What types of wildlife benefit from the grazing patterns of feral goats in Mallorca?

The grazing patterns of feral goats in Mallorca create a distinctive ecological impact that benefits certain types of wildlife by shaping the vegetation and landscape in ways that support diverse habitats. These goats tend to feed on a variety of hardy shrubs, young trees, and grasses, often preventing dense overgrowth and promoting open scrubland and grassland environments. This selective grazing helps maintain areas where many smaller animals, such as reptiles, insects, and ground-nesting birds, thrive due to increased sunlight exposure and reduced underbrush density.

Certain bird species, including the European stonechat and the Sardinian warbler, find ideal nesting and foraging conditions in these open, shrub-dominated landscapes. The goats’ grazing discourages the dominance of a single plant species, promoting botanical diversity that supports a broader array of insect life. These insects, in turn, provide essential food sources for birds and small mammals. Moreover, the maintenance of open spaces benefits reptiles such as the Balearic lizard, which require sunlit areas to regulate their body temperature and access prey more easily.

In addition, the goats’ activities may indirectly aid some predators. By creating a patchwork of grazed and ungrazed land, they enable the presence of a healthy prey population for birds of prey and small carnivores, which rely on accessible habitats for hunting. However, it is important to note that while some wildlife benefits from the presence of feral goats, overgrazing can be detrimental if it leads to soil erosion or the loss of key native plants. Thus, the goats contribute to a complex balance that underpins the island’s unique biodiversity, favoring species adapted to open, semi-arid environments shaped by their grazing behavior.