Thirteen European polecats were released in the Albera hills

Thirteen European polecats went back to the Albera hills in Alt Empordà on Friday. El Gerió Digital, citing the Catalan news agency ACN, reported the release on October 16, 2026, as part of TuroCat, a project the regional government runs with Barcelona Zoo.

Nine of the animals were freed on land the La Vinyeta winery holds at Mollet de Peralada. The other four were to be released at a second point in the Albera. The polecat is listed as endangered in Catalonia. Habitat loss, fewer prey, rodent poison, and road deaths are the pressures the report names. Jordi Sargatal, secretary general for ecological transition, said the same poison that cut the polecat's numbers also removes a hunter that eats rats.

TuroCat began in 2022. From then through 2025 it released 45 animals. With 25 planned this year, including later releases in the Merlès valley and Les Garrigues, the five-year total would be about 70. The animals were raised at wildlife centers, including Pont de Suert, Camadoca, and Raimat Natura, under conditions meant to resemble the wild. The project says some earlier releases have survived and reproduced. One Friday in the vineyards does not rebuild the species. It is another nucleus the team hopes can connect with the next.