1B

Hunters shoot Uzelai, the most famous stork of the Basque country

Urdaibai, a protected area in Biscay  (Basque Country) ,is considerate a perfect place for migratory birds due to its large area and the big degree of humidity. Many birds have been living there for a long time and the reason of it is that it has been protected by the man.
The last 23rd December, the most well-known stork in the Basque Country called Uzelai has been cruelly shot by a group of teenagers through a car. A week later, the stork’s pair was searching for him.

Uzelai was a stork male and, with its pair, were part of the first couple that made their nest in Urdaibai in the last century. It was originally from Lleida (Cataluña) and as others animals, it came from the Recovery center Vallcalent Wildlife where they rescue disoriented and injured animals. It was released in Urdaibai in 2005, where it raised every year in its nest of Atxaga, Forua.
Moreover, the pair has brought up 20 baby storks, and the last three in 2015. This score means a lot taking into account the lacking number of this type of animals here.
Uzelai didn’t migrate to Africa, he spent the winter in Alava. And like other years, he returned early to Urdabai, exactly 2 weeks ago, to fix its nest and protected it from intruders.

This pair was extremely important for the reproduction of the stork in the Basque country but now, unfortunately, a group of heartless has finished with one of them. The consequences of this actions mean the loss of a lot of species in the ecosystems of the Basque Country’s biodiversity.
Urdaibai Bird Center has been protecting this specie since 2005, and they feel very sorry about this loss. They have criticized the thoughtlessness or insensibility of people with animals and their dangerous situation. They also pointed out that a great education and information is essential to avoid this kind of situation and have warned authorities about that.
PACMA, an spanish animalist party against the abuse of animals that protect  the environment and the social justice, is up to date of this incident and said that it is immoral and horrible action made by human. Furthermore, they said that they are going to continue fighting against the use of weapons and in favor of the prohibition of hunting.
There are a lot of differing opinions about how to preserve the environment and the ecosystems and avoid this situations. But, what should we really do? How make people be aware of the importance of animal’s existence?


Main Sources:

• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserva_de_la_biosfera_de_Urdaibai
• http://pacma.es/cazadores-disparan-a-uzelai-la-ciguena-mas-famosa-del-pais-vasco/
• http://pacma.es/
• http://www.eitb.eus/es/radio/radio-euskadi/programas/boulevard/audios/detalle/3742690/han-matado-ciguena-uzelairadio-euskadi

Ainhoa Bermejo, Nuria Llousas, Markel Mendibe and Irati Urizar

Group number: 1B