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European biodiversity under threat: lynx, a symbol and a challenge

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Subido el 4 de julio de 2007 por EducaMadrid

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The fauna of de European Union consists of more than 370 million Homo sapiens; it also includes 150 species of mammals, 520 bird species, 180 species of reptiles and amphibians, 150 species of fish and 100,000 species of invertebrates. But European wildlife is in a dangerous process of erosion. Species and sub-species are dying out. Others are on the verge of extinction. This is true of the Iberian lynx, a species of feline once widespread over the whole of the Iberian peninsula. Today there are only 150 of them left in Andalusia. The European Union is battling to stem this phenomenon, which is not an inevitable one.

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Beware, species in danger. 00:00:00

This species is the Iberian lynx. 00:00:12

As its name suggests, it's to be found only on the Iberian Peninsula. 00:00:14

If nothing is done soon, these pictures will be the last testimony to its existence on 00:00:19

our planet. 00:00:23

In the 19th century, the Iberian lynx was to be found all over the peninsula, and even 00:00:26

in the south of France. 00:00:30

But by the 1960s, the lynx's territory was much more restricted, and the entire population 00:00:32

was estimated at about 3,000. 00:00:37

Thirty years later, in 1990, it was less than half that. 00:00:40

Today, only 150 lynx survive. 00:00:44

The situation could not be more critical. 00:00:49

The Iberian lynx, filmed here in the Dunjana National Park, is on the danger list of the 00:00:52

world's most threatened species. 00:00:56

The Iberian lynx has stronger markings and is smaller than the Eurasian lynx. 00:00:58

It's become a symbol of the danger European wildlife faces, and its preservation is a 00:01:03

major challenge. 00:01:07

First, I would like to say that it is really a kind of embarrassment to Europe that one 00:01:08

of these big cats is threatened, and it's a big cat in Europe. 00:01:13

It is not in some distant place like India or Africa, but it's here, and we ought to 00:01:19

be able to protect better a big cat like the Iberian lynx. 00:01:25

The European Commission is trying to save the lynx through its Life Nature Program. 00:01:31

It has a long track record in fighting for the preservation of endangered species. 00:01:35

Since 1992, the Commission has invested a total of 9 million euro and financed 10 projects. 00:01:40

Protecting the Iberian lynx means, above all, preserving biodiversity, and that's important 00:01:47

for human beings in many ways. 00:01:53

The European Commissioner underlined this point during a recent official visit to Spain. 00:01:56

I mean, maybe the environmental reasons are the most obvious ones. 00:02:04

We are part of an ecosystem. 00:02:08

We need nature, and we have to protect nature and the different species and habitats. 00:02:10

It's important economically, because people are also dependent on what nature gives, food, 00:02:16

medicines, all of that, but also for emotional and ethical reasons, because nature gives 00:02:22

us inspiration, and what would art be without nature? 00:02:29

And for ethical reasons, we don't have the right to make different species extinct. 00:02:33

We're in southern Andalusia at the Doñana National Park. 00:02:40

Here, biodiversity is an everyday preoccupation, and saving the lynx a top priority. 00:02:44

The Doñana Park is one of the last areas in Spain where the Iberian lynx still survives. 00:02:52

The lynx population here is estimated at between 40 and 50. 00:02:57

For the park authorities, that's simply not enough. 00:03:01

They say being so few in number makes the lynx more vulnerable. 00:03:04

Any unfortunate phenomenon can affect the population, for example, a disease, a runaway, 00:03:09

the loss of two females for any reason, I don't know, a matter of furtivism, or fights 00:03:15

between the females themselves. 00:03:20

Any strange phenomenon over such a small number can end the population. 00:03:21

One possible solution to increase the lynx population is to breed them in captivity. 00:03:27

This is the El Acebuche Breeding Center in the middle of the park. 00:03:35

It's 1 p.m. and lunchtime for the four females in the breeding program. 00:03:39

The procedure for feeding is quite complex. 00:03:44

The lynx must avoid coming into direct contact with humans. 00:03:46

The females have spent their entire lives in captivity, and now three of them are of 00:03:51

breeding age. 00:03:55

And this will be the first time they've been mated. 00:03:57

The time is ripe as they're on heat. 00:04:00

The scientists running the project are hopeful, but also anxious. 00:04:02

It's the first attempt to breed the Iberian lynx in captivity. 00:04:06

Garfio, the male, is quarantined well away from the females. 00:04:33

He was captured in the Sierra Morena, the other region of Spain which still has a hundred 00:04:37

or so lynx. 00:04:41

He'll soon be put with the females. 00:04:42

Replenishing the lynx population is certainly important, but the rest of the lynx population 00:05:02

still living in the Doñana National Park must also be maintained. 00:05:19

Maintained and, over the long term, made to prosper through a program to restore its habitat. 00:05:23

In the Doñana Park, the Iberian lynx is used to the bush, unlike its cousin, the Eurasian 00:05:30

lynx, which lives in the forest. 00:05:35

The park has protected the Iberian lynx from the main causes of its decimation elsewhere, 00:05:37

such as deforestation, fires, intensive farming, and major infrastructure work. 00:05:42

Nevertheless, there's one problem in the park, a lack of rabbits. 00:05:48

A problem because the rabbit is the lynx's favourite prey. 00:05:52

So, in brief, the more rabbits there are, the more lynx there will be. 00:06:00

Now everything must be done to increase the rabbit population. 00:06:22

The park is getting there, producing 2,500 new rabbits every year, by restoring their 00:06:28

habitat through improvements to the vegetation. 00:06:34

In this way, the rabbits can take refuge in the untouched bush on the left of this enclosure 00:06:59

and find their food in the treated zone in front of us. 00:07:05

The authorities at the Doñana National Park have also taken a close look at the eucalyptus 00:07:10

problem. 00:07:14

The eucalyptus was introduced by man to the park in the 1950s. 00:07:16

It spreads across 1,500 hectares and consumes an enormous amount of water, which affects 00:07:20

the water table and alters the levels in the lagoons. 00:07:25

Today, 90% of the trees have been uprooted and water has now returned to strategic areas 00:07:29

for the rabbits and the lynx. 00:07:34

In Doñana, this determination to save the Iberian lynx is an example of how Europe intends 00:07:37

to preserve its biodiversity. 00:07:42

The lynx is not the only species in danger. 00:07:45

Around 60 other European species are in a situation just as precarious. 00:07:48

In the longer term, there are as many as 900 species which are threatened with extinction. 00:07:52

It means there's not a moment to lose. 00:07:57

Personally, I think about my boys, my own boys, and hopefully I will have grandchildren 00:08:00

also one day. 00:08:06

And I hope that I will not have to say to them that I was the last generation that could 00:08:07

see the Iberian lynx or any other birds or species in Europe. 00:08:11

I hope that we will be able to protect it because we have a responsibility. 00:08:18

The hope of maintaining this biodiversity is a very real one. 00:08:25

Doñana is a magnificent 50,000 hectare sanctuary. 00:08:29

And all the work being done here to restore the original habitat has an effect on other 00:08:32

species. 00:08:36

Species such as the glossy ibis, which completely disappeared from the park in the 1950s and 00:08:38

has made a remarkable return over the last three years. 00:08:43

The numbers speak for themselves. 00:08:47

There were only seven nests in 1996. 00:08:49

Last year, there were a thousand. 00:08:52

Proof that efforts to preserve biodiversity in Europe really can make a difference. 00:08:54

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EducaMadrid

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707

Fecha:

4 de julio de 2007 - 11:22

Visibilidad:

Público

Enlace Relacionado:

European Commission

Duración:

09′ 02″

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4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.

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