From the Cuenca natural park and up to the Alto Tajo, this 10th rewildling project has already started….. There is a great article at the Guardian newspaper
Rewilding Europe’s 10th project ‘has potential to benefit both nature and people’ in one of the continent’s least populated areas
Black vultures, lynx and wild horses are among the animals being reintroduced to eastern Spain with the launch of a rewilding project spanning 850,000 hectares (2.1m acres) in the Iberian highlands east of Madrid.
I have written a few words about this project over at Wildside Holidays….
The Iberian highlands rewilding project
If this project is a success it will create an impressive backdrop and opportunity for sustainable wildlife tourism in Spain. Hides for bird photography in steppe environments, Iberian lynx, raptors and other birds of prey along with large mammals will certainly draw the attention of companies that offer this type of wildlife holiday. Hopefully (and perhaps most importantly) many local companies will also be able to take advantage of this extra protection given to this massive and impressive area in Eastern Iberia. Read more here: https://wildsideholidays.co.uk/the-iberian-highlands-rewilding-project/
What surprised me is that a good portion of the 2 million or so that has been allocated to this project has come from a watch company!!!!
In order to carry out this initiative, the Dutch foundation created Rewilding Spain. Its secretary general, the lawyer Mara Zamora, explains that the project has an initial funding of €2.7 million for the first three years, but is planned for a much longer term. The money comes from the Dutch foundation through two sources: a British program for large-scale conservation projects called Endangered Landscapes Programme, and a foundation owned by Cartier, the watch brand.
The caballo serrano, also known as the “Serranía de Guadalajara horse,” is a breed native to the central Iberian Peninsula, specifically the mountainous region of the Serranía de Guadalajara. This breed has played an important role in local rural culture for centuries.
I’ve just read that Przewalski’s horse has just been introduced to the Alto Tajo project . Currently in a restricted to a confined area at present.
Interestingly, latest DNA evidence is suggesting that Przewalski’s horse is not a direct ancestor of the wild horse…..as seen on many cave paintings in Spain and France but a feral horse from those that were domesticated some 5,000 years ago and became feral also around this point.
It is however, if this proves to be the case, the closest we have genetically and in appearance. It is great to see the project moving forward. It will be interesting too to see how rewilding balances preserving the genetic variety of native domestic animals like the caballo serrano and introducing Prezwalski’s horse.
Natural grazing in the Dehesa de Solanillos woodland is no longer just for horses. A herd of ten tauros has just been released in this area of the Upper Tagus (Alto Tajo), located in the village of Mazarete (Guadalajara province), which was devastated by a major wildfire in 2005. Here, these large herbivores will fulfil an important ecological function, contributing to the regeneration of the forest and increasing biodiversity.
In an ambitious effort to restore the majestic Cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) to its historic home, a collaborative reintroduction project has been launched in Spain’s Iberian Highlands. Once a common sight, this magnificent scavenger bird faced decline and extinction in the region due to shrinking forest habitats a century ago.
Leading the production is James Shooter, an experienced and award-winning filmmaker and content creator whose work has been published by BBC, Channel 5 and Daily Telegraph, among other media.
James visited the Iberian Highlands to learn more about the natural heritage of the area and how Rewilding Spain’s work will contribute to the restoration of the landscape ecosystems and to maintain it as one of the most important and unique natural areas in Europe.
In the company of Rewilding Spain Team Leader, Pablo Schapira, and the Rewilding Officer, Marina Monico, James visited the adaptation cage of the black vultures reitroduction project, which is being carried out by Rewilding Spain together with Terra Naturalis association and the Castilla-La Mancha government. He also toured the mixed forests of Peralejos de las Truchas and had an interesting conversation about sustainable and inclusive tourism with Jose Jimenez, nature guide and one of the founders of Sentir el Alto Tajo ecotourism company.