Long Way Home

TIKO the Lynx hiked an impressive 30 kilometres from the Peñarrubia mountain range all the way to the centre of Lorca. His route took him by Lorca Castle and then passed over the A­7 motorway tunnel. He was finally located in the playground of a creche in the Alfonso X neighbourhood.

Tiko is one of the lynx pups that was released in the highlands of Lorca. Tiko along with Torrealvilla and Tahúlla, two females and one male, form part of a project to breed and repopulate the area with the endangered species.

Local and National police officers along with the Servicio de protección de la Naturaleza (SEPRONA, the Nature Conservation Service) secured the area, and environmental agents then returned the Lynx home to the Puentes reservoir. The Dept of Environment later shared a picture of Tiko back where he belongs and they thanked everyone for their help. I guess we will never find out the reason for his trek to Lorca’s town centre.

Low-cost trains

THE French company Ouigo has announced that they will launch their low­cost high­speed AVE trains between Murcia and Madrid in 2024. With this competitor in the region next year more competitive services and more affordable tickets are sure to be available.

Ouigo began operating their services from Alicante in April announcing tickets to Madrid from just €9, and just €5 for children, when they launched. They plan to announce similar fares along with timetables and schedules once the project has been authorised. Ouigo hopes to capitalise on RENFE’s failure to improve its services in the area.