extinct

Cantabria has always been one of the largest milk producers in Spain. Now their ranchers are going extinct

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The Cantabrian livestock sector is in full transformation. Especially if we talk about milk production. In recent years the region has seen the disappearance hundreds of farms of beef. The phenomenon can be explained (in part) by a tendency towards concentration, but that has not in any case prevented the decline in production. The result is that, although Cantabria continues to have a relevant weight in it national sectorfinds itself with a complex panorama: its dairy farmers are on the verge of extinction. What do the figures say? The phenomenon is complex and to understand it, several keys must be used. The most relevant is probably the contribution last summer the Cantabrian Government itself, when disclosing a balance sheet that shows that the region lost almost 400 dairy farms in just six years. From the 1,167 registered in March 2019, it rose to 770 during the same month of 2025. A few days ago The Confidential public an information on the sector that shows an even lower figure, with 749 milking farms. CCAA cow’s milk production on farms (2024 – data in thousands of Tms) Galicia 3,095,539 Asturias 535,863 Cantabria 404,850 the Basque Country 163,395 Navarre 280,273 Rioja 22,832 Aragon 176,416 Catalonia 770,981 Balearics 60,851 Castile and León 925,809 Madrid 55,427 Castile-La Mancha 296,292 Valencian Community 86,356 Murcia 68,684 Estremadura 18,618 Andalusia 557,998 Canary Islands 55,881 Spain 7,576,063 Is there more data? Yes. The balance sheet provided by the Cantabrian Executive is interesting because it shows that this loss of farms is not the result of a one-off restructuring, but rather a sustained trend over time. If 2019 ended with 1,113 farms, in 2020 there were already 1,050, 976 in 2021, 905 in 2022, 847 in 2023 and 784 at the end of 2024. In the first quarter of 2025 the census was at 770. The values do not coincide with those of the yearbook published in 2024 by Agriculture, but The trend is basically the same. Is it just the number of farms going down? No. The loss of farms can be explained in part by a trend towards the concentration. That is to say, perhaps in the community there are fewer farms but those that exist accumulate more cattle. The rest of the sector’s indicators, however, show that it is far from strengthening. The census of milking cows has experienced a fluctuating trend in recent years, with ups and downs. Its trend has been less clear and pronounced than that of farms, but the final balance is not good. Why’s that? In 2019 there were registered in the community 49,486 cattle bred for milk production. In 2024 there were already 48,186, about 1,300 less. In between, the sector has experienced some important ups and downs. In 2022, for example, the census reached 64,633 cows after growing by around 7% in one year, but in 2023 it again experienced a considerable decline. Production data is also not buoyant. Both those collected by Agriculture and the impressions conveyed by the sector. Recently admitted to The Confidential which has encountered a decrease in the collection volume, something unusual not so long ago. “Production in Cantabria has fallen by 15% in the last five years,” the national federation FENIL states. How does that affect the region? The key I gave it in December The Montañés Diary. The loss of dairy farms has meant that in the community there are now several dozen municipalities without farms of this type. To be precise, there are 26 towns without a trace of the industry, a list that includes towns with an urban profile, such as Castro Urdiales, but also others that have been more linked to the agricultural and livestock sector, such as Anievas or Cabuérniga. At the end of last year there were almost a dozen and a half nuclei in which only one livestock farm dedicated to dairy survived. What is the change due to? There are several factors at play. Beyond the general tendency of the bovine sector towards concentration that occurs in Spain, with the transition from many small farms to a few larger ones, the drift of the Cantabrian industry is explained by social and economic issues. They close farms because there is no generational change. Neither more nor less. “The first factor that explains this is the advanced age of the region’s ranchers. The average is between 58 and 60 years old,” explains to The Confidential Luis Pérez, from Ugam-Coag. “They reach retirement and close the farm, no one continues.” And why does that happen? Again, due to a combination of factors. Taking care of farms requires intense and constant work (“You have to milk twice a day, every day”) that is not always rewarded when selling the product in a volatile market with fluctuating prices. “You can be very well and in two months go down and be very bad. There is no type of stability,” Perez adds.. Against this backdrop, there are more tempting niches within livestock farming, such as breeding for the meat sector. While Cantabria has seen the number of farms dedicated to milking decrease, professionals in the meat sector have increased. What is happening with that sector? “The majority of those who enter are children of ranchers. And they almost always join with beef cows,” comments Pérez in The Montañés Diary. “In both cases you have to attend to the animals every day, but with milk you have to milk, yes or yes, every 12 hours.” Before the pandemic, there were 7,827 livestock farms of this type. In 2023 there were already more than 8,100, although since then that record also seems to have been reduced. Images | Nicolas Vigier (Flickr) and Department of agriculture In Xataka | We have tried to find out if science prefers whole, semi or skimmed milk and we have stayed as we were

Prickly pears are at risk of becoming extinct because no one wants to be a prickly pear anymore. Castilla y León wants to remedy it

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His image is iconic, unmistakable. Capes, doublets, ribbons and patches, with guitars and bands in their hands and setting the rhythm around the campuses. The university prickly pears are part of the cultural heritage of Spain and as such the Junta de Castilla y León wants to protect them, which just declared tradition an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) of an intangible nature. The measure comes at a particularly delicate moment: with the prickly pear Vivabut stalked by “threats”. What has happened? That Castilla y León has just declared the university prickly pears Asset of Intangible Cultural Interest. In reality, the regional Government Council made the decision several weeks ago, November 27but it had not been consolidated until now, with your publication in it Official State Gazette. Why is it important? To begin with, because it represents public recognition of a cultural tradition that dates back centuries and will now have a new institutional veneer. Among other issues, the BIC label should make it easier for groups to promote themselves. The declaration as immaterial BIC also places the focus on another fundamental issue: the state of health of university students in Spain. At the end of the day, the Junta de Castilla y León itself recognize that one of the objectives of the measure is to “protect the uniqueness” of a tradition that, he insists, remains “alive” and “integrated” on the campuses. Not everyone shares his optimism. From Culture they warned not long ago that the prickly pears face “threats”. Why declare it BIC? The Castilian Government is clear about it: claims “the roots” of the prickly pear in the region and remembers that the tradition arose in the heat of some of its first universities, such as that of Palencia, Salamanca either Valladolidwhich trace their origins to the 13th century. “This has allowed the tradition to take deep roots in the region from an early date,” collects the BOE announcementin which he presents Salamanca as the “cradle of the prickly pear.” Since then the groups have gone through multiple ups and downs. The prickly pears started among the humblest university students of the late Middle Ages, young people who played in exchange for food or a few coins, and remained active throughout the following centuries. In the 19th century they were on the brink of disappearance, but they gained renewed momentum thanks to the Romantic movement. The Civil War threatened its survival again, but the tradition was reinforced during the 40s, 50s and especially between the 60s and 70s, when Spain opened up to tourism that found in those young people who dedicated themselves to singing dressed in capes and ribbons a “picturesque symbol of Spanish student folklore.” Already in the 1980s and 1990s the first female groups were consolidated. And how are they now? The Board assures that “the presence of university prickly pears” covers the entire region, giving shape to “a living mosaic.” “Castilla y León is home to between 20 and 30 active or recently active university tunas, distributed throughout all its provinces,” celebrate the Castilian-Leonese Government before specifying that this estimate includes all types of groups, male, female and those known as fortiesformed by ancient tunos. How are your health? It depends on the source we consult. In June, Ernest Urtasun’s department published a report in which, after emphasizing the cultural and historical interest of these groups, he issues a warning to sailors: “The university prickly pear faces risks and threats derived above all from the aging of its members due to the lack of incorporation of new members in the existing groups, which results in a decrease in their number.” The comment is actually included in an official file which aims to declare the prickly pear “representative manifestation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.” What are the prickly pears like today? That’s the key. The Country concrete that of the 150 musicians that make up the Law tuna of the Complutense University, only 15 are under 30 years old. “In the end it is a tradition that is championed by people who are not university students,” recognize one of its members. Another veteran of a prickly pear in Valladolid admits that “many fewer performances” are carried out than before. “There is no longer so much influx of people who want to join, whether due to musical tastes, the loss of economic support, fashions or the appearance of other groups, such as charangas,” reflect. “What I am clear about is that tuna continues to be a way to meet with friends who share a taste for music, creating bonds that can last a lifetime.” The situation also varies from one area to another in Spain. four years ago The Galician Post explained that in Santiago de Compostela, another of the main university cities in the country, only one prickly pear remained intact (there are other initiatives), that of Law. Of course, based on musicians who for the most part were no longer linked to the university. The Galician newspaper pointed out, however, that the trend was somewhat different in the southern half of the peninsula. Images | University of Salamanca 1 and 2 and University of Seville In Xataka | The ringing of Spanish bells is a language in itself. And now also a World Heritage Site

There are green, orange and even purple USB ports. The color rule that indicates your generation is extinct

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There was a time when everything was easier. If the USB port was white, it was slow; if it was black, it was standard; and if it was blue, it was the fastest. That rule that helped us Easily identify USB-A generations It’s gone. The arrival of new standards, charging functions and brand marketing has meant that today we find a wide range of green, orange and purple ports that no longer mean much. Image: StorageReview The original color code. The current chaos, as we explain in our guide to the USB standardit was not planned. The USB-IF organization tried to standardize it: white corresponds to USB 1.x, black for USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), and blue (or turquoise) for fast USB 3.0 (5 Gbps). First confusion. That is a product of the charging ports: the first problem came when colors began to be used to indicate power functions, not just data transmission. This is how the yellow, orange or red ports arrived. These usually indicate an “Always on” or “Sleep & Charge” function, which means that the port continues to provide power even when the computer is turned off or in sleep. More speed, more colors. To differentiate USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) and 3.2 (20 Gbps), the standard suggested the color turquoise blue, or failing that, red. Here the system began to leak. And the final blow came from marketing. A purple USB cable for a Huawei device indicates that it supports SuperCharge, its fast charging technology. Image: Reddit The rule became extinct completely when the brands decided use colors as corporate identity. The most famous case is that of Razer, which dyes its ports a characteristic lime green. Likewise, if you see a purple port, it’s probably from Huawei. The Chinese manufacturer uses them to identify its devices compatible with SuperCharge (its fast charging system), although technically it is still a USB 3.1 port. Chaos also in names. If there is already a mess with the colors, there is also a mess with the names: USB-IF itself has contributed by renaming the standards. USB 3.0 was renamed “USB 3.1 Gen 1” and is now “USB 3.2 Gen 1.” In parallel, USB 3.1 is now “USB 3.2 Gen 2”. This makes it almost impossible for a user to know what they are buying without looking at the fine print, a mess that the Wi-Fi Alliance solved much more elegantly. with standards such as Wi-Fi 5, 6 or the most recent Wi-Fi 7. The real culprit: USB-C. The final nail in the color coding coffin is the USB-C connector. It’s just a reversible connector, but what’s inside is chaos: the same USB-C port can be a slow USB 2.0, a USB 3.2 or a very fast Thunderbolt 4. The only way to differentiate them is to look for the lightning bolt logo that characterized Apple. Or read the device’s spec sheet because color, unfortunately, no longer means anything. Image | Xataka In Xataka | How to prepare a USB to use it on your mobile phone, tablet or Smart TV and expand its memory

In Castilla y León, a baby of an eagle that became extinct in the 19th century has been born. What is not clear is that it is good news

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The skies of Castilla y León have left a historical imagesomething that had not been seen for a long time in our country: a native baby eagle flying over the territory. The specimen of this bird of prey was born on Spanish soil a few months ago, early mayand has already taken flight, as has just been said reveal The Confidential. Something like this hadn’t happened in a long time. That a species that was supposed to be extinct in the Iberian Peninsula since the 19th century manages to recover ground is usually positive news, but in the case of the eagle it comes clouded by something else: controversy. There are those who believe that its reintroduction in Spain is a “historical milestone”. And who thinks it is a blunder. First of all, what is the eagle? A bird of prey that stands out for its enormous size. With its wings extended it can reach 2.4m wingspan and usually measures between 80 and 90 cm long. His name appeared in a list published years ago by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) with extinct species susceptible to be reintroduced. After all, there are those who consider that the eagle, which continues to live in Scandinavian countries, it disappeared from the peninsula among the 19th and 20th centuries due to the degradation of their environment. How did you return to Spain? Thanks to Proyecto Pigargo, a plan released in 2021 with the approval of the Principality of Asturias, the Cantabrian Government and above all the support of MITECO, which invested more than 300,000 euros in the recovery of the species. In August of that same year was announced the arrival of almost a dozen young specimens born in Norway that were introduced in Pimiango, in the municipality of Ribadedeva (Asturias). As time went by, more birds were released until add 25. Of them survived about 17almost all (12) paired. And have they bred yet? Yes. The news I advanced it on September 18 GREFA, the group that has promoted the reintroduction of the species on the peninsula. In a statement The group explains that the calf was born in May in the north of Castilla y León, in an area that had been identified as “optimal for the species”, although GREFA has not specified the exact location “to avoid any disturbance.” “The birth of the first European eagle chick in Spain represents a historic moment for nature conservation in our country,” celebrate the association before highlighting the collaboration of the Junta de Castilla y León and the “technical support” of both MITECO and agents of the autonomous community. Perfect, right? It depends on who you ask. If we listen GREFA is “a historic milestone for biodiversity in Spain and Europe”, the result of a well-studied plan, which accumulates hours of work and has achieved the support of IUCNthe International Union for Conservation of Nature. The group insists that it is the first breeding after “the extinction” of the species in Spain and highlights “the success” of having achieved a chick in a few years with 25 specimens released. “An exciting and motivating result that allows us to hope for more views next season,” celebrate. Don’t everyone think that way? No. The launch of the Pigargo Project may have generated expectations at the time, but it certainly did not achieve something equally or even more important: scientific consensus. Already in 2021 there were voices that warned that releasing copies in Spain meant “a bad idea”. In fact, that was the key message of an article published in The Conversation by three experts from the University of Oviedo in which they pointed out the weak points of the program and questioned whether the eagle is really a native and extinct species. The controversy escalated to such a point that the central government and the autonomies that had initially endorsed the project they decided to back out after just two years. What arguments do they use? GREFA recalls that the releases of eagles that began four years ago in Asturias had the endorsement of the IUCN and the species was included in the list of extinct fauna prepared with the endorsement of the committee of scientists that advises the ministry. Not only that. The group defends that the birth of the first baby in the wild in Castilla y León a few months ago proves the adaptation to the environment of a bird of prey that, argues“contributes to keeping under control” other species that can damage ecosystems, such as carp. “Thanks to its scavenging habits, the European sea eagle plays an important role as a ‘health police’, helping to control the spread of diseases by effectively removing animal corpses from the environment,” they point out from the entity. In fact, GREFA trusts that the birth of the first chick marks a turning point in the program and will allow it to recover the institutional support that it has been losing in recent years. “We hope that this historic event encourages strengthening or resuming support for the project, especially in the case of the Principality of Asturias and the Government of Cantabria, whose initial collaboration was fundamental although they later withdrew it,” Ernesto Álvarez slidesits president. And what do the critics say? They go to the root of the approach and question its most basic premise: that it has really been proven that the eagle is a species native to the peninsula. “To consider a species as extinct, the evidence must be irrefutable. In the case of the eagle that does not happen. The documentation that has been used for its classification as an extinct species is reduced to some reports on archaeological remains, several citations of solitary specimens and dubious signs of breeding,” he points out. the article published in The Conversation. One of them, Germán Orizaola, Ramón y Cajal researcher in Zoology, warned in 2023 in statements to The Country of the risk that the initiative may pose … Read more

We have made the giant wolves return after 10,000 extinct years. The problem is that they “return” may not be the right word

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The colossal company is known for its projects to Disxtinct Animals such as mammoth and dodo. However, the biotechnological company has announced its First success In a very different species: the giant wolf (Aenocyon Dirus) or “terrible wolf.” A first success. Colossal, the company dedicated to popular biotechnology for its efforts to return extinct species to life, has claimed to have achieved the feat With the giant wolf. Triple. Animals raised by the company are rather hybrid between this species and contemporary wolves, but the work can be a before and after in the efforts for Dextinction of species. Aenocyon Dirus. The giant wolf is not a wolf itself. This species belongs to the same taxonomic group (Canine) than domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes or jackals. It is estimated that they shared a last common ancestor makes about six million yearsso it can be considered a close relative in relative terms. This species inhabited the Americas During the late pleistocene. The most recent remains of these animals date from about 13,000 years ago. Romulo, Remo and Khaleesi. For now there are more doubts than the certainties we have about the process carried out by the American company. Something we do know is that the company has three young that were born in October 2024 and were baptized as Romulo, Remo and Khaleesi. Parallel processes. According to describes its own companythe recovery process began on two parallel paths. The first departed with obtaining the DNA of the extinct animal, something that was achieved thanks to remains obtained in a skull and a tooth of the extinct animal. In parallel, blood samples were obtained from a gray wolf, after which both DNA had to be sequenced. From there the processes join through the alignment of the two sequences. Once the available genetic information is combined, it is possible to “filter variants”, that is, to study the differences between the two species depending on their genetics. With this it is possible to edit the genes of the gray wolf, one by one, until it is resembled the giant wolf as much as possible (the team made 20 alterations in 14 genes in this phase). The final phases are those of the cloning process. Once the alterations have been introduced, a cell nucleus, it is introduced into reproductive cells. In this case, the company resorted not to a wolf but to a common bitch as the belly of the creatures to be born. The other Colossal plans. The colossal company is a usual on the covers thanks to its perhaps not so crazy plans of Dextinction of species. In your list of species to return from the beyond are The mammoth, The dodo And even the Tasmania tiger. What is at stake. Disxtinct Species is much more than an altruistic action: genetic information is information and this has an entire economy behind. During the UN conference on the UN biological diversity of 2022, One of the topics to be addressed It was in the digital information about sequences or DSI, the genetic information we compile from nature. In the genes of plants, animals and unicellular beings are the plans for the synthesization of very different compounds, some of them useful for example for the pharmaceutical industry. Until now, the question about To whom intellectual property belongs In a case like the Dextinction The mammoth was only theoretical. Now the need to clear these doubts becomes more latent than ever. In Xataka | Mammoth recovery is the flagship of an American company. Now he has just taken an important step Image | Colossal

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