The kittens were born to a female which had also been born in the unit which was set up specifically to foster the recovery of this threatened species.
In a statement, the Institute for Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), which oversees the centre, expressed “pride” in the fact that the mother, named Juromenha, had given birth for the first time after being paired with a male named Fresco.
“This is the first female born in Silves to give birth in the Portuguese centre,” it said. “In addition there is the fact that this female was raised artificially by the centre’s team for a month and a half” after she and her two siblings were abandoned by their mother.
Fresco, it added, has already sired 18 kittens born at the CNRLI as part of the Iberian Lynx Breeding Programme.
Juromenha had already previously been paired with another male Jabugo in the mating season last year but without success, so the decision to find another “more experienced” partner turned out to be the right one.
The mother is also “showing exemplary maternal behaviour and the kittens are developing normally,” the ICNF reported.
The latest kittens join seven others born so far this year at the Silves centre.
Lynxes from the breeding programmes in Spain and Portugal have already been introduced into the wild, albeit with mixed success so far.