Stork village
I loved this photo in El País today Urbanización para cigüeñas. I think it’s somewhere in Extremadura. Someone correct me on this if I’m wrong.
- Live stork webcam in Avila (updates every 30 seconds)
Archive for March, 2008
Innovative breeding techniques for Lammergeier
Using a technique for the first time with this species, the Foundation for the Reintroduction of the Lammergeier hope to release a bird bred completely isolated from human contact. They’ve built a 6×6m platform at 1,500m in Ordesa which includes a heated nest with a “puppet” adult bird to feed the chick and, next to it, a cage which the chick will be moved into after 80 days to continue the natural imprinting process as in this area of the Pyrenees there is the largest population of the species in Europe. A feeding station next to the cage will provide opportunity for the chick (born in Feb.) to observe and learn natural adult behaviour. After 120 days the young bird will fly for the first time.
They say that this tecnique will be used in the “near future” for the release of three birds in the Picos de Europa, from which I guess will be next year, the only difference being that the birds will be relocated from the Pyrenees two weeks before their first flights in the Picos.
The conservation group are already using another technique of strategically placing caged adult birds in areas in which they hope to encourage the Lammergeier to return.
For more info go to the discussion on Iberianature forum
Posted by Lisa
Jerez zoo lynx pregnant
UPDATE: Pregnancy turned out to be phantom.
Tests have confirmed that Azahar, an Iberian Lynx from Jerez de la Frontera Zoo is pregnant and will hopefully give birth in mid-April. This would be the zoo’s first lynx litter. Azahar was brought to the zoo after being captured in the Sierra de Andújar as she had an injury which made her survival in the wild unlikely. There is a chance that the birth will coincide with the iberianature forum trip to the zoo’s facilities on April 13th. Terra
Worst drought in Mediterranean Spain since 1912
Worst drought since 1912
According to director general of water of the Ministry of the Environment, Jaime Palop, Mediterranean Spain is suffering the worst drought since 1912. (El Mundo)
Oldest human hominid in Europe found in Atapuerca
Oldest hominid in Europe found in Atapuerca
Scientists have discovered the oldest hominid remains in western Europe. A jawbone and teeth discovered at the famous Atapuerca site in northern Spain have been dated between 1.1 and 1.2 million years old. (BBC). The remains beat the previous record by 500,000 years (El Pais). Stone tools and animal bones were also found with tell-tale cut marks from butchering by humans.
Lynx cub news
This week has seen the first lynx cubs this year born in captivity.
- Brisa, a first-time mother gave birth, prematurely, to two cubs, one of which was still born. Lisa on the forum notes “If www.publico.es is not exaggerating Brisa spent a long time trying to bring it round but had to give up and ate it. Eight hours later, the second cub was born having shot out a metre after the last contraction She rejected this cub (well, not an ideal first experience was it?) and the cub is being reared by experts in charge of the breeding programme. It’s still in a critical condition.”
- The second news is somewhat better. Brisa’s mother, Saliega, gave birth to her 4th litter on Saturday. Three cubs were born. One of the three has since died but far the other two are fine.
- Photo above is a photo of Saliega in 2005 with her then-cub Brisa. More lovely photos here
- Follow this topic on the forum
New species of reptile identified on La Gomera - Chalcides coeruleopunctatus
Our understanding of the reptile world is in a constant state of flux as advances in DNA techniques continue. The latest is the promotion of a species of skink on La Gomera to full species. The joint study by researchers from France, UK and Spain is published in the latest issue of Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. They have baptised the new reptile Chalcides coeruleopunctatus, Lisa de Salvador in Spanish (Salvador’s or the Gomeran Skink in English), in honour of Alfredo Salvador, researcher at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid, who described it for the first time in 1975 El Mundo.
Abandoned villages in Spain
I’ve just come across Pueblos abandonados, an interesting blog detailing abandoned villages in Spain with hundreds of photos and lots of detailed information. The photo above is from La Vereda, an abandoned village in Guadalajara, with classic examples of the black architecture (arquitectura negra) style.
natura ibérica: iberianature en español
In a spurt of madness, I’ve decided to publish a slimmed-down version of iberianature in Spanish. We shall see how this goes…
And also a rural tourism section in Spanish should you be interested
Dupont’s lark losing song
A study has found Dupont’s lark (Chersophilus duponti) is losing its singing range because numbers are falling. Spanish biologists have found that when male larks had fewer birds from which to learn new notes or ranges their repertoire decreased. The number of notes a male uses is vital in attracting females.
Dupont’s lark, is only found in Europe in Spain where just 2,000 birds are thought to remain, as their natural habitat has been relentless destroyed by changes in land use, particularly the spread of irrigated dry land so we can all have cheap tomatoes in February, reforestation and above all by the growth of wind farms.
The scientists recorded the singing range and number of notes of 330 male birds, mainly in the Ebro valley region in north-east Spain. Using hidden microphones in places the birds usually inhabited, they taped mating calls. Paola Laiolo, who led the research team, said: “The female birds are attracted by the complexity and range of the male’s song.
“We found that the lack of variation of notes or scales corresponded to the areas where the population of larks was smallest. The birds which lacked tutors - or other male birds to learn from - had the smallest range.” Dupont’s lark has a range of 12 singing sequences or phrases. It is smaller than the skylark and its brown colour makes it hard to spot, so censuses are carried out by counting birds by their songs. The Guardian
More on Dupont’s lark on Iberianature
Note: SEO made Dupont’s lark its Bird of the Year for 2006.
Snare traps still a threat to Iberian bears
The Spanish Brown bear foundation, Fundación Oso Pardo, has released figures of the illegal snare traps its patrols have removed in the Cantabrian mountains. Although the numbers have declined since they started their patrols, the figures are still alarming and continue to be a threat to the bears’ survival. These lethal wire traps are set mostly to trap wild boar and deer that cause damage to crops, though some are laid just for trophies and meat. Of the 1,155 snares discovered, most were found in Asturias. In 2004 the total found amounted to 225 but 2007 saw the figure drop to 67. However, in the area of Ancares, on the borders of Lugo (Galicia), Asturias and León, 130 have been removed in the last 5 years by one of the foundation’s patrols and, in the same area, 63 snares were found in the days between Feb. 27th and the 1st of March this year. These figures are without taking into account the snares removed by Fapas who are also working in this conservation area. It is hoped that continued education and intensive searches will see figures drop further. Sadly, due to the obstacle of not being able to provide proof, most cases go unprosecuted.
According to the newspaper, La Voz de Galicia, there is hope among conservationists (and conservation-minded locals) that the bears will begin to recolonise parts of Galicia.
Comment on this article on the forum
Photo from Fapas
Posted by Lisa
Lynx release sites for 2010
Lynx release sites for 2010
The Andalusian counties of Guadalmellato (Cordoba) and Guarrizas (Jaen) have been chosen as the sites in 2010 for the first releases of captive Iberian lynx in the wild. One of the reasons for choosing these two areas is the massive local support for the lynx. The lynxes wil be first released into enclosures. (Terra)
Sixteen bears in Trubia valley
Bears trashing hives in the Valle del Trubia (Fapas)
The number of bears identified in the Trubia valley in Asturias, from Quirós towards Oviedo, has doubled from eight in 2006 to sixteen in 2007. At least three breeding females have been identified who appear to be having few problems raising their cubs, leading to a lower infant mortality rate in this area than in other parts of the Cantabrian mountain chain. An abundance of food in the lower wooded valleys for these opportunistic animals, combined with recent mild winters, have contributed to this success. From Fapas.
(More wild neighbours for the semi-captive female Cantabrian brown bears in the same valley, Paca and Tola, who are presently awaiting a suitor in their new enclosure in Proaza in a plan to test their fertility with a captive male European brown bear from the Cabárceno safari park in neighbouring Cantabria previous to finding a suitable wild, male Cantabrian brown bear.)
Plant extintion in the Mediterranean
According to American biology professor Osvaldo Sala, 20-25% of plant species in the Mediterranean will become extinct by 2050 because of climate change and changes in land use. This is one of the highest levels of predicted biodiversity loses (El Mundo).
Vaccine for rabbits
Spanish researchers are currently testing a vaccine for rabbits against myxomatosis and haemorrhagic disease virus.
The rabbit, that most Spanish of animals, is a keystone species in Spain, forming an essential part of the food chain, and to a greater or lesser extent the basis of the diet for more than 40 species of mammals, birds and reptiles including the Iberian lynx, which is virtually dependant on it for survival. The arrival of myxomatosis in Spain in 1953 led to the decimation of rabbit populations with mortality rates of 95-100% in many areas, and the extinction of Iberian lynx across almost the whole Peninsula. It also had an unquantified but surely massive effect on other animals. Then, in the 1980s, just when the rabbit began to recover, a second rabbit-control disease, Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (vírica hemorrágica in Spanish), was unleashed on the planet. Its arrival in Spain, once again decimated rabbit numbers, and in many areas rabbits have yet to recover despite millions spent by government and hunting estates. Myxomatosis attacks in the summer and haemorrhagic disease virus attacks in the winter.
The Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria has been working for more than ten years to find a vaccine against both diseases. Based on this research, the Laboratorio Syva with the support of the Federación de Caza and the Fundación Biodiversidad have now developed a vaccine which with the final field tests still to be done seems to be efficient. It provides an interesting example of hunters and conservationists working together.
According to Luis Ignacio Pérez-Ordoyo of the Laboratorio Syva, “The vaccine has been developed from the myxomatosis virus into which is inserted the gene of a protein of vírica hemorrágica, thus obtaining a recombinable virus”.
The vaccine is inserted under a rabbit’s skin and then is transmitted to other rabbits by contact. There is no direct transmission to the foetus in pregnant females. Once EU and Spanish medical authorities give the go-ahead, it can be used with wild rabbits. Then, in theory, this harmless virus will spread among the population, so inoculating them. Researchers assure the virus has no negative effect on rabbits or their predators. Tests have been carried on European lynx with no adverse effects. The vaccine has a 100% effectiveness for one year. (Note, I’m unsure as to whether it is then necessary to re-vaccinate or whether the virus will naturally do this). The same researchers also note that it is also necessary to improve the habitat of rabbits in Spain so they can dig burrows and feed, and to repopulate some areas.
This vaccine could be have a huge effect on the recovery of the Iberian lynx. Rabbits could recover very quickly, as they breed, as it were, “like rabbits” with up 11 pregnancies a year, giving birth each time to 3-9 babies. (Publico)
See also More protection demanded for rabbit + Origin of words Spain, rabbit and coney + Iberian lynx (with section on the rabbit)
Exhibition of photographic monitoring work by Fapas
An exhibition starts tomorrow, 4th of March, 2008 in La Casa Encendida, Madrid (Ronda de Valencia, 4) of the photographs taken automatically by Fapas as part of their photographic monitoring work of the Cantabrian brown bears. Continuing through ’til the end of the month, the exhibition will be kicked off on the 4th at 19:30 with a talk by Alfonso Hartasanchez on his work tracking the bears by cameras mounted in the Cantabrian mountains.
