
Catalonia has an Iberian lynx again. As part of the monitoring of protected species carried out by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Rural Agents have captured for the first time the presence of a new specimen of Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) in the Pre-Pyrenees of Lleida, an area where this species had disappeared decades ago.
The detection was made by a camera trap located in a natural environment, which recorded an image of the feline in March, and now the Department of Territory, Habitat and Ecological Transition, with the operational support of the body of Rural Agents of the Department of Interior and Public Safety, has announced in a statement.
The specimen, a four-year-old male known as “Secreto”, was identified thanks to his fur and the transmitter collar he was wearing. Bred in captivity, Secreto was released in the Sierra Norte de Sevilla in 2022, as recently confirmed by the Junta de Andalucía. Naturally, he has traveled hundreds of kilometers to settle in Catalan territory.
Secreto is not the first Iberian lynx to arrive in Catalonia recently. In 2018, another male named “Litio”, released in Portugal, was located in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, but had to be captured for security reasons and subsequently relocated to Andalusia.
The Iberian lynx was until some time ago an autochthonous species in Catalonia, although it disappeared from the territory in the middle of the 20th century. Since then, its reintroduction and recovery have been the object of important conservation efforts at the Iberian level.
From being on the brink of extinction in 2000, with less than a hundred specimens, the population has grown to over 2,000 individuals in 2025, thanks to captive breeding and release programs in different regions of Spain and Portugal.
The arrival of Secreto in the Pre-Pyrenees confirms the success of these programs and opens the door to the possible natural recolonization of the Iberian lynx in areas where it once lived. The Catalan environmental authorities, together with the Ministry of Ecological Transition and other autonomous communities involved, will continue with the monitoring and protection of this emblematic species.