Multiple Animals Take Up Residence at Barcelona Stadium and Everyone Is Here for It
The stadium even published a wildlife guide for their visitors.
As FC Barcelona continues their mid-season push through the standings of La Liga, Spain's top football (or to Americans, soccer) league, the environmental experts at their home stadium are counting something other than wins. They're working to complete a census of Spotify Camp Nou's native wildlife in preparation for stadium upgrades later this year.
Barcelona's soccer fans are no strangers to the wild birds, geckos, and even bats that call the arena their home. In fact, Jordi Portabella told The Guardian that birds have been nesting there since the arena was built in 1957. For Portabella, who leads the soccer club's sustainability policy, the animals are just as important to the stadium as the scheduled maintenance.
Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga)/Wikimedia Commons
“There’s a historical coexistence based on mutual respect,” Portabella told The Guardian. “It’s as though the humans and the animals have come to a tacit agreement. For example, up in the stands we’re used to having bats flying around us during a match.” These soccer games truly are taking 'wild' to a whole new level.
Based on the completed census, there are currently 31 bird species, 2 reptile species, and 1 mammal species taking up residence at Spotify Camp Nou. Those aforementioned mammals are bats, of course. The reptiles include a gecko species and a type of 'common wall lizard' that's found all over the area. As for the birds, there's a bit more variety to enjoy.
That's why Spotify Camp Nou and FC Barcelona published an entire digital guide to the animals who call the stadium home. The guide is in Spanish, however, so English-speaking fans may need to do a little translation. Don't worry, though, there are pictures, too!
Now that Portabella and his team are familiar with the native species, they will take extra precautions to protect any nests that they can--or to create new nesting areas to ensure the return of these species post-remodel.
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