Good news about the Iberian lynx for once. With 13 babies this year, the captive breeding centres are full to capacity, and there are now a total of 60 cats in the programme. Release dates for both Cordoba and Jaen provinces have been brought forward a year. The most endangered feline species on Earth, the Iberian lynx isn't yet out of the woods, so to speak, but as numbers are so small, the percentage increase in the population is highly significant. Whole article in English at the Olive Press here. Regarding the picture, I'm not sure little Eco has quite got the hang of rabbit hunting yet. She seems to have eaten one ear and saved the rest for later.
Showing posts with label lynx. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lynx. Show all posts
More lynx links
Good news about the Iberian lynx for once. With 13 babies this year, the captive breeding centres are full to capacity, and there are now a total of 60 cats in the programme. Release dates for both Cordoba and Jaen provinces have been brought forward a year. The most endangered feline species on Earth, the Iberian lynx isn't yet out of the woods, so to speak, but as numbers are so small, the percentage increase in the population is highly significant. Whole article in English at the Olive Press here. Regarding the picture, I'm not sure little Eco has quite got the hang of rabbit hunting yet. She seems to have eaten one ear and saved the rest for later.
A lynx's dinner
That rabbit recipe I promised:
1 big rabbit about 1.5-2 kilos, cut into small pieces
4 cloves garlic
2 onions, sliced
A can of tomatoes or half a kilo of chopped fresh tomatoes
Bay leaves and sprigs of thyme, tarragon, rosemary, whatever you fancy and have to hand
A slug of brandy
A glass of wine
Salt and pepper to taste
More herbs to serve (parsley, probably)
Oil
Brown all the pieces of rabbit, season and keep aside. Make a sofrito of onions, garlic and tomatoes in a casserole dish, preferably a clay cazuela. Add the herbs (retaining a small handful for finishing) and put the rabbit back in the pan. Pour in the brandy and set it alight. When it's burned off, add the wine. Bring to a boil and let the sauce reduce and thicken a bit. Then add water to at least cover the meat. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for anywhere between an hour for a tender farmed animal to two for a tough old wild one. Check it every twenty minutes or so and top up the liquid if it needs it, making sure it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. You could do it in an oven, in which case you could probably forget about it for a good while. When it's done, check seasoning and sprinkle the reserved green herbs. This is one of those dishes that British people think should be served with rice, but the Spanish would serve it with fried potatoes or, in the Alpujarra, papas a lo pobre. I fancy pasta with it, personally. A good green salad and plenty of bread and wine are of course essential.
1 big rabbit about 1.5-2 kilos, cut into small pieces
4 cloves garlic
2 onions, sliced
A can of tomatoes or half a kilo of chopped fresh tomatoes
Bay leaves and sprigs of thyme, tarragon, rosemary, whatever you fancy and have to hand
A slug of brandy
A glass of wine
Salt and pepper to taste
More herbs to serve (parsley, probably)
Oil
Brown all the pieces of rabbit, season and keep aside. Make a sofrito of onions, garlic and tomatoes in a casserole dish, preferably a clay cazuela. Add the herbs (retaining a small handful for finishing) and put the rabbit back in the pan. Pour in the brandy and set it alight. When it's burned off, add the wine. Bring to a boil and let the sauce reduce and thicken a bit. Then add water to at least cover the meat. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for anywhere between an hour for a tender farmed animal to two for a tough old wild one. Check it every twenty minutes or so and top up the liquid if it needs it, making sure it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. You could do it in an oven, in which case you could probably forget about it for a good while. When it's done, check seasoning and sprinkle the reserved green herbs. This is one of those dishes that British people think should be served with rice, but the Spanish would serve it with fried potatoes or, in the Alpujarra, papas a lo pobre. I fancy pasta with it, personally. A good green salad and plenty of bread and wine are of course essential.
More lynx
The Iberian lynx is the most endangered feline species in the world and one of Europe's most beautiful predators. Visit soslynx.org for information and some impossibly cute pictures of cubs from the Spanish breeding programmes.You can donate on the site if you're inclined, or buy a t-shirt or something, but it might be more constructive to bring your pet rabbits on holiday to Spain and leave them here. The dearth of rabbits since the disastrous arrival of myxamatosis in 1953 (then the haemorrhaegic virus in the 80s) seems to be the main threat to the lynxes. Although they will eat the odd bird if they get a chance, they're essentially rabbit-dependent. Spain has been famous for rabbits since Classical times, and the Iberian lynx (as distinct from the closely related and far more widespread Eurasian species) may only have evolved and survived because of them. Of course rabbits breed like rabbits, but they've yet to recover their numbers, despite the efforts of conservationists and hunting clubs. Now Spanish scientists have developed a combined vaccine that could bring rabbit populations back up to historic levels in no time if it works - it's still undergoing tests. (When I read this I wondered how they were going to catch the little fellows to inject them all, but apparently once the vaccine is injected into a few rabbits, they pass it on to their pals. It's that breeding thing again, no doubt....). Anyway, if the rabbits bounce back, it'll solve the lynx's problems, mostly. They'll still need to learn how to cross the road without being run over, though.
Coming to this blog soon and insensitively, at least one traditional Alpujarran recipe for rabbit. Meanwhile, here's another lynx picture.
There's no excuse for this, I know....
...but I couldn't resist. We don't have any wild lynx in the Alpujarra, there are no plans to reintroduce them here, and when the captive-bred cats from Jerez zoo are released in 2010, the nearest will be in Jaen. But I found this shot of one of this year's cubs on-line and, well, just look at him. If you had a lynx factory and a shop, you would be very rich indeed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
