Wildtalk archives

Wildtalk Spain # 111: Florida turtles and Madrid wolves

Wildtalk Spain, an email newsletter from www.wild-spain.com
7 May 2007 - Issue 111


--------  Wild Spain Usability Tip # 2

[an occasional series on getting the most out of the Wild-Spain website]

Can I read a Field Report relevant to the area of Spain I'm visiting?
Sure. Some of the most interesting stuff on the site comes from folk like
you travelling around the country or from resident experts and enthusiasts
describing their home patch.
1. Go to Field Reports: http://www.wild-spain.com/wsfieldreports.php
2. Select "Search Field Reports" from the submenu bar on the right.
3. This brings up a list of all the current Field Reports. It is set by
default to "All Regions" but you can change to any you wish, from Andalusia
to La Rioja. Happy browsing!


------- News Briefs

. 75% of Spain's Loggerhead turtles come from Florida -
Thousands of Loggerhead turtles hatch on the Florida beaches in the USA and
then migrate thousands of kilometres across the Atlantic to Spanish waters
where they remain for 12 to 15 years until they are sexually mature, before
returning to their breeding grounds. Adolfo Marco, author of a genetic study
which confirms the origin of Spain's Loggerheads, is concerned that the
population of female turtles is plummeting, down by half in the last five
years. Since the Florida breeding grounds are well-protected the blame is
presumed to lie with long-line fishing rigs in the Mediterranean which are
estimated to accidentally kill over 20,000 turtles every year. Date: May 04,
2007 Source: El Mundo

. EU road-funds for Spain illegal, say environmentalists -
Spain's main environmental groups -WWF, SEO/BirdLife, Greenpeace,
Ecologistas en Acción and Amigos de la Tierra- have written to European
Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas asking for a block on EU
funds destined to building roads in Spain which would clash with existing
European environmental legislation. Plans for over 1800 km of roads and rail
would affect at least 372 natural areas and endangered species such as
Imperial eagle, Black vulture, Black stork, Bonelli's eagle or Iberian lynx.
Specific criticism has been made for the following: A-43 Puertollano-Mérida;
Toledo-Córdoba motorway (affects valle de Alcudia); Linares-Albacete (Sierra
de Alcaraz); Ruta de la Plata (Villafáfila reserve and Sierra de Aracena;
Cádiz-Algeciras (Alcornocales Natural Park); Cuenca Teruel
(Montes-Universales); Cuenca-Teruel (Serranía de Cuenca); Ciudad Real
Valencia (campos de Montiel and Calatrava); Puerto Norte de Valencia
(Albufera and beaches) and Puerto de Granadilla in Tenerife (protected coast
and marine habitats). Date: April 27, 2007 Source: El Mundo

. Wolves in Madrid -
Wolf sightings are becoming increasingly common in Segovia and Ávila,
provinces where they disappeared 40 years ago. Some wolves have even been
spotted recently in the mountains over the A1 tunnel leading into Madrid.
The sightings fit in with a general picture of southward expansion of
Iberian wolves from their stronghold in northern and north-western Spain.
Wolves are protected in most of their range throughout Europe but in
Castilla-León they may be legally shot with a permit. Unfortunately, says
biologist Yolanda Cortés, this encourages poaching so a total of 300 - 400
wolves are hunted in Spain each year, about the same as the number of cubs
produced by the entire population. Date: April 27, 2007 Source: El Mundo

For links to sources of these News Briefs see
http://www.wild-spain.com/wsbriefs.php


------- Latest questions [ Check out answers and/or share your knowledge ]

Walking in Galicia
http://www.wild-spain.com/noticeboard.php?tid=1962


------- Field Reports

Latest...
- Five months in the life of a pair of Bonelli's eagles in Casarabonela,
Málaga (Ian Shreeves, IS Travel)
- First bee eaters in Candeleda, Avila (Susan Reed, Posada Rincón de
Alardos)
http://www.wild-spain.com/wsfieldreports.php

Or post *your* report...
http://www.wild-spain.com/fieldreports.php?op=Post


------- Quick links into wild-spain.com

*Articles: http://wild-spain.com/wsarticles.php
* Pictures: http://wild-spain.com/wspictures.php
* Questions and Answers: http://wild-spain.com/wsnoticeboard.php
* Field Reports: http://www.wild-spain.com/wsfieldreports.php
* Directory: http://wild-spain.com/wsdirectory.php?op=home
* News archives: http://www.wild-spain.com/wsbriefs.php
* Back issues of this newsletter: http://archive.mail-list.com/wildtalk

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