Work has begun on the first Iberian lynx breeding centre in Portugal, in Silves in the Algarve. When completed, the centre will have room for 16 Iberian Lynxes (lince-ibérico in Portuguese, note the hyphen) , donated by the Acebeche breeding centre in Doñana. According to these news articles, Doñana now has six young lynx available for transfer. Público (Portugues) Portugal Resident (English)
Another lovely post from Lucy on the squirrels in her local Barcelona park.
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The first loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from eggs brought from Cabo Verde have hatched in Fuerteventura, in the Playa de Cofete in the Parque Natural de Jandía. More are expected to hatch from a total of 781 eggs. The project is planned to last ten years as it will take at least a decade to be able to begin to measure its success when hopefully some of those turtles hatched will return to the same beach as adults.
The Spanish government is planning to give protection to some 2,900km of 357 still-unspoilt stretches of rivers, involving initially the creation of a Catálogo Nacional de Reservas Fluviales, which put a stop to any dam construction, waste disposal or extraction in these areas. The idea comes from a proposal by Ecologistas en Acción who note "It would have a huge importance because it would create biological corridors in almost all mountain ranges and would save what is left of rivers, which are probably the most altered ecosystems by humans."
Doñana has managed to halt the mortality of the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberto). The annual number of chicks has tripled in the last three years from 3.5 to 10.5 chicks a year according to an article by scientists from CSIC in the 'Journal of Applied Ecology', thanks to a reduction in the use of poison in the areas surrounding Doñana. Between 1992 and 2004 there was a dramatic increase in annual adult mortality due to an increase in poisoning in hunting areas surrounding the park. "The use of poison against generalist predators accounted for more than 54% of the total number of breeding eagles found dead since 1990, increasing annual adult mortality from 6·07 to 12·01%."
La Crónica Verde has posted the latest figures for Iberian lynx in Doñana for 2008 complete with maps. A more positive breeding season than the disastrous recent years. 10 females had 23 cubs of which as far as is known 18 have survived. Total numbers of lynxes: 18 territorial females, 4-5 territorial males, 9 sub-adults, 18 cubs. 50-53 known lynxes in Doñana.
Two Eurasian lynxes (Lynx lynx) have been acquired by Les Planes de Son (Pallars Sobirà) run by Territori i Paisatge. The director of Territori i Paisatge Jordi Sargatal made it clear that these lynxes will not be released but does not rule out a release of their offspring. There is however still much work to be done before any reintroduction. Sargatal noted "A viability plan needs to be drawn up a consensus reaached"...but "We all need to understand that reintroducing the Eurasian lynx would be very positive for the ecosystem and for the economy", noting that "the lynx is at the top of the ecosystem and plays a very important role of predation on the smaller predators such as foxes, wild cats and genets, which would have a positive effect on other species in the area". There were Eurasian lynx in the Pyrenees until a few decades ago, possibly more recently, and the species may have also lived in the Cordillera Cantábrica.
Image by FOP
A young brown bear has been run over and killed in Leon in El Bierzo. This is the first confirmed case of bear being killed by a vehicle (a lorry) in Spain. The incident took place along the A16 dual carriageway (autovia). Experts from the Fundación Oso Pardo (FOP) are trying to find where the bear entered the autovia as it is fenced. According to the Fundación Oso Pardo, although bears are not common in El Bierzo, it is an area of dispersion from the nearby Alto Sil which supports a small but rising breeding population of brown bears, and so the bear was probably from this latter area. This bear formed part of the much smaller eastern population of Cantabrian bears with at most 30 individuals and so the loss of one is of some concern.
