DEHESA FOREST of the IBERIAN LYNX Written and Directed by Joaquín Gutiérrez Acha 2 × 50 Min

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DEHESA FOREST OF THE IBERIAN LYNX Written and directed by Joaquín Gutiérrez Acha 2 × 50 min. + 1 × 90 min. Executive producers: Birgit Peters, Sabine Holzer 4K, 5.1 and Stereo —

The Dehesa is the Iberian Peninsula’s best kept secret sometimes called the Spanish Serengeti, it is an ancient, wild grassland dotted with trees. Central to this landscape, mountain rabbits are — holm oaks, the engineers of the ecosystem, as their grazing But these are no ordinary trees controls the plant growth and their warrens cork trees and gall-oaks have shaped this land- provide shelter for other small creatures. Yet they scape and, today, large herbivores graze the live in such numbers, they are food themselves for landscape, stealthy Iberian lynxes prowl the the hunters in this pasture. shadows, formidable eagles patrol the skies, and colourful wildflowers conceal predators that Hundreds of years ago, forests had been cleared have such astonishing camouflage they seem to to improve visibility and reduce the risk of completely disappear. ambushes. With the trees removed and thickets eliminated, the vegetation cover has become Every year, the Dehesa welcomes— migrating thousands birds arrive of grazing pasture for domestic livestock such as long-distance travellers bulls, sheep, cattle such as Andalusian cardenas, for the winter, following the warmer climate and along with wild herbivores such as deer, fallow the most sought-after food, the treasure of the deer and mouflons. Dehesa: acorns. The populations of rodents, rabbits and reptiles This story begins in one of the oldest forests in are held in check by Egyptian mongooses but they Europe, the primitive forests of the Tertiary Era. need to watch out for the lynx. Lynx are very Surrounded by perpetual mists and the unique partial to rabbit meat and see any mongoose or climate, archaic species have survived. Above the fox that crosses their path as competition to be canopy, three large eagles guard the lower areas. killed immediately to remove a rival. Our glimpses The short-toed eagle has just crossed the Strait of into the private life of the Iberian lynx will reveal Gibraltar on its journey from its African winter its secret and complex behaviour. home. The Bonelli’s Eagle, living in this area all year round, is an unusually swift and aggressive It seems that in the dehesas, there is nowhere to hunter, and just the shadow of the Iberian hide, but reptiles will always find somewhere to Imperial eagle, endemic to the region and the wait out the heat of the day. Ocellated lizards and largest of the three, is enough to evoke terror great bastard snakes hunt during the cooler hours in its prey. and go into hiding as temperatures rise with the sun. The eagles will guide us on our journey through the vast realm of the Dehesa. But all is not what it seems in this idyllic landscape. Giant millenary trees are being attacked by But while life plays out above the canopy, in a aggressive fungi that mutilate them slowly, miniature world at ground level, crab spiders can denying them the ability to absorb nutrients. adjust their own colour to match their surround- If not strangled by fungi, in this climate trees are ings, becoming invisible to hunt down prey nearly also in danger of dehydration and water distress. twice their size. Praying mantis spread terror not Holm oaks have ingenious developed strategies only amongst insects, but amongst each other, to cope. as the females turn on the males after mating. In the dry heat, the few remaining water holes in Spanish lavender, hedge mustard, orchids, poppies the countryside become meeting places for wild and many more coat the ground in vivid colour animals desperately seeking to quench their thirst. across the dehesas of Andalusia, Extremadura, But for the unwary animals, there are predators … Castilla y León and Portugal. New visitors arrive small rodents, hares and rabbits try to avoid them from distant lands; wood pigeons, kites, yellow- by drinking at dusk but they are still at risk from faded vultures or Egyptian vultures gather in night-time predators such as owls, masters of the dozens before moving on to their breeding darkness, hunting with their deathly silent flight. grounds. Meanwhile, scorpions wait patiently in strategic positions, waiting for the passage of some unfortunate insect. NATURE

Others already prepare for their next day’s work. As the first rays of sunlight cross the forests, human voices can be heard in the the locals are harvesting cork. distance — Cork is a fire-retardant material made by cork trees to protect themselves from — and to forest fires. Every nine years, workers The clouds burst, and rains drenches the extract cork from these cork oaks soil and fills the streams. Otters play do so, must cross steep valleys and tortu- together, hunting for fish, bringing joy to a landscape that has once again survived ous ravines with their mules, a dangerous — acorns, price to pay for this valuable resource. — the hot dry summer for another year. Also hard at work, not too far away, the Healthy trees begin to bear fruit most dedicated fisherman of Iberia can be found gold for the pasture and the manna many the kingfisher. Incredible high-speed animals had been waiting for. From the recordings will reveal this small, brilliantly north, thousands of birds have already coloured bird hard at work. begun the long journey south to feast on this precious food resource. The appearance of clouds in the sky announce a change. Birds that flew to The Dehesa — the Spanish Serengeti — these lands to breed know it is as a sign is a crucially important ecosystem with to return to Africa. Soon, the water will awe-inspiring biodiversity. For all its completely transform the now golden apparent serenity and tranquillity, this is a aspect of the pastures. From deep inside wild territory, where the battle for life— is never far away and every living creature the dense forests surrounding the open— grassland come the bellows of deer; they struggles to survive from day to day are ready for battle. Some will win until the next sunrise. and some will lose, left badly wounded, and some will surrender to these wounds. By using the latest standards in high- speed filming techniques and macropho- When this happens, an army appears in the tography we capture intimate moments, sky: griffon and black vultures circle often invisible to the naked human eye, overhead and once they land, no bone will while exclusive aerial photography will

be left unturned. They play a crucial part reveal the vastness of the Spanish © J. R. Lora in cleaning up in the Mediterranean Serengeti — the Dehesa. mountains, reducing the risk of diseases developing and spreading.

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