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Sheep Flock to Madrid's Streets on Ancient Herding Route

Women have their picture taken next to a flock of sheep during the annual parade on the streets of Madrid, as shepherds demand to exercise their right to use traditional migration routes for their livestock from northern Spain to winter grazing pasture land in southern Spain, in Madrid, Spain October 22, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera
Women have their picture taken next to a flock of sheep during the annual parade on the streets of Madrid, as shepherds demand to exercise their right to use traditional migration routes for their livestock from northern Spain to winter grazing pasture land in southern Spain, in Madrid, Spain October 22, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera
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Sheep Flock to Madrid's Streets on Ancient Herding Route

Women have their picture taken next to a flock of sheep during the annual parade on the streets of Madrid, as shepherds demand to exercise their right to use traditional migration routes for their livestock from northern Spain to winter grazing pasture land in southern Spain, in Madrid, Spain October 22, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera
Women have their picture taken next to a flock of sheep during the annual parade on the streets of Madrid, as shepherds demand to exercise their right to use traditional migration routes for their livestock from northern Spain to winter grazing pasture land in southern Spain, in Madrid, Spain October 22, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera

Bleeting sheep replaced beeping cars on Madrid's streets on Sunday, as shepherds guided their flocks through the city center following ancient herding routes to southerly pastures for the winter.
The annual event was revived in 1994 as part of Madrid's annual Fiesta de la Trashumancia, after the Spanish parliament recognized the traditional routes used to herd livestock.
Once they passed through quiet countryside, but on Sunday the shepherds, many of whom wore traditional dress, had to cross some of the busiest areas of the city, including the Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid's main squares, Reuters reported.
Locals and tourists lined the way, snapping pictures of the sheep that wore tinkling bells around their necks.
"I really didn't expect this in the city, in the capital. This reminds me of my village," said student Ana Sar, from Mallorca.

"It's amazing," said Sandra Van Arkelem, 57, from the Netherlands "So many people are joining and enjoying it".

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Study: Deep Ocean Marine Heatwaves May be Under-reported

Waves hit the rocks on the shores of the Pacific Ocean at Rapa Nui national park area managed by the Mau Henua native community at Easter Island, Chile October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado
Waves hit the rocks on the shores of the Pacific Ocean at Rapa Nui national park area managed by the Mau Henua native community at Easter Island, Chile October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado
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Study: Deep Ocean Marine Heatwaves May be Under-reported

Waves hit the rocks on the shores of the Pacific Ocean at Rapa Nui national park area managed by the Mau Henua native community at Easter Island, Chile October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado
Waves hit the rocks on the shores of the Pacific Ocean at Rapa Nui national park area managed by the Mau Henua native community at Easter Island, Chile October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

Heatwaves deep in oceans may be "significantly under-reported", highlighting an area of marine warming that has been largely overlooked, a joint study by Australia's national science agency (CISRO) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found.
The study, which was published on Thursday in the Nature scientific journal, found that 80% of marine heatwaves below 100 meters are independent of surface events, Reuters reported.
It said researchers used observational data from more than two million ocean temperature profiles from global oceans.
"These findings deepen our understanding of the frequency and intensity of extreme temperature events under the ocean surface and possible implications," CISRO's Ming Feng said.
Marine heatwaves are prolonged temperature events that can cause severe damage to marine habitats, such as impacts to coral reefs and species displacement, the study said.
These events are becoming more common due to global warming, causing "catastrophic ecological and socioeconomic impacts," it said.
The majority of previous studies on marine heatwaves have focused on surface signals based on widely available satellite observations of sea-surface temperature.
The finding of separate, deeper warming was particularly worrying, the research found, because it affects the habitat of so many creatures and what they feed on.
"Extreme temperature events below the sea surface are of greater ecological concern because they affect the habitat of most marine primary producers and consumers," it said.
The research also highlighted the influence of ocean currents, in particular eddies, on marine heatwaves, indicating they are a major driver of subsurface events, CISRO said.
Ocean eddies can impact acidification, oxygen levels and nutrient concentrations in the ocean.
Understanding the drivers of subsurface marine heatwaves such as eddies will help to improve assessment of these events in a warming climate and help to predict them in future, it said.