Groundwork

Current trail camera footage of wild Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) at a site in east Co. Clare. Red Deer are not native to County Clare in the sense of continuous post-glacial occupation. Ireland’s original red deer population became extinct across most of the country by the early modern period, with the exception of the Killarney herd. The Red Deer present in Co. Clare today derive primarily from historical reintroductions during the 18th and 19th centuries. Although they are now well established and play the ecological role of a large native herbivore, they are genetically and historically distinct from Ireland’s native Killarney Red Deer.

Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) in Sierra de Andújar Natural Park, Andalusia, Spain, October 2025. The prey is a European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), the main food source for this species.

Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) hunting for rabbits in Sierra de Andújar Natural Park, Andalusia, Spain, October 2025. I recorded this video from a hide and was privileged to observe two individuals during the sessions. The hide is located beside a watering area, and the estate is managed to provide suitable habitat for rabbits - the main food source for this species. The Iberian Lynx is listed under Annexes II and IV of the EU Habitats Directive. In the early 2000s, it was on the brink of extinction, but numbers are now recovering thanks to intensive conservation efforts.