LAS MARISMAS

coastal marshes along the Guadalquivir estuary in Andalusia, southern Spain. For centuries the region, noted for its birdlife, served as a hunting ground for the dukes of Medina-Sidonia. In 1963, at the suggestion of the World Wildlife Fund, it was established as a nature reserve, and in 1969 it became part of the Doana National Park. It is the winter home of ducks and geese and a sanctuary for hundreds of other bird species, although only about 20 are year-round residents. The park is virtually the only remaining habitat of the southern European lynx; fallow and red deer, mongoose, wild boar, and wild cat are also found there.