A Tale of Wildfires and Flood

One of the severely hit Turkish cities is Antalya, which is home to over 11,000 species, 121 of which are endangered. In the southwestern region of Turkey, whole villages were being evacuated. In the beautiful green forests of the south, the ecosystem has turned to ash. It was heartbreaking. Climate change may not be the root cause of all of these fires, but in most cases, it is at least to blame for the dry conditions that allow fires to spread rapidly. When a forest burns, we lose a powerful tool for sequestering carbon, further accelerating climate change—and making fires more likely.

During the first days of the fire outbreak in Turkey, Wild at Life e.V. swiftly organized a team to be present on the ground. Our organisation reached the area as soon as possible and started working in the blazes to rescue the wild animals badly injured by the flames. Our teams were dispersed in various corners of the region, and we worked nonstop to research, rescue and evacuate the burning areas. Countless birds, tortoises, hares, boars, squirrels, bears, snakes and many more species were trying to run away from their burning homes, killing or heavily injuring them in the process. We tried to rescue as many as possible but most of them were not lucky enough to escape the fires.

Scientists are more certain than ever that man-made climate change will make the Mediterranean more prone to disastrous blazes. Even if we manage to cut greenhouse gas emissions sharply, temperatures will keep rising for the next few decades.

Strong winds fueled the fire, which spread quickly over dry vegetation, burning through huge hectares. People were evacuated, and the government deployed soldiers, and fire extinguisher planes, along with hundreds of firefighters.

We need to be prepared, to have the resources, the skill and the knowledge. But just like in California and Australia, we need to understand there comes a point where these fires are beyond the threshold of control in terms of intensity and numbers. The key is to not reach that point of no return, experts say. And the only way to do that is to implement land and forest management techniques well before a fire starts.

We have to accept that we have to live with wildfires, and we have to adapt our way of living with them.  We need to work on creating resistant and resilient landscapes and societies that know how to react when there is a wildfire.

Yılkı horses

Wild at Life e.V. had another vital mission as well. Rescuing and making sure the free-roaming Yılkı (feral) horses of Eynif Plain, located in the Ormana neighbourhood of Antalya’s İbradı district, which was also ravaged by the wildfires, would have the chance of surviving. Nearly 50 herds with some 1200 horses roam the area. The horses and their surrounding nature offer some beautiful views for travellers and photographers. These horses of Eynif Plain have an authentic lifestyle and family order.  According to legends, some horses, called “ıdık” or “idük” in Göktürk language were released into the wild here. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, many soldiers returned home with their horses. But the military horses were of little use in regular work, so they were released in the Eynif Plain. They were the ancestors of the horses that roam the area today. These endemic horses are very important to the World Heritage and Biodiversity. Wild at Life e.V. team spent weeks making sure they were protected from the fires.

Flood

In the midst of our work in the wildfires, another natural disaster hit Turkey. This time the city of Kastamonu, in the Black Sea Region. A flood, which was never seen before, has swallowed the district of Bozkurt from the map. Countless lives, humans and animals, were lost. Bozkurt had gone underwater. In an emergency response, the Wild at Life e.V. team has reached the area. We were appointed by AFAD, The Turkish Ministry of Interior Natural Disaster Management Department, to work on the premises. Days after days we have researched and rescued countless lives, and all this with little or no sleep. The scene was a remembrance of our work during the big 1999 Turkish earthquake: houses underwater, cars gone, buildings collapse, heavy mud that makes it impossible to walk through… and people coming together to rescue what has been left alive.

As the fires continue to blaze, rescue efforts are critical. You can help Wild at Life e.V. get emergency funds to stop the fires, care for injured wildlife, and prevent more devastation.

Thank you for your continuous support.

Here, you can watch videos from our YouTube channel relating to the wildfire, Yılkı horses, and flood in Türkiye: