Around 1970, the Iberian lynx population contracted sharply due to rabbit decline from disease and habitat fragmentation in Spain and Portugal. Once widespread, numbers plummeted toward critically endangered status. Conservation efforts later followed, highlighting biodiversity loss themes in environmental poetry and ecological awareness.

The contraction of the Iberian lynx range in 1970 was featured in Spanish and Portuguese nature poetry. Poets like José Saramago used their work to highlight the fragility of ecosystems, advocating for conservation and awareness of endangered species, intertwining personal narratives with environmental themes.