The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment released into the wild eleven couples of captive bred crested coot, to reinforce the small Andalusian population of this endangered species.
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| Crested Coot - Fulica cristata |
These waterfowl, provided by the Natural Reserve of Birds Cañada (Sevilla), have been released in several wetlands in the provinces of Granada, Cordoba and Almeria, in the context of the Recovery Plan and Wetlands Bird Conservation, approved by the Board in March 2012.
Suárez Pond in Motril is one of the protected areas included in Andalusia Wetlands Inventory which lists 14 wetlands in the province of Granada which total an area of 676.12 hectares protected.
The Ministry has introduced four couples in this space that are evolving smoothly.
The Territorial Delegate of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment, Sandra Garcia, visited the location of the Crested Coot and reported that "the objective of settling a new breeding population in the enclave."
Garcia stressed "the important work that is being done from the Junta de Andalucía to protect wetland ecosystems."
Located in the town of Motril is a natural area that has the optimum conditions for the reproduction of the crested coot, by the proper water level, the abundance of submerged macrophytes throughout the year, a growing population of Rallids (indicator aquatic species ecosystem quality), refuge areas, perimeter fencing reserve area and constant vigilance.
Thanking the Volunteers for their work Garcia said "To this must be added the maintenance and monitoring of wildlife volunteers who develop this protected environment."
All the birds have been previously marked with plastic collars with an alphanumeric code to facilitate subsequent individual monitoring and assessing the degree of success of releases.
