Excitement ripples through the crowd that has gathered to catch a rare glimpse of the world'smost endangered cat.
With its lustrous, spotted coat, kohl-rimmed eyes and tufted ears, the Iberian lynx wouldnot look out of place in Africa or Asia. But this is Europe's big cat.
And the lynx that dozens of people have come out to see today could be the key to savingthis species.
The cat was once widespread across Spain and Portugal. But in 2005, its numbers plummetedto just 150, earning it the unenviable title of being the most threatened of the world's 36wild cat species.
One of the key factors in this animal's catastrophic decline was the loss of its main foodsource: rabbits, which were wiped out by disease.
Habitat destruction has also been a major problem for the lynx.
The situation was so desperate that conservationists in Spain were forced to take radicalaction: removing some of the cats from the wild and putting them into captivity to breed,in an attempt to boost numbers.
Miguel Simon, director of the Lynx Life project, said: "The situation was really dramatic:there were only two populations left in the wild.
"In order to preserve this species, we had to create a captive population in case the wildpopulation became extinct."
Continued: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17297897
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