Drones to help track Spain’s Iberian lynx
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The Minister for the Environment and Territorial Planning, José Fiscal, has signed a collaboration agreement with the companies Enel Green Power Spain and Microsensory for the development of a drone prototype to radiolocate Iberian lynxes. The Ministry, as a project partner, will contribute its scientific-technical knowledge and validate the correct operation of the drone. Enel Green Power Spain will be in charge of financing it, contributing a total of 20,000 euros, and Microsensory will be the entity in charge of carrying it out.
The agreement will last for one year and aims to advance in the monitoring of Iberian lynxes with radiomarkers reintroduced into the natural environment within the framework of the Recovery Program promoted by the Junta de Andalucía.
Until now, the radiomarkers used (VHF collars) have provided very valuable information regarding the use of space and the dispersal routes of the released individuals, but this monitoring was more random depending on the orography of the terrain and required daily surveillance by of an operator
Lower extinction level
During the event, the Prosecutor assured that the project seeks to improve monitoring and study through the latest available technology, providing more data and refining searches. The Environment Minister recalled that recently, and thanks to the conservation actions of the species carried out by the Junta de Andalucía, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has lowered the threat category of the Iberian lynx from Danger Critical from Extinction to Endangered, since the populations have increased from 97 specimens recorded in 2002 to 327 in 2014.
