Hope for a Paradise Lost?

He’d already conquered the sky. Today, he’s a short-toed eagle, the victim of long captivity at the hands of the person, from somewhere near Mértola, who had “his feathers cut so that he couldn’t fly”.

He arrived at the RIAS centre on 12th November last year. “What we have to do is reintroduce him to animals of his species, so that he can become wild again. In many cases, this isn’t possible”, laments 25-year-old biologist Fábia Azevedo.

Weak, and blackened by oil, a Northern Gannet tries to rid itself of the viscous substance on its feet. It’s not just “big disasters” like the spillage from the «Prestige» (off the coast of Spanish Galicia, in 2002) that damage the environment.

“Every day animals are damaged by polluting oil from boat engines. It happens a lot in the Algarve – in fishing docks and marinas;” Azevedo, jointly-responsible for RIAS, continues.

To help save them, it’s absolutely imperative “to have hot water” (to bathe them) – but RIAS still doesn’t possess a hot water heater, and is appealing to anyone who may be able to give them one.

In reality, the centre’s requirements are simple – and they’d make an enormous difference for the animals handed in here.

Nonetheless, since the association “aldeia” took over the former Ria Formosa Bird-Rescue sanctuary that used to operate on the site, there have been a number of improvements to facilities. With help from volunteers and various donations, they’ve managed to stop the rain coming through the roof of the main building, and start using it properly once again.

The same goes for the building that functions as a clinic – with various “in-patient” rooms for wounded animals to recover after their often long periods of neglect. These days, the clinic boasts an X-ray machine and “biotherium” animal house (for feeding, for example, birds of prey).

According to Azevedo, what makes RIAS special is the system of outdoor flight tunnels (15 in all), the dimensions of which allow the centre to take in large birds – like the griffon vultures which make “emergency landings” throughout the Algarve every year.

“The tunnels are fundamental for the birds to be able to exercise, before being returned to the wild. They allow them to develop good muscles and flight techniques. They’re also the places where birds (re) learn to catch live food (little mice)”, she adds.

But the problem is that only one tunnel is operational. Lack of maintenance/ investment and human resources in the recent past explain the structures’ states of decay:

The netting – needed to stop birds escaping – is full of holes; in some areas, it has simply rotted away with time, and the loose mesh and hanging cables are a danger to all living things. Right now, wild scrub has invaded the interior of the tunnels, and to make matters worse, recent rainstorms have rendered a number of them completely inaccessible.

Recovering the tunnels is the main purpose of the voluntary week going ahead during Carnival holiday. Other objectives are to give everything a lick of paint; construct a bench in the washing area; some bird shelters and coops, and cut-back vegetation in general.

Indeed, anyone interested in helping out can do so at any time of the year. And along with “people-power”, all kinds of building and other materials are always welcome.

“At the moment, what we really need is netting, and things like bricks and cement. Also, gardening machinery… and then, we’ll need day-to-day things like towels for the animals”, the biologist continued.

“There are animals that don’t have the strength to feed themselves”

On a normal day, everything starts at 9am for the team of four at RIAS. Most of the morning is taken up with feeding. Luís Jorna, animal handler, has everything written up on a board in the kitchen. The chicken and rabbit were defrosted the night before.

Carla Ferreira, apprentice vet, opens the clinic to start daily treatments. These range from the simple changing of bandages and cleaning of wounds, to the administration of fluids (saline and vitamins) when animals are dehydrated.

Between October (when they took over) and December 2009, RIAS admitted 107 animals – birds, badgers, foxes, chameleons, reptiles. In January – at the time of our visit – they’d received 47 more. Many arrive on the brink, and don’t make it to recovery.

They arrive by various means, from the Algarve and southern (“baixa”) Alentejo. “Sometimes, people travelling through the countryside find wounded animals and bring them to us”. But the majority of arrivals come via SEPNA – the environmental arm of the GNR police, and forestry officials.

In the afternoon, workloads vary. “Most of the time we use the afternoons for investigating dead animals”. This may sound odd, but it’s actually very important for RIAS to determine how and why an animal died. The main objective is to see if anything went wrong, for example, during treatment. This way “we can improve our work”.

Also, dead animals can give clues as to what is happening in Nature. For example, a number of seagulls have been handed in recently. The investigating team suspects they died from a disease in their digestive systems. RIAS’ Nuno Abrantes suggests this theory, and is taking advantage of the data to advance science - making biometric studies in a number of aquatic birds.

The impact of modern civilization and its consequences on wildlife are felt here, too. Near Sagres, a griffon vulture was wounded after colliding with a wind-turbine. “It suffered a bad wing fracture which was very difficult to treat. In principle, it’s not going to recover”.

Renewable energies may be dubbed “clean”, but they still leave their mark on Nature. “It’s true. The Algarve is a centre for migratory birds. At certain times of the year as many as 600.000 griffon vultures can fly over Sagres. These are birds with a wingspan of more than 2 metres. That’s why they hit things easily”, Azevedo tells.

“And there are loads of small fauna, from swallows to bats, that die as a result of colliding with wind-turbines or high- or medium-tension power lines”.

“If we knew there was a particular electrical pylon where several birds had been electrocuted, we could try and make the owning company aware of the problem – so that they could improve it”. Illustrating her point, Fábia highlights the report by SPEA, the Portuguese bird study association, which evaluated the impact of power lines on the nation’s birds.

At the beginnning of 2010, RIAS began compiling a database of information on the origin of animals coming into the centre. When they are returned to the wild, they’re ringed. A serial number “gives us the life-story of the animal”, its survival and the route it takes. Last year, 29 animals were returned to the wild. Right now, another 24 are in the phase of recuperation. In the future, with the help of volunteers, these numbers could be a lot more.

• Shot down

Almost every week animals arrive full of lead-shot. “Some have to be put to sleep. There are cases of birds that would never had a proper life, with the factures and wounds they’ve sustained. It wouldn’t be fair to put them through any more suffering”.

Although it is against the law to kill any protected species (under “Decreto-Lei nº 316/ 89 de 22”) and there are all manner of regulatory laws with regard to hunting, hunting seasons - and which species can be hunted and when, the collateral damage is only too evident.

Without wishing to appoint blame, Azevedo thinks “it’s very difficult to confuse a short-toed eagle with a hare”. So, why would someone point a shotgun and pull the trigger intentionally? “Normally, people don’t like these kind of birds of prey. They think they’ll take the hunting from them – because they eat rabbits and partridge. But, really, that’s not the case, as these birds prefer sick or weak animals. The role of the eagle in the ecosystem is to eliminate possible sources of disease in these animals. In other words, if there’s an eagle in a particular area, the hunter should be happy. It means there’s enough food for everyone.”

So what are the solutions? For this biologist, only a process of environmental education can possibly change mentalities.