Portal de Murcia
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Members of the Association of Southeast Naturalists have confirmed (by finding droppings) carnivorous mammal that frequents this iconic Segura river waters at the entrance to the city of Murcia (Barriomar).
Most likely, the otters are already using the riverbed in the same city for food.
However, their largely nocturnal and elusive character, has prevented detected before.
Technical Association of Southeast Naturalists had already confirmed the presence of this species in the Contraparada ago in early 2010, when detected and photographed tracks and droppings in the silt from the banks, downstream from the dam.
For several months, the Association of camera traps placed cameras to try to photograph the otters, in a collaboration with the city of Murcia and Rivers Volunteer Program (Ministry of Amnbiente), but variations of the water level caused the loss most computers.
This past December, the Chief Biologist Department of the Environment and the same Councillor for the Environment of the City of Murcia visited the site of the technicians of Anse Contraparada, can observe footprints personally confirmed the regular presence of otters in this stretch of river.
For Anse, no doubt that the remarkable improvement in the quality of the waters of the River Segura experienced in recent years thanks to the construction of new water treatment plants and reducing pollutant discharges from urban and industrial, but also by the closure numerous canneries have allowed the recovery of fish stocks more than enough to provide food for otters.
Anse encourages administrations with competence in the conservation and recovery of the river Segura and its environment to continue taking steps towards recovery of biodiversity in its course also in urban environments.
In this sense it is a priority to establish riparian vegetation patches with native flora serve as a refuge for otters, but also animal species as mockingbirds and orioles among many others, and will also increase the beauty of the coastal landscape, the quality of life of the inhabitants of the towns that sit on its banks and water quality.
The Association has informed all the authorities with competence in managing the river and its banks (Segura basin, Murcia City Council and the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia) that otters are already at the gates of the city to that take into account the presence of the species in the maintenance and management of the banks and the channel.
Precisely Anse asked the Autonomous Region in recent meetings of the Regional Advisory Council Environment broadened the scope of the Recovery Plan for the species to the limit with Valencia, as the Plan includes actions to reach Otter Contraparada , when he came here several years ago.
Anse believes that it is not crazy to undertake a project to restore the river and its banks further downstream of the city, and that creates the right conditions for otters and many species of fish and aquatic animals, including eels, again to populate the waters of our river to its mouth in the Mediterranean in the town of Guardamar Del Segura.
We must keep pushing between everyone so that become the Segura river of life that should never lose, and be proud that perhaps forever changed with a period of destruction that only remember the pictures and newspaper articles.
The Segura capital can increase its landscape value if we improve the banks and are able to provide more shelter for wildlife.
I appreciate nature and also the generations that come after us.
Source: ANSE
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