Hunting eagle-owl run down

AN eagle-owl was recently run over in the early hours on the motorway between Retamar and El Pita.

The bird was in the middle of the road and the driver was unable to avoid running into it, he explained on contacting the 112 Emergency Number immediately after the accident.

Eagle-owls, a protected species that hunts at night, are large and after hitting the bird the car hit the crash barrier and was badly damaged, although the driver was unhurt.

This was just a few metres away from the spot where an Iberian lynx was run over in July last year.

According to the Almeria Traffic Authority, animals have been responsible for around 1,000 incidents since 2015 when records were first kept.

Generally the accidents are caused by wild boars, dogs and occasionally goats, a spokesman said.