This is the latest news from Dan Wards excellent LynxBriefs
Posted on:
http://www.iberianature.com/material/iberianlynxnews.htm#lynxbreeding 
This is the best site for up to date news on the Iberian Lynx.
Please take note of number 6, some advice on what you can do to help.

"Some conclusions from the August 2006 LynxBrief by Dan Ward . Download complete report 

1. There are now 21 lynxes in the captive breeding programme, spread across two centres – in El Acebuche near Doņana and Zoo Jerez. This includes 5 captively bred lynx and 16 incorporated wild-born founder individuals. A new, larger breeding centre is now nearing completion in Jaén province, close to the wild population in the Sierra de Andújar. It is
planned that the captive population will be increased to over 60 by 2010

2 Despite a number of recent reports of new lynx presence, including in Montes de Toledo (Castilla-La Mancha), in a area just west of Madrid, and Sevilla (Andalucia), breeding populations of Iberian Lynx can still only be confirmed in two places: Doņana and Andújar-Cardeņa (both in Andalucia).
Figures released in early 2006 from the Andalucian Regional Government – produced by camera trap and footprint surveys – are for 141-169 lynx (adults and cubs > 6 months old) across these two areas in 2005

3 There has been a slight recovery in Andújar – Cardeņa in recent years in both the size and the range of the population, in part due to conservation work by several organisations. Although the population
remains small and vulnerable, e.g. to forest fires or a crash in local rabbit populations, the situation has improved slightly.

4. The Doņana population has not recovered over recent years and remains small with just 20-35 adult lynx (Junta de Andalucia 2006). Moreover, the reproductive rate of lynxes in Doņana dropped in 2005, with only six females giving birth, and each raising on average just 1 cub. In addition, almost all breeding females in Doņana are located outside the protected area, where mortality rates are higher (see below) and habitat continues to be consumed by intensive agriculture. It has been concluded that both these worrying changes have been driven primarily by a further decline in the abundance of rabbits (the main lynx prey), particularly inside the National Park where rabbit densities dropped by 73% between 2000 and 2004 alone.

5 The level of non-natural mortality of Iberian Lynx is itself cause for concern, given the small size of remnant populations. Moreover, as with most species, recorded lynx mortality probably only represents a part of actual mortality, which may be significantly higher, given the practical difficulties of finding dead lynx in extensive, mostly private hunting, areas. In particular, it has been assumed that there is a high level of mortality amongst juvenile dispersing lynx in Andújar- Cardeņa, which is not currently being recorded. New developments with smaller lynx radio collars may permit this particular knowledge gap to be addressed in the near future. One of the most striking findings of the record of lynx mortality for the last 18 months is that road-kills continue to be a significant – and perhaps the most significant – cause of lynx deaths, as shown in the graph below. This is particularly the case for the Doņana lynx population, where 6 lynx have been killed by vehicles in the last 18 months alone. This continues a trend occurring over recent years. For example, 18 lynxes have been runover between 2000 and 2006 around Doņana.

6 LynxBrief advises all those interested and working in lynx conservation to write a letter to the President of Andalucia calling upon him to urgently implement an emergency lynx recovery plan in Doņana. Such a plan is needed given the very small size, isolation and lack of recovery of the Doņana population, and the on-going threats from fast motor traffic and the loss of habitat to intensive farming and other developments. Individuals and organisations should write to:

Excmo. Sr Presidente de la Junta de Andalucía,
Dr Manuel Chaves, Palacio de San Telmo,
Avenida de Roma, 41071 Sevilla, SPAIN
email: manuel.chaves@..."