação Nuno Banza, president of ICNF.
«We are at the stage of being able to communicate better and better, to show that people in Portugal and Spain can also do extraordinary things for the environment», he added.
The way forward is not yet defined, but it will certainly not involve opening the reproduction center to the general public. The solution must be a bigger – and different – presence on the Internet.
This authentic fortress protecting an endangered species rarely receives visitors, much less in large groups.
But, on special occasions, the CNRLI opens its doors, as happened on the 3rd, to show a delegation that included the Minister of the Environment and representatives of various entities, as well as the media, the new Training and Recovery Complex of Iberian Lynx (CTRLI).
The occasion served to publicly present this center, which is already in operation and has even “fruited”.
«This new valence was completed in 2019, but we have only recently started to use it. The center has two very important functions: the first is the possibility for us to have a space to intervene in animals that we had to collect in nature, for some reason - because they were injured or because they started to have deviant behaviors, namely being too close to the animals. humans», framed Nuno Banza.
“It is very important that when we bring animals from the field we manage to keep them completely separate from the other animals that are here in the centre, above all for health reasons”, he added.
This is because «we do not control the presence of bacteria, viruses or other types of microorganisms» in these animals, which may be in equilibrium in the field, «but which can have a negative effect on the population of animals that we have here».
“So it was very important to have a space where we could not only quarantine, but also have these bobcats and train them again, so they could be reintroduced into the natural world. That was something we didn't have yet», illustrated the same official.
The center's first tenant was the female lynx Paprika, “who was here to do a kind of weaning of the humans”.
«Then there is another valence that is also very important, the possibility of training animals that are ready to be introduced into nature for the first time. There is a great need for us to be able to guarantee that they acquire wild behaviors, that the behaviors they acquire are not behaviors conditioned by the relationship, either with food, or with humans themselves», explained Nuno Banza.
«It is very important that we manage to guarantee that the space where they are prepared to be placed in the field is as close as possible to the place where they will start to live», he concluded.
The fences of this training and recovery center have a part of forest occupation, a part in mosaic, an area of bush, but also have clearings of open field.
This set «makes them truly have an easier condition here to have a higher success rate in the reintroduction, so it is a very important infrastructure for us».
In this case, two lynx cubs were trained this year, with a view to their introduction into the wild on Spanish territory.
Another good news for those who are fond of this species is the reconstruction of the CNRLI observatory that existed at the Funcho dam, destroyed by the great fire of 2018, which is already being prepared.
From there, you can observe from a distance, through binoculars or the existing telescope, the lynx enclosures and, with any luck, some specimens of these animals.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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