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• Marmots continue to re-colonise Catalan Pyrenees - Alpine marmots, Europe's biggest rodent, first reintroduced to the French side of the Catalan Pyrenees in the 1950s could one day occupy all alpine and subalpine meadows in this mountain range. Bernat Claramunt and his co-authors, writing in Ethology Ecology and Evolution, state that there are now over 10,000 marmots in the Catalan Pyrenees and maps their expansion. The marmots could actually help biodiversity, explain the researchers, as they provide food for golden eagles, foxes and other predators. Risk of competition with other herbivores, such as rock ptarmigans, is considered slight. The "adaptive flexibility of the marmots, better climate conditions on the south of the mountain range, and the lower density of important predators explain the rapid expansion of the species" said Claramunt.
Date: March 16, 2010 Source: Plataforma SINC
• Tortoises reintroduced to Valencia - Over three hundred Hermann's tortoises, many previously kept as pets, have been reintroduced to the hills of Sierra de Irta (Castellón). Most have adapted well to their new conditions and some may already be breeding. The objective is to create a stable population in the Valencia community for this globally endangered reptile. The only original population of Hermann's tortoises in Spain is in Catalonia, in Sierra de La Albera (Girona). Elsewhere in Catalonia there are reintroduced populations in Delta del Ebro, El Garraf and Sierra del Montsant. The species is also found in the Balearic islands of Mallorca and Menorca, where it is thought to have been introduced 3,000 years ago.
Date: March 10, 2010 Source: Quercus
• Wintering crane population trebles - A 2007 census reveals that 152,000 Common cranes now winter in Spain, three times as many as twenty years ago. This is due mainly to better reproductive success of crane nesting grounds in Norway, Sweden and Germany. Cranes from this Western Migratory Route also winter in smaller numbers in France (50,000), Germany (7,000), Portugal (6,000) and Morocco (1,000). On the other hand, crane wintering grounds have shifted north over the last century. Up to the start of the 20th century most cranes from northern Europe wintered in Africa, but warmer winters and hunting bans seem to have encouraged the species to travel no further than Iberia in recent decades.
Date: March 09, 2010 Source: Aves y Naturaleza (pub. by SEO/Birdlife)
• Wettest winter in over fifty years - Pending full statistics for the recent rainy weather the Spanish Met Agency (Aemet) has advanced that this winter is the wettest in Spain for the past 51 years. Most rain has fallen in Andalucía, Catalunya and southeast Castilla-La Mancha. Reservoirs are at 72% of capacity, up 27% from the average for the last decade. Temperatures continue to be mild and more rain is expected.
Date: March 09, 2010 Source: Público
• Storm damages tree collection of La Granja, Segovia - The recent "perfect storm" has uprooted unique trees in the royal gardens of La Granaja, Segovia. Nearly 300 ancient specimens, including 30 metre sequoias, as well as valuable limes and conifers have been knocked down by the intense winds.
Date: March 09, 2010 Source: Norte de Castilla
• Great Bustard courtship details revealed - A study on 250 Great Bustards in Los Oteros (León) publishes new details about courtship behaviour for this species. The report, published in Ecology and Sociobiology, reveals that male bustards point their tail feathers towards the sun whilst displaying to ensure visibility to females over longer distances. The males, some weighing over 15 kg, congregate at communal displaying grounds or leks to attract females. Mating takes place preferentially in the mornings, possibly to avoid the attention of foxes and other predators. Spain, particularly Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid, is a stronghold for this species which has disappeared from most of Europe.
Date: March 09, 2010 Source: El Mundo
• Winning wolf photo disqualified - The winner of the 2009 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, an international contest run by
London's Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine, has been
disqualified after judges ruled that the featured Iberian wolf was probably
a tame animal. The image, dubbed the storybook wolf, was taken by
photographer José Luis Rodríguez, who has also been banned from entering the
competition again. His photograph was chosen out of more than 43,000
competition entries in October 2009. The judging panel has now concluded
that it was likely that the wolf featured in the image was an animal model
that could be "hired for photographic purposes", in contravention of the
competition rules. Experts compared the winning picture to pictures of
Ossian, a tame wolf that lives at a zoological park near Madrid called
Cañada Real. The announcement follows weeks of international speculation
within nature photography circles - many were surprised by the fact that the
wolf in the photo is shown jumping a fence rather than finding a way around
or under it, as "wild" behaviour would normally dictate.
Date: January 21, 2010 Source: BBC and others
• Rain brings relief to Daimiel - Heavy rain and snow have re-flooded the Tablas de Daimiel National Park in less than two months. In early December the park was dry and smouldering from an underground peat-fire, now Daimiel has 160 hectares covered in water - a big difference but still less than 10% of full capacity. Nobody knows how long the water will last given that the region is spiked by 23,000 wells.
Date: January 21, 2010 Source: Crónica Verde
• Imperial eagle exhibition in railway stations - A temporary exhibition on the biology and conservation of the Spanish Imperial Eagle is on tour in selected railway stations around the country: Madrid-Atocha (up to 24 Jan.), Segovia-Guiomar (25 Jan. -7 Feb.), Puertollano (8-21 Feb.), Córdoba (22 Feb. - 9 March), Cáceres (11-24 March). The exhibition is organised by SEO/Birdlife and funded by Adif, Fundación Biodiversidad and Caja Madrid. Date: January 21, 2010 Source: SEO/Birdlife
• Walking in Cuenca website - A new official website lists over 100 walks in the province of Cuenca. The online database is searchable by length, difficulty or area. Follow link for website with details of PRs and GRs (in Spanish), maps and waypoints .
Date: January 21, 2010 Source: Senderos de Cuenca
• Genetic research to help La Gomera Giant Lizards - A new genetic study of La Gomera Giant Lizards could support captive breeding programmes for this endangered species in the Canary Islands. The breeding efforts in the "Lagartario" centre in Valle Gran Rey are advancing slowly, despite a captive stock of 121 animals. The study will also help in the scheduling of reintroductions to el Risco de la Mércia, where there is already a wild population of lizards. Also, there is currently a plan to rid the Risco de la Mércia of goats and rats which are known to hinder the lizard's natural breeding efforts.
Date: December 01, 2009 Source: El Mundo
• Sierra Nevada, a strategic climate change observatory - The Sierra Nevada mountains of Granada are one of ten sites chosen from around the world by UNESCO's climate change research programme. The Glochamore (Global Change in Mountain Regions) project has run in Sierra Nevada since 2007 as is now to continue into a second stage, up to 2011. Sierra Nevada, strategically positioned between Europe and Africa is specially vulnerable to climate change. In an expanse less than 30 km wide and three thousand metres high "variations take place comparable to those occurring over hundreds of kilometres" pointed out the National Park's director, Javier Sánchez. A task force of over one hundred people are already keeping regular records of 116 indicators, including weather, fauna, flora, plagues, and diseases.
Date: December 01, 2009 Source: El País
• Spanish-Portuguese friction over river Tagus - Spain and Portugal are in conflict over the river Tagus (Tajo). Minimum
levels for the Tagus as it flows into Portugal from Spain were set in the
1998 Albufeira convention but are not being met, says Portugal. Spain blames
the drought, but pressure groups in Portugal claim excessive water is being
siphoned off to the Segura basin in Eastern Spain. Environmental groups on
both sides of the border have raised the alarm about Spanish plans for a new
water transfer to the Segura from the middle reaches of the Tagus in
Extremadura, just before the Portuguese border. Tens of thousands of people
protested last June in Talavera de la Reina against excessive transfers from the Tagus to Spain's Mediterranean region.
Date: December 01, 2009 Source: El País
• Spain's seabird sites, online - SEO/Birdlife has catalogued Spain's main Important Areas for the Conservation of Seabirds in Spain. The study, which has taken four years to compile, lists a total of 42 sites: 10 in the Canaries, 8 in the peninsular north and north-west, 8 in the Mediterranean-Atlantic transition between Sea of Alborán and Gulf of Cádiz, and 16 in the Mediterranean. Many of the IBAs are also hot-spots for other marine species such as turtles, whales, dolphins and pelagic fish. Follow link for online version, in Spanish with maps and diagrams.
Date: December 01, 2009 Source: SEO/Birdlife
• Spanish wolf photo wins top international award - A picture of a wolf leaping over a fence in northern Spain has won the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009 award, run by BBC Wildlife Magazine and London's Natural History Museum. The photo, by Jose Luis Rodriguez, was selected out of 43,000 entries. "I wanted to capture a photo in which you would see a wolf in an act of hunting - or predation - but without blood," said Rodriguez who used a photographic trap that included a motion sensor and an infrared barrier to operate the camera. Follow link for photo and story.
Date: October 22, 2009 Source: BBC
• Peat fire is nail in the coffin for Daimiel - Underground peat deposits in Spain's Tablas de Daimiel National Park have been on fire for several weeks, possibly since August, Park authorities have revealed. These wetlands in La Mancha region, once a world-class wildfowl sanctuary, dried up completely in 2005 but they've suffered from lack of water for the past 40 years. Thousands of agricultural irrigation wells, most of them illegal, have caused the water table to drop so far that giant cracks have appeared in the fossil peat bogs which the Tablas rest on. High temperatures over the summer caused the desiccated peat to start self-combusting. "The fire is like a cigar's, slow and flameless" said Luis Moreno, of Spain's Mining and Geology Institute (IGME). Even if the fire is contained it may be too late to save Daimiel as the burned peat becomes porous and it's water retention qualities are lost. Luis Moreno, the Park's director, is pessimistic: "The process is practically irreversible. The damage is done... We're too late". Date: October 16, 2009 Source: El País
• Unemployment could make Spain greener - Few nations are better positioned -- or motivated -- to fuse the fight against recession and global warming than Spain, argues Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post's Foreign Service. Spain generates about 24.5 percent of its electricity through renewable sources, and exports more windmills and solar panels than wine. Now with unemployment at 18.5 percent, the government is preparing to take a dramatic next step. Through a combination of new laws and public and private investment, officials estimate that they can generate a million green jobs over the next decade. In the long term, the government envisions a new army of engineers and technicians nurturing windmills and solar farms amid the orange orchards and carnation fields of Andalusia and Galicia. In the short term, officials say, the renewable-energy projects and refurbishing of buildings and homes for energy efficiency could redeploy up to 80 percent of the million construction workers here who lost their jobs in 2008. Date: October 16, 2009 Source: Washington Post
• Bears cross motorway in search for mates - Brown bears from the two subpopulations in the Cantabrian mountains of northern Spain may finally be cross-breeding, according to recent findings released by the regional government of Asturias. Genetic material collected in the field from hair and droppings in the Redes Natural Park confirms that at least two bears are hybrids. Scientists hope to find more evidence that some bears are making it across the AP-66 "Huerna" motorway, the biggest man-made barrier between the Western and Eastern populations. It appears that bears are crossing the fenced-off motorway on the stretches where it tunnels through the mountains, said García Gaona, Asturia's Director of Biodiversity and Landscape, who also stated that "the genetic crossover between the populations opens new horizons for the conservation of this species". Current estimates for bears in the Cantabrian mountains are 130 in total: 100 in the Western population (Alto Sil area of León, part of Lugo and northern Asturias) and 30 in the Eastern population (NE León, north of Palencia and the mountains of Cantabria).
Date: September 08, 2009 Source: El Mundo
• Birding on disused railway tracks - Spain's "greenways", old disused railway lines that have been recovered and reconditioned for use by walkers and cyclists, are to be promoted also to encourage bird-watching and bird conservation, according to a recent agreement between the Spanish Train Foundation (FEE) and the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO/Birdlife). Follow link for online guide in English to Spain's Greenways.
Date: June 16, 2009 Source: Greenways
• The village that doesn't want Imperial eagles - The village of San Román de los Montes, in the Sierra de San Vicente area of Toledo, achieved some notoriety when a national newspaper announced that it was the one village which had so far refused to join the Imperial eagle "stewardship" network. The programme, implemented by SEO/Birdlife and backed by the Ministry of Environment, has so far been joined by 57 councils specially selected because of the presence of endangered Imperial eagles in the vicinity. Selected councils are invited to join the network and to take into consideration the presence of Imperial eagles in policy decisions, including education and urban development. There are an estimated 250 pairs of Imperial eagle in Spain, the total world population.
Date: June 16, 2009 Source: Público
• Ospreys nest once more in mainland Spain - Ospreys have nested successfully in mainland Spain for the first time in 70 years. Two pairs originally released as youngsters in Andalucía have spent two years maturing in Mali and Senegal before flying back across the Sahara to breed in Spain this spring. One pair nested in the Odiel marshes of Huelva and the other next to a reservoir in Cadiz. Between them they raised five chicks. This is hailed as a breakthrough for the research team lead by Miguel Ferrer which has so far released 108 young ospreys from northern Europe in Cadiz and Huelva.
Date: June 16, 2009 Source: El País
• Return of the otter - Otters (Lutra lutra) are no longer threatened in Spain, according to a report published by the Ministry of Environment and compiled by 250 researchers led by José Mª López Martín and Juan Jiménez Pérez. The report reviews the evolution of the otter population in Spain over the last 20 years and concludes the species is making a comeback, both in rivers and on the coastlines. In a 2006 census otters were found in nearly 70% of sampling stations. Improved water quality, less poaching and the higher presence of crayfish (mainly introduced) are thought to be the main reasons for the recovery. Date: June 16, 2009 Source: El Mundo
• Spain and Portugal to rally for Tagus in Talavera - A demonstration is planned in Talavera de la Reina to campaign for the recovery of Iberia's longest river, the Tagus. The rally, planned for 20th June, seeks to bring attention to the fact that 80% of the Tagus is siphoned off to fuel industrial agriculture and urban development in the Spanish Mediterranean regions of Murcia, Alicante and Almería (fruit and veg for export, golf courses for ex-pats and tourists) and that the small portion which finally flows into Portugal is heavily polluted with effluent from Madrid. The event is expected to be well-attended by environmental groups, regional politicians, farmers, cultural organisations, kayakers, and many concerned citizens from both Spain and Portugal. Follow link for full text, in English.
Date: June 15, 2009 Source: Tagus Network (Red del Tajo)
• Another success for Madrid's urban Peregrines - For the third year running Peregrine falcons have bred successfully in a nesting box set up by SEO/Birdlife on the roof of Madrid's Museo de América building. The pair, one of three currently nesting in the city of Madrid, is raising three chicks, seemingly oblivious to the traffic on the A-6 motorway below. Spain has a total population of 2400-2700 pairs of Peregrines which suffer from low reproductive success due to pesticides and, more recently, from increased predation from increasingly common Eagle owls. Date: May 12, 2009 Source: SEO/Birdlife
• Portuguese Men o'War spotted in Spanish Med - Portuguese Man O' War, Physalia physalis, one of the world's most poisonous jellyfish, has been spotted off Spanish beaches in Murcia for the first time in ten years. Scientists have warned the creatures, which are not strictly jellyfish but floating colonies of microscopic hydrozoans, could soon arrive in waters around the Balearic Islands and the Catalan coast after having been swept by westerly winds through the Gibraltar Strait. With a sting 10 times stronger than an ordinary jellyfish, they present a more dangerous threat than the annual jellyfish invasion of beaches in Spain, France, Italy and North Africa. "Climate change is changing the migration patterns of many creatures. If they establish themselves it would be very worrying because they really are very dangerous," said Xavier Pastor, the European director of the Oceana ecological campaigning group.
Date: May 12, 2009 Source: Daily Telegraph and others
• Spain worst hit by climate change - Spain is one of the EU countries most vulnerable to climate change, states Greepeace in a new 76 page report. The situation, according to current scientific evidence, is even worse that previously estimated, says Greenpeace: The 1.5ºC temperature increase in Spain during the last century is double the world average (0.74ºC). Sea-levels have increased 2-3mm per year in northern Spain during the second half of the 20th century. Spain's glaciers have been reduced by 80% in the last few years. Vineyards and other crops are suffering losses due to the "Mediterranisation" of the north and the "Africanisation" of the south. Tourism is being hit by lack of water in the coasts and ski resorts are closing due to insufficient snow. Fires, heatwaves and other consequences of extreme meteorology are becoming more common.
Date: May 12, 2009 Source: Greenpeace
• Carrion ban lifted to benefit vultures - Farmers are to be allowed once more to leave dead livestock in their fields - to help starving vultures. Many vultures have been starving to death since a European law passed in 2002 and aimed at tackling mad cow disease forced all dead livestock to be cleared away. According to Birdlife International, Griffon vultures in Spain suffered particularly. Vultures have been seen flying hundred of kilometres searching for food, showing up in Germany and Belgium. MEPs voted for a change in the law which will now allow farmers to leave dead livestock in their fields - providing it is deemed safe and hygienic.
Date: May 12, 2009 Source: BBC and others
• Imperial Eagle webcam up again - Nesting Spanish Imperial Eagles in Cabañeros National Park can once again be followed online, in real time, thanks to a webcam set up by SEO/Birldlife as part of it's long-term education effort. There are currently only 253 pairs of breeding Imperial Eagles in Spain and, thanks to conservation efforts, numbers are slowly increasing. SEO is also trying to boost eagle numbers by helping landowners to increase rabbit populations on their estates. Finally SEO is also setting up a Custody Network of over a thousand municipalities across Spain. The network should help protect the eagles from poisoned baits, high tension cables, illegal hunting and aggressive urban developments. To view the webcam paste the following address into your browser [mms://213.192.239.249/alzandoelvuelo ].
Date: April 03, 2009 Source: El Mundo
• Gredos poaching ring busted - 48 people have been arrested for alleged involvement with a poaching network in the Gredos mountains of central Spain. The group provided a "poaching safari service", leading customers to shoot big game in the National Park and other protected areas in Spain. Customers would pay up to 5,000 euros to kill an animal, under the cover of darkness, and later receive the stuffed trophy. Police also confiscated a number of firearms, high-tech surveillance equipment and over 350 trophies, including ibex, roe deer, red deer, fallow deer, chamois, wild boar and wolves.
Date: March 31, 2009 Source: Norte de Castilla
• "Save Extremadura Now" petition - Spain's Ornithological Society SEO has launched an online petition against projects which it considers will have negative effects on the wildlife of Extremadura, a region widely considered to be one the best-conserved in Europe. The petition criticises plans for an oil refinery in Tierra de Barros, combined-cycle power stations, illegally-approved windfarms, thermosolar plants in Casas de Hito (in the heart of the main overwintering area for cranes and waterbirds in Extremadura), and roads and motorways with a serious environmental impact, together with the spread of illegal urban development in protected areas. Follow link to sign the petition, in English. Date: March 11, 2009 Source: SEO/Birdlife
• Plight of the Reed Bunting - The Reed Bunting has been named Bird of the Year by SEO/Birdlife to help highlight the plight of the only two subspecies of this bird nesting in Spain and which could soon become extinct. Whilst the wintering population of the subspecies of Reed Bunting from Europe is deemed healthy, the two resident subspecies may only number 400 pairs spread across many small fragmented sites. In Catalonia and the Balearics the nesting population of Reed Buntings has fallen by 80% in the last decade, and it has disappeared from Asturias, Castilla y Leon, Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia and Andalucía. The extensive use of agrochemicals on crops next to reed beds is thought to be a major contributing factor to the decline. Date: March 11, 2009 Source: SEO/Birdlife
• Spain lists valuable "geosites" - 144 world-class Spanish geology and palaeontology sites - geosites - are to be in included in the first national catalogue of it's type. The list is considered a necessary first step to provide legal protection for many of these unique sites, some of them over 600 million years old. Outstanding examples of sites of special interest are Abella, Isona and Camarasa, in Lérida, Punta Aitzgorri in Zumaia (Guipúzcoa), the Sorbas reefs (Almería), the amber deposits of Peñacerrada (Álava and Burgos) or El Soplao (Cantabria), the carboniferous forest of Verdeña (Palencia), dinosaur footprints in many regions, volcanoes of Canaries and many mines and caves. Follow link for list of geosites, in Spanish.
Date: March 11, 2009 Source: El País
• Photos of wild Spain, month by month - Photographer Antoni Candela and bank Caja Madrid have teamed up to produce a new website to showcase Spain's flora, fauna, landscapes and climate. The site, in Spanish, has photo presentations for every month of the year. Images are downloadable as screensavers. Follow link to view. Date: February 16, 2009 Source: Naturax12
• Birding tours in Madrid's parks - Free birdwatching tours of Madrid's urban and suburban parks are available
during February and March. The tours are organised by Madrid's city council
and Spain's ornithological society, SEO/Birdlife, and include visits to the
Casa de Campo, Dehesa de la Villa, Parque del Oeste, Parque Sur and the
public portion of El Pardo reserve. Follow link for dates, details and
sign-up forms (in Spanish) or contact tel. 914340910 or e-mail
educacion@seo.org
Date: February 13, 2009 Source: SEO/Birdlife
• Iberian lynx's sex drive goes on record - Lynx in El Acebuche captive-breeding programme in Doñana National Park
recently came into heat and biologists were able to record the
short but intense mating behaviour. Females are receptive for one week only
between January and February and copulate up to 80 times in 48 hours, thus
almost guaranteeing pregnancy. Sex-drive hormone levels are 35 times higher
in Iberian lynx than in other wild cats for reasons that are unclear,
although it is thought that it may be a response to low genetic variability in a shrinking population. Follow link for video-clip.
Date: February 13, 2009 Source: El Mundo
• Zamora wolf-watching centre to go ahead - Plans are advanced for the construction of a wolf interpretation centre in
the hamlet of Robledo, in Zamora's Sierra de la Culebra. The project
promoted by the council of Puebla de Sanabria is being hailed as a
first-of-it's-kind in Europe. The 20 hectare complex has a budget of 4.5M
euro, mostly from rural development aid, and will include a pack of
captive-bred Iberian wolves in a large natural enclosure as well as several
educational and research facilities.
Date: February 13, 2009 Source: Norte de Castilla
• Fractal marshes of Andalucía - An unusual exhibition of aerial photographs of the wetlands of Andalucia´s south coast is currently showing in Sevilla. The pictures, by Héctor Garrido, concentrate on the shapes and forms brought about by mud, water and time as seen from above and their relationship with fractal geometry. "Fractal Harmony of Doñana" can be visited in Casa de la Ciencia until 10th February. The images can also be seen online - follow link.
Date: January 13, 2009 Source: Armonía Fractal
• Online guide to walking in La Palma - The island of La Palma, in the Canaries, will host the 40th Conference of the European Rambler's Association in April this year. The island has also launched an online guide in English to it's excellent and well marked footpath network: 2 GRs, 38 PRs and 24 SLs - a total of 1,000 kilometres of marked and signposted hiking paths, from the warm coastal areas up to altitudes of 2,000m. Follow link for maps and further info. Date: January 13, 2009 Source: Senderos de la Palma
• Otters return to Guadiana - A recent report from the Guadiana water board confirms this river as one of the best refuges for Spain's otters.There is anecdotal evidence for the return of the otter to many of Spain's waterways, although this is the first major study published since a national review of the species in 1990. Riverside vegetation cover and reasonable water quality seem to be prime considerations for otter habitats. Date: December 10, 2008 Source: La Opinión Coruña
• New hope for Iberian lynx - There was a sense of cautious optimism at the seminar on Iberian lynx
conservation held last week in Huelva: Both the wild and captive populations
of Iberian lynx continue to grow and new territories have been earmarked for
reintroductions. Ten years ago there were an estimated 100 adults of this
species left in the world and extinction seemed close. Now the the Doñana
(Huelva) population remains stable and the Andujar (Jaén) population has
doubled. There are plans to reintroduce wild lynx from Andujar to private
estates in the neighbouring area of Guadalmellato (Córdoba). The Andalusian
captive- breeding programme is reportedly doing well also: 50 lynx spread
between three centres produced a record 13 cubs in 2008.
Date: December 04, 2008 Source: El Mundo
• Lynx population confirmed in Castilla-La Mancha. - A new breeding population of at least 15 Iberian lynx is confirmed for a
secret location in the Montes de Toledo in central Spain. The Autonomous
Community of Castilla La Mancha has released phototrap images obtained in
2007. This nucleus could be specially valuable if it turns out to be a
different genetic stock as it could add "new blood" to the main Andalusian
population.
Date: December 04, 2008 Source: El Mundo
• Doñana webcams - The Doñana Biological Station (EBD) has set up public webcams in selected
areas of the National Park, including some of the lynx captive-breeding
pens. Follow link and click on icons in the "Stream" column for real-time
viewing.
Date: December 04, 2008 Source: Estación Biológica de Doñana
• Road-killed bear in León - Spain's first confirmed road-killed bear was found this week on the A-6 motorway near Villafranca del Bierzo, north-western Spain. The bear, a young male, probably belonged to the Alto Sil nucleus in León and was accidentally run-over whilst searching for a new territory, said Guillermo Palomero of the Brown Bear Foundation. There is thought to be a reasonably healthy population of about 100 bears in a 2,600 km2 area between León's Alto Sil, eastern Lugo and south-western Asturias.
Date: October 29, 2008 Source: El Mundo
• 6,000 year-old nomadic cattle tradition endangered - Spain's 6,000 year-old tradition of moving cattle between winter and summer pastures, along with it's many environmental and social benefits, could soon be over, warns Adena/WWF. There are now 300,000 heads of transhumant cattle in Spain, compared to 5 million a century ago. Transhumant cattle spreads manure (soil fertility), eats brushwood (reduces fire-hazards), disperses plant seeds (5,000 seeds per day per sheep), recycles post-harvest crop waste (cereal stubble, vineyard leaves), avoids use of fossil-fuel (travels by hoof), adapts to climate change (goes where the grass is greener), creates wildlife habitats (patchwork of grazed open areas), conserves ancient breeds (merino sheep, tudanca cows), produces high quality products (organic meat, specialty cheeses) and employs 10,000 families in Spain. However, says Adena, Spain's modern drovers have problems obtaining state benefits and face unnecessary red-tape when travelling between autonomous communities.
Date: October 27, 2008 Source: WWF/Adena
• 11,000 wintering cranes threatened by solar power plant - One of Spain's main roosting sites for wintering cranes is threatened by plans to build a solar power plant. The project, with associated gas combustion units, electric substations and power lines, would be located near the Sierra Brava reservoir and Casas de Hitos estate in Extremadura, a site famous to birdwatchers from around the world. Over 11,000 cranes would be disturbed, as well as many species of aquatic and steppe birds. SEO, Spain's national ornithological association, says the plant can be built somewhere less sensitive to wildlife and requests international support to protect the site. Follow link for info in English and drafts of protest letters.
Date: October 27, 2008 Source: SEO/Birdlife
• Wolves howl once more in Madrid's mountains - Wolf sightings are becoming increasingly common in north-western Madrid, in the Somosierra mountains bordering the provinces of Segovia and Guadalajara. Experts agree the species continues to spread from it's stronghold in Zamora and Galicia (1,500 - 2,000 wolves) and is re-colonising more southerly territories, although a breeding population in Madrid is still thought unlikely. If confirmed, the report of a dead wolf on the A1 motorway last year would be the first instance of a wild wolf in Madrid in 40 years.
Date: October 27, 2008 Source: Europa Press
• 100 wolves to die in Castilla y León - Castilla y León plans to cull 100 wolves, a measure opposed by various conservation groups. WWF/Adena says it was not consulted, despite forming part of the regional wolf-management committee. Wiping out over 10% of the wolf population is inadmissible, say environmentalists. Wolves help to limit numbers of red deer and wild boar, species which also come into conflict with humans. According to one report Castilla-León pays a yearly average of 122,177 euros in compensation to farmers for damage caused by deer and boar in Riaño, compared to only 13,801 euros for wolf damage in the same area.
Date: September 26, 2008 Source: Ecodiario
• Pyrenees glaciers melting fast - Spain's remaining active glaciers are in the Pyrenees. Of these 60% have melted due to climate change and the rest (10 on the Spanish side, 11 on the French side) will do so within the next 50 years. This is one of the conclusions published by a team of Spanish scientists in The Holocene journal. "Glacier evolution in response to climate change is one of the most efficient indicators of global warming", said Juan José Gonzalez of the University of Cantabria.
Date: September 26, 2008 Source: The Holocene (and others)
• Unique photo of wild dolphin birth in Tenerife - A Bottlenose dolphin has been photographed giving birth in the Canary Islands. Erik Bos, the guide of a whale-watching boat operating off Tenerife, says he noticed a dolphin arching it's back in a strange manner and then realised it was actually having a baby. His snaps could be world-firsts - the event is rarely observed in the wild. There are 600-700 Bottlenose dolphins in the Canaries, with each island thought to have it's own distinct population.
Date: September 19, 2008 Source: El Mundo
• Why bees are bad for bears - An injured brown bear observed recently dragging a wire snare in Leon has highlighted a new cause of bear mortality in Spain: Illegal retribution by beekeepers. Bear raids on beehives in the Cantabrian mountains have increased tenfold following the European ruling on carrion disposal. Unfortunately hive-raiding bears have a tendency to return to the scene of the crime, thus becoming easy targets for irate beekeepers. The bears are protected thought their range and attacks on hives are compensated, but regional politics is influencing public perception: Sweet-toothed bears in Castilla y León, where compensations can take up to three years, are far less popular than in Asturias where payments are prompt. Date: September 19, 2008 Source: El Mundo
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