Iberianature

Monk seal record

The largest surviving monk seal population in the world, at Cabo Blanco (between Western Sahara and Mauritania), has broken its modern record with 51 pups born in 2009. The breeding season began in May and the maximum number of births took place in August and September with 13 births each. Also, a new group of young females were identified this year as reproductive individuals, increasing the reproductive potential of the colony. Crónica Verde Blog

The conservation project is led by Spanish scientists. Spain sees the conservation of Cabo Blanco colony of monk seals a priority as the species was once common off its coasts. A small group of monk seals survived in Cabo de Gata, Almeria until the 1960s. In 2009, for the time in 50 years a Monk seal was spotted off coast of Mallorca.

The Cabo Blanco colony saw the birth in 2008 of 46 pups, practically the same as in 2006, and doubling those of previous years. The colony is now made up of 180? individuals of which some 50 are breeding females, demonstrating that it is finally beginning to recover from the mass epidemic caused by a toxic seaweed of the late 1990s which killed off 75% of the colony.

Distribution of monk seals. From The Monachus Guardian.

Posted in Mammals, Sea mammals of Spain | Tags: Cabo Blanco monk seal colony, Isla del Toro, Mallorca, Mauritania, Monachus monachus, monk seal |

Marmots expanding into Catalan Pre-Pyrenees

The Alpine Marmot is successfully spreading into the Catalan Pre-Pyrenees, and there may now be as many as 10,000 individuals in the region. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Catalonia, Mammals, Pyrenees | Tags: Alpine marmots, golden eagle, Marmites in the Pyrenees, Marmots in Spain, Marmots in the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees guide, ptarmigan, Spanish marmot, valley of Otal |

Guide to the Catalan Pyrenees

Simon Rice who writes an excellent blog here on iberianature has put together this comprehensive and original guide to the Eastern Catalan Pyrenees (and Pre-Pyrenees) which he calls “The Book”.

Scroll down for sub links in to wildlife, history, geography, food and culture.

The region of the Pallars Jussà and Sobirà, that is to say, the valley of the river Noguera Pallaresa, contains an extraordinary variety of environments within a relatively small area, with an abundance of associated wildlife. The fact that the region has until recently been isolated from the built-up areas around Barcelona and Catalonia’s coastal strip means that these environments remained in pristine condition while more accessible areas suffered the depredations of modern times, such as the use of pesticides, forest clearance, etc. Notwithstanding the fact that Catalonia’s star turn, the wonderful Parc Nacional d’Aigüestortes I Estany de Sant Maurici, was founded during this period, in 1955, the region now hosts dozens of large protected areas.

Visit Simon’s guide to the Catalan Pyrenees

Posted in Catalonia, Pyrenees | Tags: Pallars Jussà and Sobirà, Pre-Pyrenees guide |

Miguel Delibes dies

The great Spanish author Miguel Delibes died on Friday 12 March. His love of the rural life and landscape of Castilla and hunting surfaced repeatedly in his books.

He won the Spanish-speaking world’s top literary award, the Premio Cervantes in 1993, along with the Premio Príncipe de Asturias de las Letras, and was a member of the Spanish Royal Academy. The Cervantes Institute said Delibes’ passion for the countryside — and hunting — had given him a true feel for the decline of rural life and the fragility of the environment. “It is not going too far to say that this hunter who writes measures his passions with a shotgun resting on his shoulder, and in this he finds joy, anxieties and even fineness of spirit,” the institute said in a biography of Delibes.

TP notes on the forum

“The recurring theme of his works was social injustice and the contrast between rural life and modernity. His ability to portray the harshness of rural life in Castilla and the language of its people was amazing. Many of his novels deal with hunting – deeply rooted in Castilla – and his famous essay justifying his love of hunting, “La caza: mi punto de vista” , and in which he vehemently criticises the mass slaughter of captive pieces, which will undoubtedly strike a chord among some iberianatureforumers, expresses very well the sentiment of many people, hunters and critics alike.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Castilla y León, Spanish literature, hunting in Spain, nature and landscape | Tags: biography of Delibes, Castilian landscape, Cervantes Institute Delibes, Miguel Delibes |

Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente

Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, (Poza de la Sal, March 14, 1928), the great Spanish naturalist and broadcaster, died 30 years ago today. He was killed in a helicopter accident while filming in Alaska on his birthday March 14, 1980.

He was an expert in falconry and animal behavior and spent many years studying wolves, but above all he was a great communicator who captivated Spain in the 1970’s, doing more than anybody to promote natural history among the general public. He is best known for the highly successful and influential series El Hombre y la Tierra (1975–1980), which you can watch online here. Millions of homes in Spain were captivated by the series, and there are possibly apocryphal tales of the streets being empty when the episodes were broadcast. The series and his other work played no small part in the change in attitude towards wildlife in general and wolves in particular. Rodríquez de la Fuente used wolves he had raised himself from cubs living in a semi-wild fenced estate for the film. They were different times with inferior cameras than today. But, for all its trickery, the episode on el lobo still stand out as superb and beautiful piece of nature documentary and holds a rightful place in contemporary Spanish folk memory. And his work inspired a whole generation of young Spanish naturalists who work in nature conservation today.

• More from Crónica Verde
• Wikipedia
• A certain degree of hagiography surrounds his figure (there are more 60 monuments to him in Spain including schools, plaques, parks and streets).
• Special in El Mundo

The legacy of his work is continued with the Fundación Félix Rodríguez .

Posted in Conservation, history | Tags: El Hombre y La Tierra, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente biography |

Tabernas in flower

This lovely photo of Tabernas Desert in bloom was taken by Andrés Ivorra and posted originally on the forum. He notes:

“An exceptional amount of rainfall looks like snow but it isn’t. Linaria nigricans is in full flower in the desert of Tabernas. A joy for your eyes.”

I’m not sure how much it has rained in Tabernas itself but Andrés informs me that rainfall records have been smashed in Almeria capital this winter with some 400mm falling in just two months.

Check out Andrés’ site on Wildflowers of Almeria

Browsing through his site I can see it is not only about flora. It is also the best guide in English on the nature and geography of Almeria in general.

Posted in Almeria, Andalucia, Flora | Tags: Geography of Almeria, Linaria nigricans, Tabernas desert, Wildflowers of Andalusia |

Three lynxes killed in Doñana

Three Iberian lynx have been run over in the last month in Doñana, one of the worst figures for years. The latest animal was a male found dead on the road connecting Matalascañas with El Rocíos. He is thought to have been dispersing in search of new territories. Almost three lynxes a year (26 in total) have been killed since 2000…And three in a single month is an utter disater. Clearly the traffic signs aren’t sufficient.  Crónica Verde

Posted in Andalucia, Doñana, Iberian lynx | Tags: Iberian lynx news in 2010, Mammals in Doñana, Matalascañas lynx |

First female wolf in 80 years detected in Catalonia

The first female wolf in 80 years has been detected in Catalonia in the Sierra de Cadí. The first wolf in the Cadi was detected in 2004. More from Crónica Verde.

Tests have shown that this new influx of wolves in Catalonia is genetically Italian in origin, forming part of an expansion over a number generations out from the Apennines. The Apennine population began to expand in several directions from the early 1990’s. It moved north into the Italian and Swiss Alps; north-east into the French Alps and Lyon, and east towards the Pyrenees, reaching the Maritime Alps near Nice by 1996, Saboya by 1998. An individual was detected between Areja and French Cerdenya by August 1998 in the Madres Massif, just to the north of Canigó, and finally by 2004 into the Cadí range. The last Catalan wolf was shot in Horta de Sant Joan, in Tarragona in 1929, though the animal is thought to have disappeared from the Sierra de Cadí more than 100 years ago. More on wolves in Spain

There is a curious historical coincidence with Catalan wolves and Pablo Picasso. Horta de Sant Joan (where the last wolf was shot) was were Picasso is often considered to have developed cubism for the first time and he famously declared, “All I know is thanks to Horta de Sant Joan“. The great artist also spent some time in Gósol, the centre of the Cadí (where the new wolves have arrived), from the spring of 1906 to mid-August of that same year, where his works have been called his Gósol period. There are small Picasso museums in both villages which quite reasonably take advantage of his illustrious stays to promote themselves.

Posted in Catalonia, Wolves | Tags: Cadí mammals, Horta de Sant Joan, Wildlife of the Sierra de Cadí, wolves and Picasso |

Iberian wolf sculpture

This remarkable sculpture of a wolf head is from Jaén in the early 4th BCE. The ears pinned back and the wrinkled muzzle suggest a threatening posture. It forms part of the so-called Heroic Sanctuary of El Pajarillo (Huelma, Jaén). It tells the story of a hero who confronted a wolf in the presence of two mythological beings. The hero frees a youth from the wild animal. On show at the Museum of Jaén.

This forum post in Spanish discusses the role of wolves in ancient Iberian society.

Posted in Wolves | Tags: Ancient Iberian sculptures, Ancient scuptures of wolves |

Almonds in flower in Mallorca

Almendros en flor by Santiago Rusiñol. From this blog about Catalan landscape painters. Probably painted in Mallorca around 1900.

Posted in Catalonia, Paintings of Spain | Tags: Almendros en flor de Santiago Rusiñol, Catalan landscape painters, Landscape of Mallorca, landscape paintings of Mallorca, Paintings by Santiago Rusiñol |

Rainy Spain

This winter is proving remarkable wet. Precipitation this year in southern Spain has been so far the highest since 1963, with Sevilla receiving more rain than in the last 60 years. According to the INM, in Spain as a whole, January was 43% wetter than average for the period 1971-2000. The above map shows how this played across the country in terms of percentage of precipitation above average.  Albacete received for instance, more precipitation since 1941 when this series of records began. In the same province of  Castilla-La Mancha, the rains have helped save the much maligned Tablas de Damiel. Unsurprisingly, reservoirs are overflowing and many have had to open their gates. Temperatures have so far been normal.

Posted in Climate | Tags: Spain rain records |

Wolf hunting methods in Spanish history

Interesting interview here by Natur films with naturalist and biologist Alberto Hernando on the different methods used to kill wolves over the centuries in Spain. An example is this remarkable structure in Lubián, Zamora.

These methods were justified by the needs of the times, but unfortunately wolves, today without justification, are still being illegally killed in their hundreds in Spain. This week for instance La Crónica Verde reports here on two wolves found snared in Anta de Rioconejos, Zamora. Their yelping alerted local people to their rescue.

Posted in Castilla y León, Wolves | Tags: Anta de Rioconejos, illegal wolf hunting, News from Zamora, Wolf hunting in history, Zamora |

Spanish places

I’ve been working recently on a new guide to places in Spain using Google maps as a way of organising them spatially. I find it interesting to see how places I’ve visited and/or written about over the years, join up together on the map. I still don’t understand how to get the best out of Google Maps, but I think that building up this database will allow lots of new forms of representing information. Visit Places in Spain
Have a look for example at these places:

• The Lubian wolf trap
• Mallos de Riglos
• El Cortijo del fraile

Posted in Geography, Iberianature news | |

Sparrows in Spain

The house sparrow is still probably the commonest bird in Spain with some 10 million pairs, and although they are certainly not threatened as they are in, say, Britain which has lost 5 million pairs in the last 30 years, some areas have shown alarming trends. The birds are less and less common in Madrid and have seen a 90% fall in the orange orchards of Valencia. Crónica Verde

The poet Miguel Hernández described sparrows as the “los gorriones son los niños del aire” – the children of the air,

Posted in Spanish poetry, Valencia, birds | Tags: Are sparrows common in Spain, house sparrow in Spain, Miguel Hernández, Poems about sparrows, Spanish poems about birds |

Death of the macho ibérico

Garfio, the Iberian lynx who was captured in 2003 and begat the first brood of lynx cubs to be bred in captivity, has died this week from a chronic renal infection at the age of ten. In all he sired 11 little lynxes. El País

Photo of Garfio in action from Lynxexsitu.es. Thanks to TP on the forum who I’ve paraphrased here.

Posted in Andalucia, Iberian lynx, Mammals | |