A hunter is being investigated after an animal which had recently been released was found shot dead.
Authorities found Woodstock, an Iberian Lynx, dead in Tordehumos near Valladolid in Spain’s autonomous community of Castilla y Leon, months after it had been re-introduced into the wild as part of a national scheme.
According to the Guardia Civil, the same huntsman is also being probed forkilling a domestic cat.
Specialists from the National Heritage Foundation were alerted to Woodstock after his GPS tracking device stopped registering movements on September 21.
Police have released a picture showing the animal within the target of a gun visor scope at night.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro's newsletter or get alerts the moment it happens.
The animal’s corpse was later discovered on a hunting reserve in the area of Medina de Rioseco.
Woodstock was one of several Iberian Lynxes re-introduced to nature near Palencia in central Spain last spring.
Endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, Iberian Lynxes were in decline for much of the 20th century primarily due to overhunting, poaching, and destruction of natural habitats, but have since made a revival thanks to conservation measures.
Laws passed during Francisco Franco’s dictatorship encouraged people to hunt and eat lynxes, classifying them as ‘vermin’.
The cats were also prized by hunters for their valuable fur coats.
The species is currently ‘vulnerable’ according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but was on the verge of becoming extinct at the turn of the century.
Since then, an estimated population of just 93 individuals has swelled to more than 2,000.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
MORE: Spain travel warning as flights and trains to face worst disruption in 14 years
MORE: Jet2 reveals 2027’s top holiday destinations – and number one is a classic
MORE: Hawk diagnosed as ‘too fat’ for gorging on chickens and sleeping all day