Steve Cracknell
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enmarchant.bsky.social
Steve Cracknell
@enmarchant.bsky.social
Writer. ‘The Implausible Rewilding of the Pyrenees’, Nature Book of the Year 2021, selected by Dr Mark Avery, writer and Wild Justice activist.
www.WildingthePyrenees.com, www.PyreneanWay.com, www.laSenda.net.
En català X: @ovella_salvatge.
Pinned
Why am I here? For #naturewriting and the Pyrenees, principally. I’m fascinated by the challenges of #rewilding. I write about that, about mountain people, and about walking. Books in English, French and Catalan.
Army brought in to fight African Swine Fever in Spain. Potentially, this is a big shock for Catalan agriculture, with the outbreak located near Barcelona.
Spanish swine fever outbreak may be linked to food eaten by boar, say officials
Hundreds of police, rangers and military personnel deployed to tackle virus threatening pork export industry
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Wild #boar threatened by African Swine Fever. 6 found dead near Barcelona. But nearest possible sources are Germany, Italy and N Africa. ASF was eliminated in Spain in 1994. Maybe that the disease survived undetected in the wild like brucellosis in Alpine ibex?
Expect ructions in the pig industry.
UK to block imports of pork from Spain due to outbreak of swine fever
Pork products are to be held at border control posts after Spain recorded cases of ASF in the Catalunya
www.independent.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Steve Cracknell
"This is the first time we can say with certainty that European wildcats lived in prehistoric Ireland"

A stunning discovery and more evidence that there's a lot left to discover about Ireland's ecology!

www.rte.ie/news/munster...
Wildcat bones found in Co Clare dated to 5,500 years ago
The first directly dated wildcat bones found in Ireland have been identified, confirming that the species inhabited the island more than 5,500 years ago.
www.rte.ie
November 28, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Intriguing idea that trees can help. Instead of merely sucking water out of vineyards, trees can be beneficial when faced with climate change.
France plans to spend $150 million to rip out grape vines due to wine industry woes from increasing heat, drought, etc

Yet planting rows of trees around vines can drought- & heat-proof them while keeping production up w/o irrigation

I reported about this #agroforestry solution in southern France:
Better wines among the pines: Agroforestry can climate-proof grapes, French researchers show
MONTPELLIER, France — As the world warms due to climate change, winemakers are struggling to maintain the quality of their product. But in the home of wine, agroforestry researchers are showing that g...
news.mongabay.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Steve Cracknell
Bonjour de Provins !
November 26, 2025 at 6:47 AM
#rewilding milestone. A #wolf pack has been seen in the Spanish #Pyrenees, the first in 100 years. I look at the influence of Félix Rogrígez de la Fuente, an early advocate of predators. www.wildingthepyrenees.com/wolf-pack/
Wolf pack
The first wolf pack seen in the Pyrenees for a century.
www.wildingthepyrenees.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Reposted by Steve Cracknell
Reposted by Steve Cracknell
Buenos días ☕️😘
Feliz viernes.
November 21, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Ladrón de manzanas!
Looks quite blissful , doesn't it ? Your #FoxOfTheDay from @urbanponds101
November 21, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Certainly is stinky!
Devil's fingers fungus
Really quite stinky
Purbeck Heaths NNR, Dorset
@dorsetwildlife.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 5:09 PM
L'ours est plus qu'un simple animal...
#Replay 🐻 Dans les Pyrénées, l’ours est célébré comme un totem ancestral. En Lozère, la Bête du Gévaudan hante encore les mémoires. Deux figures sauvages, entre mythe, peur et fascination.

➡️ https://go.publicsenat.fr/w8j
November 17, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Our last evening in the Canary Islands, in Arrecife Lanzarote.
Arrecife, Canaries ce soir.
November 11, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Steve Cracknell
#UnJourUnePhoto #Photographie #Photography #Photo

Le 9/11 : temps

Cadran solaire à Villefranche de Conflent dans les Pyrénées Orientales
November 9, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Sunset at the Caleta de Famara Lanzarote, this evening!
November 6, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Important #rewilding milestone. Officials have announced that a pack of wolves is under strict protection in the Pyrenees. The two adults and their three cubs, born this year, are being looked after by the Catalan government. It is 100 years since wolves disappeared. www.segre.com/ca/societat/...
Detectada la primera llopada a Catalunya en 100 anys, amb tres cadells
La Generalitat remarca que és un "fet històric" que arriba després de dècades de seguiment de l'espècie
www.segre.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Steve Cracknell
Anyway, we need some joy, so here's the Egyptian foreign minister being given a Lego Pyramid by the Danish foreign minister.
November 3, 2025 at 2:35 PM
In the rainforest on la Gomera, Canaries yesterday. Feeling small, overwhelmed, but content to be here.
November 2, 2025 at 9:37 AM
A great pleasure to participate in this podcast. Thanks for inviting me Julius.
C’était un grand plaisir de participer dans ce podcast. Félicitations Julius !
November 1, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Brown #bear meets hunters in the #Pyrenees. This is how it is supposed to work, with both hunters and bear on their best behaviour. It is not always like that! See my book on the controversial reintroduction of bears. #rewilding #naturewriting
VIDÉO. Face-à-face impressionnant entre un ours et des chasseurs lors d'une battue dans les Pyrénées
La rencontre a eu lieu durant une battue organisée dans la communauté d'Aragon, en Espagne. Des chasseurs, en pleine battue, se sont retrouvés face à un ours brun.
france3-regions.franceinfo.fr
October 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Steve Cracknell
Private Eye.
October 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Associations hope for a new trial reintroduction of boreal lynx into the #Pyrenees in PallarsSobirà. When last proposed in the Vall d'Aran, farmers objected, and the project was cancelled. #rewilding
Certaines associations espèrent un nouvel essai de #réintroduction du #lynx boréal dans les Pyrénées, dans le Pallars Sobirà. Lorsqu’il avait été proposé pour la dernière fois dans la Vall d’Aran, les éleveurs s’y étaient opposés et le projet est tombé à l'eau.
Así es el superdepreador extinto que los ecologistas quieren soltar en el Pirineo catalán
Un proyecto impulsado por las entidades locales Amics del Parc Natural de l’Alt Pirineu y ADLO Pirineo plantea liberar machos castrados.
www.20minutos.es
October 17, 2025 at 4:50 PM
It can be difficult living with bears. At Arreau, in the Pyrenees, the shepherds have been working hard for many years, but still have problems. #rewilding #bears
October 14, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Although there are now over 100 bears in the #Pyrenees, following a #reintroduction programme, genetic diversity is limited. Claverina was brought in to help fix that, and here she is with a cub! #rewilding #bear
Claverina, une des ourses arrivées dans les Pyrénées en 2018, repéré en Aragon ! Avec son ourson de l'année. #ours #nature
Claverina et son ourson de nouveau détectés en Aragon en septembre !😊
YouTube video by Pays de l'Ours - Adet
youtu.be
October 12, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Mind-boggling!
super cool study found human artifacts in Bearded vulture nests, incl. "weaponry like a crossbow bolt and wooden lance, decorated sheep leather, and parts of a slingshot....a shoe made from twigs and grass is ~675-years-old." link to paper: doi.org/10.1002/ecy..... www.popsci.com/environment/... 🧪🌍🦉
Multi-generational vulture nests hold 700 years of human artifacts
Crossbow bolts, sandals, slingshots, and more.
www.popsci.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by Steve Cracknell
Tory party’s long journey away from science, reason, responsibility, common sense and truth is complete
Kemi Badenoch vows to repeal Climate Change Act
Tory leader says she would replace it with ‘cheap energy’ strategy, ending decades-long consensus on climate
www.theguardian.com
October 2, 2025 at 6:37 AM