Newts doing nicely thanks to Valencian Community’s conservation and breeding programme

THE Fundacion Oceanografic based in Valencia City released 18 ribbed newts in a Benissa pond on November 2.

These newts, native to the Iberian Peninsula and Morroco, are listed as vulnerable in the region’s catalogue of threatened species and have begun to disappear from some areas.

Bred at the Oceanografic Aquarium, the newts were released by pupils from the Josep Iborra high school into a pond  which had been dug out by Benissa’s Anti-fire Association (ABAI).  Also present were representatives from the El Palmar Fish Hatchery Investigation Centre.

The Fundacion Oceanografic experts carry out periodic controls to assess the evolution and health of the newts in different parts of the Valencian Community and this year were able to compare their 2022 findings with last year’s.

As each newt is microchipped in order to identify them and check their movements, the biologists discovered that they had reproduced over the past 12 months, underlining the success and importance of the programme.

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