The European eel (Eel eelThe eel is critically endangered, and the Spanish government, pressured by some chefs, scientists, and the public, wants to stop the capture of both the eel and its juvenile, the elver, which is highly prized and sought after in gastronomy. Last autumn, the Basque Country banned its fishing, while neighboring regions, such as Asturias, continue to catch them despite complaints from the Basque fishing sector. In Spain, scientists like Arnau Subías, who runs the Instagram account @Gastrobio, have been warning about the situation for years, and points out that fishing has been prohibited in Andalusia since 2010. "Finally, there seems to be more awareness, but action should have been taken a long time ago by prohibiting fishing and regulating pollution in reservoirs," he says.

We spotted him perched on a tree, a thick head of reddish fur with very long arms moving leisurely from one branch to the other. With rapt eyes, we watched as the male orangutan descended the trunk, his feet clasped like hands, his body hanging like a trapeze artist's; confident, slow movements, nothing like the hustle and bustle of other apes. He touched the ground and began to walk on all fours a few meters from us. Enormous, majestic, indolent, he let us admire him for a few more moments before disappearing into the forest. We remained motionless, excited, savoring the image in silence. We had seen him! We had been able to contemplate one of the rarest and most endangered animals on the planet: the orangutan, which in Malay means "man of the forest." Pongo Abelii, according to the taxonomy.

The light of an April morning caresses the cereal plain that stretches between the Segarra plateau and the Urgell canal, encompassing the Bellmunt mountain range, the Plans de Sió, and the drylands of Belianes-Preixana. A group of natural spaces with poorly defined boundaries that remained outside the influence of the Urgell canal, where we find the last populations of one of the most endangered birds in Catalonia, the little bustard (Tetrax tetrax), also known as holly or dryland duck. In a corner of the rockrose, an intense fight breaks out between two vigorous males vying for rights to a "display ground," a designated area for individual use where the male performs his mating display with the aim of attracting a female. In the specific case of the little bustard, this area consists of very flat land, a very common plot of land. Ownership of this land governs their rank in a social hierarchy that will determine their chances of procreation. With all this at stake, neither rival will be willing to compromise, and with their beaks sharpened, they will stab each other sharply until the weaker admits defeat and leaves. The loser must find another corner to display his mate.