DAMAGE caused by a fiesta parade through the Doñana National Park has ended up in the hands of the prosecution.
The Virgen del Rocío pilgrimage crossed through the nature reserve this week for the first time ever, and on the way through, a bronze statue of a lynx was knocked off its pedestal.
Weighing nearly 100 kilos, the lynx was created by Swiss sculptor Robert Haynard in 1960 and takes pride of place outside the Biological Reserve science research centre.
First-time visitors to the National Park, which sits across the far south-western provinces of Cádiz and Huelva and covers the salt marshes along their coasts, have historically taken selfies with the lynx, which has become something of a mascot for the Doñana in the last 50 or so years.
And the Biological Reserve area is not accessible to the public, meaning it was almost certainly knocked over by the paraders, says 'green' activist group Ecologists in Action.
The procession, on foot, on horseback and by tractor, has also wiped out nearly two-thirds of eggs from nests laid by rare birds.
The brightly-coloured European bee-eater tends to nest along the country lane running from the Doñana Palace to Pinar de San Agustín, and over 65% of their eggs have been crushed.
Due to heavy rain, those patron saint fiesta brotherhoods which normally parade through the park from the Bajo de Guía entrance were unable to take their usual, well-trodden route, so authorities gave them permission to use the one crossing through the Biological Reserve.
It is not known whether the statue's being ripped off its stand was a deliberate act of vandalism, whether someone decided to climb up it to take a photograph, or whether it was simply pushed over by careless paraders.
Doñana National Park managers are furious, and say they cannot understand why the procession was not redirected along the beach, which is quicker and does not include the risk of destroying bird nests or botanical research areas.
SEO/Birdlife says using mainly motor vehicles, to replace the traditional horseback parade, was even more thoughtless, since wildlife is generally not disturbed or scared off by horses as it would be by mechanical noises.
Ecologists in Action has commenced a private prosecution against the organisers of the El Rocío pilgrimage.
