Inusual fauna of the port of Sanxenxo: home of otters and magnet for rice - Sanxenxo, Pontevedra, Galicia, España
Posted by: Ariberna
N 42° 23.873 W 008° 48.264
29T E 516097 N 4693972
The roadstead of the tourist capital not only serves as a stopover for yachts and fishing boats
Waymark Code: WM14CDB
Location: Galicia, Spain
Date Posted: 06/10/2021
Views: 1
The Sanxenxo marina has been home to a family of otters for just over 25 years . There are times when the rice paddies enter the dock and you can see them moving between the yachts on the Nauta docks. The roadstead of the tourist capital of the Rías Baixas not only serves as a stopover for boats, it also acts as a magnet for these two very different species, but at the same time linked to the sea. It is one more element to take into account, a quality bonus that guarantees the good health of the port's waters , as explained by the Nauta boatswain, Jesús Quintáns. And one more attraction for a villa that already boasts a long list of singularities. The Sanxenxo marina was inaugurated in 2005 and practically since its creation it has served as a home for a family of otters . They are elusive and difficult to photograph or record. Of nocturnal habits, they sleep during the day and avoid humans. They do not have a name, but they are residents with a fixed address in some hole in the piers or docks. There they have already raised many litters over the years. The sailors and workers of Nauta know this because sometimes they see them, or come across the traces they leave the next morning. They like to run around the docks and sometimes they get on boats. It is not uncommon to come across food scraps or footprints. "At night there are times when you see them, but they don't let you get close," says Quintáns, who is proud of his shy neighbors. "An otter is an indicator that the quality of the water in the port of Sanxenxo is excellent," he highlights. Successful breedingSanxenxine otters breed fearlessly in the harbor. They usually do it every two years, according to the boatswain, although the young people are not left in the roadstead, as they are quite territorial specimens . "If they take out a male, the father kicks him out soon, if it is a female, he can put up with it a little longer," says Quintáns. Throughout these years, Nauta workers and sailors have become accustomed to the presence of this family of otters, but they are not the only showy species of animals that has one of its references in Sanxenxo. The other class is rice. "We are a fairly open port and very well located, in addition the water quality is very good and it is very common that they get into the dock and you see them among the boats," emphasizes the boatswain of Nauta. These cetaceans are so comfortable in Sanxenxo that they play with the yachts an average of twice a week during their trips around the Pontevedra estuary. And it is precisely the location of its port that makes it an exceptional observatory to contemplate the evolution of the rice fields in the estuary . «The breakwater is a privileged place to observe them. It is very rare that a day goes by without you seeing them pass by and not only rice, but also dolphins and porpoises. In winter their sightings are not so frequent, but in the summer, they are seen happening daily, according to the Nauta boatswain. The municipal entity collaborates with the Gremmar in the study of these cetaceans, which are one of the emblems of the marine fauna of the estuary and an indisputable attraction for tourists.
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