Côa Valley reserve builds rabbit burrows hoping to draw back wildcats

The Faia Brava reserve in the Côa Valley, Portugal's first private protected area, installed 12 concrete rabbit shelters this spring and is restoring ponds and sowing food crops. The aim is to rebuild prey for predators such as the wildcat, which camera traps appear to have recorded in early 2025. Six of the monitored shelters already show rabbits, though predators such as foxes also appear. The team hopes to fund a rabbit breeding enclosure in 2027, extend the shelters to other parts of the reserve, and run another intensive camera survey by mid-2027.