The cats were released last Friday in Mértola, a town in the southern Portuguese district of Beja that borders with Spain.
The animals, a male and two females, all born in captivity in spring 2015, were named Mel, Mesquita and Malva by the locals of Mértola through a public vote.
Their names pay homage to the region’s main agricultural activities like beekeeping (‘Mel’ translates as honey) and flora.
All three lynxes were released straight into the wild, sidestepping a ‘soft-release’ adaption pen, and are fitted with tracking equipment so their movements can be monitored.
Four Iberian lynxes have now been released in Mértola this month after a single female was released at the start of February.