Dehesa

There is an ancient forest in the Iberian Peninsula that preserves an extraordinary biodiversity: it is the Dehesa. In the Middle Ages, rural communities decided to eliminate part of the woods surrounding their villages in order to avoid ambushes by invaders. This warlike strategy gradually spread throughout the golden plains, giving rise to a typically Iberian forestry model where the exploitation of resources has always coexisted in harmony with wildlife. Since then, the most legendary birds of the Mediterranean have built their nests in the branches of these old trees and, under their canopies, an infinite number of creatures partake of the fruit banquet, while another multitude of creatures hide in their concavities. But above all, the Dehesa is a battlefield - it is the place where the great herbivores challenge each other, where formidable eagles hunt, where, under the pressure of the mongooses, Europe's largest reptiles coexist and where behind the flowers hide predators with the most fantastic camouflage.