The first big cat species to become extinct since the sabre-toothed tiger
Avi Blizovsky
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/iberian_lynks.html
With the opening of the year 2003 may symbolize the beginning of the end for a wild species of big cat on earth since the saber-toothed tiger became extinct in the pre-historic period. The reason - massive felling of the cork tree forests that serve as their habitat. Due to the demand for natural cork and its replacement by synthetic materials in the corks of wine and champagne bottles, farmers are cutting down the cork trees to make room for more profitable crops and the pointy-eared Iberian schooner may be one of those paying the price.
This Iberian schooner has yellow fur dotted with brown spots and can reach the size of a medium dog and weigh 14 kilograms.
"Contrary anti-cork propaganda by manufacturers of artificial materials has led many people to think that corks are bad for the environment when quite the opposite is true," said Beatrice Richards of the Wildlife Fund (WWF) in London.
"If something radical is not done to save the lynx, it will become extinct within a decade. Until now it was believed that there were a thousand individuals of this species and today it is estimated that there are less than two hundred. Of these, 30 are fertile females. Even rare species of deer and eagles may suffer from the cutting of the cork forests that have long been the heart of commercial agriculture in the region, and at the peak of production it reached 15 billion corks a year.
Save the schooner.
For information on the subject at the BBC
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~410991278~~~32&SiteName=hayadan
