Record-breaking Iberian Lynx dies aged 20

The world's oldest-ever Iberian Lynx, a female named 'Aura', has died at the age of 20 years and six months, well beyond the average of 15 in the wild.

Aura was one of the first animals to be captured as young in a desperate bid to bring the cat back from the bring of extinction through a conservation breeding programme.

When she was born in Doñana National Park in 2002, only 94 of the cats survived there, following decades of direct persecution, general human encroachment and diseases such as myxomatosis in their rabbit prey. The situation is very different today, with the population now in excess of 1,300 Iberian Lynx.

Aura had "a lot of personality"; her final litter was in 2018 (Diego Delso).

A big part of this success is down to Aura. During her lifetime she gave birth to 14 kittens, leading to a transformative legacy of more than 900 lynx bearing her genes today.

Antonio Rivas, operator of El Acebuche breeding centre in the Andalucían province of Huelva, said: "When she was born, the species was in danger of extinction. When she died, 20 years later, there were 14 population centres in both Spain and Portugal, with 1,365 wild animals. It's a phenomenal legacy and she did a great job."

He said it had been a difficult decision to capture young lynx for captive breeding, but it had paid off by turning the fortunes of the cat around.

Rivas said that Aura had a memorable character: "I'll always remember her as a bit of a grumpy one because she had to compete with another female lynx called Saliega, who became very famous because she was the first lynx to have a litter in captivity.

"Aura had her first litter a couple of years later. She was a bit grumpier and a bit more aggressive than Saliega. But Aura was a magnificent animal and she looked after her litters beautifully."

She was very particular when the time came to give birth. Rivas explained: "She needed peace and to feel the morning and air and the warmth of the afternoon. We had to put up a canopy when she was giving birth once because it was raining heavily and we were worried about the litter. She was very demanding and she had a lot of personality. But she was great."

Aura had her last litter in 2018, after which she was moved to an area where the public could view her and learn about Iberian Lynx. Public engagement is another key aspect of the cat's conservation, with threats including road casualties and the impact of drought, as seen in Doñana this year.

Rivas said: "In the last years of her life, she enjoyed retirement as an ambassador. Up to her very last day, she was contributing to the conservation of the Iberian Lynx."