An adventurous Iberian lynx has made his way to the outskirts of Madrid.
More than 40 years have passed since the species has been spotted in the region, but one has been tracked to a town some 50km south of Madrid.
Conservationists have been working hard to re-establish the world’s most endangered feline and see it reintroduced.
This male, named Kentaro, was born in captivity and released with seven others in the Toledo area in late 2014. His GPS collar lets conservationists to keep track of his whereabouts.
Since gaining his freedom, he has covered about 100km which involved crossing several motorways, his trackers report.
"Not all lynxes are this adventurous. They tend to stay close to where they were born," says Ramon Perez de Ayala from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
But Kentaro has "packed his bags and set off on his travels," he says. "We've been lucky because the roads he has crossed are well fenced and he hasn't been run over. He will have followed the fences until he found a bridge, and then crossed over there."
Conservationists in Spain have had some success and seen the population increase to more than 300.
But traffic poses a serious danger to the lynx community. At least 21 were killed on the road in 2014 following the road deaths of 14 in 2013.
WWF is campaigning for regional governments to set up protective measures, such as fencing for roads and motorways.
The only breeding populations of lynx are both in southern Spain.
