Portugal plans to reintroduce the Iberian lynx, the world's most endangered feline species, into the wild, the country's environment ministry said in a statement Friday.

The Portuguese Institute for Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) signed contracts with the owners of 2,000 hectares of land in Mertola, 180 km southeast of Lisbon, where the Iberian lynx will soon be set free, Xinhua reported citing the ministry statement.