The clean-up campaign following Europe’s worst oil spill, in 1998, may be the last hope of saving the Iberian lynx. Ros Coward reports.

Looking at Coto Doñana in this year’s sunshine, it’s hard to believe only two years ago it was the site of Europe’s worst toxic spill. The lagoons and marshes, now drying up for summer, teem with wildlife. Flamingos move in the shallows among wading birds. There are storks’ nests on buildings and every so often a black shadow moves across the marshes; usually it’s a black kite but occasionally it’s a massive, imperial eagle. Doñana looks like the world heritage site it is, designated thus because its complex wetland ecology sustains an astonishing variety of plant, bird and animal species, including Europe’s most endangered carnivore, the Iberian lynx.

Full article: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2000/jul/26/endangeredspecies.oilspills