When the coast is clear…

Today, 1 April, we’re staying in Portugal, on our own doorstep, so to speak. I’m dealing with animals. Yes, we are not alone on this planet, dear friends. We humans have multiplied and prevailed over animals to such an extent that we are now the ones who call the shots. We are, so to speak, without external enemies. All together, we humans now number more than eight and a half billion. We can only become our own enemies. But, even so, that is still far too short-sighted.

I watch my black cat, Titinha, every day. She is a beautiful, slim and healthy cat who gets her food from me every morning and evening. When she’s not there, because she’s out walking again, a thieving magpie will wait in a cedar tree and keep a watchful eye on the area. I have already recognised that much myself. After a while, as soon as I close the front door, it flies to the cat’s food bowl and starts stealing her food. When the coast is clear. We’ve already come this far. Birds now eat cat food. From this, we can deduce that cat food may be considered a delicacy by magpies, who are probably not so picky… But I don’t want to write a food review here and now. One question did, however, spring to my mind and it has stayed with me ever since.

Why don’t we simply live in peaceful coexistence with all the creatures that exist on this planet? My cat only ever comes home when the bird has finished its meal. Then she arrives home empty-handed. Now I also have a dog. Like me, he has noticed that the bird steals the cat’s food, and so he chases it away with his loud barking. Ideally, he would like to grab the bird by the neck, shake it back and forth and make it realise that it shouldn’t steal the food, because Titinha and Max, the dog, are friends. Unfortunately, he has no other choice than to put on a brave face. The bird calls the shots. It has wings; the dog has none and can’t fly (yet), although he would like to try. At least, that’s the impression I get quite frequently.

I recently read in a news article that an experiment known as ‘rewilding’ is taking place in Portugal. It is sponsored by some members of the Dutch royal family. Kings generally have little to do, so they work a little less than normal people. That’s probably why they have a lot more free time and more money. ‘Rewilding’ is a concept designed to bring a little more biodiversity into our complicated and monotonous world. Garrano horses are being reintroduced into the wild in Portugal. Then there is the bison, an ancestor of the cattle that nowadays end up on our plates. And, of course, there is also something special: perhaps a bird – no, not a thieving magpie – but, yes, a family of vultures that perch high up among the rocks of the River Côa and nest there in their crevices. Côa?

The River Côa is the only river in the Iberian Peninsula that flows from south to north into the River Douro. It is a beautiful river. Spreading over just more than 200 kilometres, it rises near Fóios on the Spanish border, and then wends its way through the Serra da Malcata to Sabugal. From there, it flows further and further north, through Faia Brava, the only private nature reserve in Portugal, into the River Douro at Vila Nova de Foz Côa, on the border between the districts of Bragança and Guarda. If you take the Grande Rota Vale da Côa hiking trail (GR 45) along the river, you will need at least ten days to get to know not only this natural part of Portugal, but also its vultures. They live there in the wild, alongside the Garrano wild horses, the bison buffalos, and many other animal species. A few weeks ago, the first official feeding ground was opened for the vultures. There they can feed on the carrion of the dead sheep provided by the shepherds, eat the expired meat from supermarkets, and other dead animals can also be deposited there. You probably know that vultures don’t eat cat food…

ECO123 online, to be continued next Saturday at nine o’clock at the same place.