Iberian Lynx recently in USA?

[TeaLovingDave]

That said, there are several CITES records of Iberian Lynx imported into the US from Spain and Portugal, but the numbers don't add up with the population, nor does it match the unknown status of the species here.

Before anyone jumps on this as potential justification of these wild claims, it should be noted that @Great Argus has misread the import records; they pertain to scientific specimens (blood, skin, bones etc) and not live animals; one should always pay attention to the trade terms and purpose column when checking the CITES Trade Database records

 

[TinoPup]

Also, keep in mind that ban was put in place because there were practically none left. It's not a species someone would just happen to accidentally get.

 

[Arizona Docent]

I am with @TeaLovingDave on this one. The photos he posted above shows that Ginger is definitely NOT an Iberian lynx. I would think Eurasian lynx, though I suppose his other suggestion of Eurasian x Canadian is possible. Like him, I have seen all four species of lynx in person (in zoos, plus two of the four - Iberian and bobcat - in the wild).

 

[ThylacineAlive]

As a third individual here who has seen Iberian Lynx in person, I also agree that the linked animal looks nothing like one to me.

I think it's important to add that just because she is a lynx that was imported from Spain, does not mean she is a Spanish Lynx. Zoos in Spain still keep Eurasian Lynx to this day. That animal was likely a Eurasian that was kept in captivity in Spain and eventually made her way to the US.

~Thylo

 

[SusScrofa]

As a third individual here who has seen Iberian Lynx in person, I also agree that the linked animal looks nothing like one to me.

I think it's important to add that just because she is a lynx that was imported from Spain, does not mean she is a Spanish Lynx. Zoos in Spain still keep Eurasian Lynx to this day. That animal was likely a Eurasian that was kept in captivity in Spain and eventually made her way to the US.

~Thylo

The articles and founder didn't say it was a lynx imported from Spain, it isn't even clear where they were obtained from. Those sources did however specifically call it a Spanish/Iberian Lynx, and also refer to it as "(one of) the rarest felines in the world".
The founder either mistakenly believed, or wanted others to believe, that it was truly Lynx pardinus, which it clearly now is not.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

The articles and founder didn't say it was a lynx imported from Spain, it isn't even clear where they were obtained from. Those sources did however specifically call it a Spanish/Iberian Lynx, and also refer to it as "(one of) the rarest felines in the world".
The founder either mistakenly believed, or wanted others to believe, that it was truly Lynx pardinus, which it clearly now is not.

I'm explaining what could have happened and why the misidentification may have been made.

~Thylo

 

[Tetzoo Quizzer]

As another who has seen Iberian Lynx in the wild, the captive photo does not show Lynx pardinus. Out of curiosity, are there any records of Iberian Lynx being kept privately in recent times, outside of the conservation breeding scheme(s)?

 

[Chlidonias]

I have long suspected that roadside zoo misidentifications are not intentional to attract attention but rather that the people who own the zoo have no idea what species they actually have.

That generally seems the most likely situation in the examples I've seen on Zoochat for American roadside zoos. The animals are, I guess, usually already misidentified by the dealer or previous owner when they arrive at the zoo, and the new owners simply lack the knowledge required (a) to know how unlikely the identification is, and (b) to make a correct identification anyway, so the mistake becomes solidified. Or they try to identify it themselves and don't have the knowledge for that. I'm sure there are roadside zoo owners who are very knowledgeable about animals, but a lot of them don't appear to be the full quid.

I'd be willing to bet this particular lynx started out as a Siberian Lynx before transforming into an Iberian Lynx through some error, and then to Spanish Lynx.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Out of curiosity, are there any records of Iberian Lynx being kept privately in recent times, outside of the conservation breeding scheme(s)?

I believe the last captive animal unconnected to the modern-day conservation breeding programme was held at Pont-Scorff in France around 20 years ago, with less recent holdings at Rome Zoo and Riber Castle Wildlife Park in the 1980s.

 

[Dassie rat]

ZTL lists the Iberian lynx being kept there in 2003-4 and a few zoos kept it in the second half of the 20th century,

 

[TinoPup]

That generally seems the most likely situation in the examples I've seen on Zoochat for American roadside zoos. The animals are, I guess, usually already misidentified by the dealer or previous owner when they arrive at the zoo, and the new owners simply lack the knowledge required (a) to know how unlikely the identification is, and (b) to make a correct identification anyway, so the mistake becomes solidified. Or they try to identify it themselves and don't have the knowledge for that. I'm sure there are roadside zoo owners who are very knowledgeable about animals, but a lot of them don't appear to be the full quid.

I'd be willing to bet this particular lynx started out as a Siberian Lynx before transforming into an Iberian Lynx through some error, and then to Spanish Lynx.

This is very often the case! When night monkeys started becoming popular a couple of years ago, I tried asking the owners at a few roadsides what species they held, since signs never said. All of them were surprised to learn there's multiple species. With coatis, this year I visited a zoo that had three coati exhibits - white-nosed, "red", and "mountain". Both the red and mountain are, of course, South American coati, but were being treated as separate species.