A survey carried out by the University of Aveiro has shown that rewilding efforts in Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley are helping roe deer return to the landscape. This is good news for Iberian wolves – and for local farmers.
A livestock guard dog programme overseen by Rewilding Portugal has just reached its impressive target, with the 101st dog handed over to a local farmer. By reducing livestock predation, the programme will support the recovery of the endangered and ecologically important Iberian wolf.
The LIFE LUPI LYNX project, which began in January, brings together seven Portuguese and two Spanish organisations in a cross-border effort to create the socio-ecological conditions that will contribute to the recovery of the Iberian wolf and Iberian lynx south of the Douro river, in areas where both species are beginning to appear or still have an irregular presence. The aim of this project is to promote better coexistence between these predators and man, guaranteeing habitat conditions and coexistence with human activities.
At the beginning of November, Portuguese photographer and videographer Ricardo Lourenço won three prizes at the Portuguese Rewilding Photo Contest, which is co-organised by the Rewilding Portugal team. In October, one of his images was also highly commended at the prestigious European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. We caught up with Ricardo to find out more about his life, work, and thoughts on rewilding.
Bárbara Carvalho is one of the faces of the Wild Côa Symphony project, a collaborative artistic project that won a competition from the Endangered Landscapes Programme to carry out an artistic residency in the Greater Côa Valley. This interview was carried out in the beginning of this year, and the project is at its final stage and the first results were already presented to the public.
Head of Landscapes at Rewilding Europe, Deli Saavedra has the important task of monitoring the progress of rewilding efforts in different areas currently underway across Europe. In an interview, he talks to us about the biggest challenges of his job, the future of this collective and unified project and his plans for the future.
Launched at the conclusion of a high-level gathering in Vienna, the European Rewilding Coalition brings together Europe’s leading practical rewilding organisations. By working together, the coalition membership will accelerate landscape-scale rewilding across the continent. Rewilding Portugal is part of this coalition and were present in this gathering.
A nationally recognized actress, Ana Varela spent the last year in the Greater Côa Valley with her colleague and actress Sara Prata, so that together they could get to know the region and Rewilding Portugal’s work in it. She immediately fell in love with what she saw and it’s been a bond that has grown closer and will have a very important new chapter next year: Ana will be the voice-over for the new documentary we have in production. In the meantime, she has already returned this year with her family.
An article recently published by the Wildlife Unit of the University of Aveiro, in partnership with Rewilding Portugal and Zoological (Lino et al., 2023), which includes data collected as part of the LIFE WolFlux project, highlights the impact of predation by stray dogs on livestock and reveals a greater representation of wild ungulates in the diet of the Iberian wolf south of the Douro River.
Chef Miguel Veiga is one of Rewilding Portugal’s oldest partners, having already provided catering services in several of our events and being part of this big family. Recently, he also became a member of the Wild Côa Network to further strengthen this connection and increase synergies with other members.