Bearded vulture in Izaga.

The bearded vulture, ugatza (Gypaetus barbatus), is a large bird of prey whose Latin name refers to its vulture-like appearance with eagle-like peculiarities and the presence of bristles next to its beak.
It stands out for its large size and wingspan, and especially for the yellowish-orange color of its head, breast and underparts, which makes it easily distinguishable from other species.
It lives, like the griffon vulture, in rocky areas and cliffs, but unlike the griffon vulture, which lives in large groups, it is solitary and likes secluded places.
Hence, it is scarcer and is more affected by undue human interference.
Its diet is focused in such a way that it has its own particular ecological niche, using parts of the carrion that others hardly use, such as tendons and bones, which have come and come mainly from extensive livestock breeding.
Fortunately we have it present in Izaga, where it nests on the north side overlooking the Izagaondoa valley.
That said, we must understand that if we want to continue seeing this and other unique and beautiful birds in our valleys, we must prevent both human overcrowding in these places, the mountains are not theme parks, and bet on the survival of the traditional mode of agriculture and livestock with small and medium farms to which these and other birds of prey have been and are deeply linked.
And here is the work of the administrations.
It is necessary to avoid the overcrowding that I mentioned in Izaga, for which it is necessary to have adequate access control, such as the installation of automatic bollards for restricted use.
This requires investments and maintenance that municipalities with so few resources as ours can hardly afford.
Hence, the intervention of the Government of Navarre in investment and maintenance, as in the forest road that goes up from Zuazu to Izaga, is already necessary, given the presumed interest of the environment in the conservation of this and other birds.
Another aspect already mentioned is its link to traditional agriculture and livestock.
But that from the European Union, governed and directed by a European Commission alien to the popular election, which orients its policies towards the interests of the great corporations and to which our politicians follow with blind obedience, this support to the family tradition is not followed.
They encourage instead the abandonment of this way of life, by making them unviable by the disproportionate demands that they do not require to products that we eat and come to us from other nations, as is the case of Morocco or Ukraine.
Thus, once abandoned and sold, they will fall into the hands of these corporations that will carry out an industrial exploitation of them, losing any link with the nature that surrounded them and losing the essence of our own culture.
Source: https://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/opinion/tribunas/2024/07/27/quebrantahuesos-izaga-8526513.html