Pino del Guirre

The perch of the last vultures on the island.

“Guirre” is what the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnoterus majorensis) is popularly known in the Canary Islands. It is a species of vulture that flew over the skies of Tenerife until well into the 20th century.

The abandonment of agriculture, poaching, poisons and, in general, the change in our way of life, caused the gradual extinction on the island of a symbol of our countryside.  Fortunately, nowadays, a significant number of them survive on the islands of Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and the Chinijo archipelago.

The guirres played a fundamental role in our natural environment. As good scavengers, they were responsible for clearing the countryside of carcasses, preventing the proliferation of rats and diseases that could affect livestock and even ourselves.

In Tenerife, it is still remembered by the oldest people. Throughout our territory there are many places that allude to its former presence. Breeding or roosting sites, such as this place where you are right now: the Pino del Guirre. A place where the old inhabitants used to see our old vultures perching.