An extraordinary evolutionary anomaly is shaking the international scientific community off the coast of Brazil. A herd of goats has managed to survive and thrive for over two centuries on the volcanic island of Santa Bárbara, the largest in the Abrolhos archipelago, located about 70 kilometers off the coast of Bahia. The biological peculiarity lies in the fact that this strip of land, dry and constantly beaten by the wind, is totally devoid of fresh water sources.
Originally left by European colonizers as an emergency food supply during early maritime expeditions, the animals defied the laws of nature. In decades of scientific monitoring, no researcher has ever seen a specimen drinking, raising questions about a possible adaptation to seawater or the systematic consumption of beldroega, a local plant rich in liquids.
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The evacuation plan to save the ecosystem
Despite the exceptional health of the herd, characterized by frequent twin births, their presence has become unsustainable for local biodiversity. The Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio), led by park director Erismar Rocha, has completed the definitive transfer of the last 27 specimens present.
The ecological clearance operation, planned for 2023, saw the collaboration of the Brazilian Navy and the Bahia Agricultural Defense Agency (Adab). Commander Douglas Luiz da Silva Pereira coordinated the logistical operations, justifying the removal with the need to protect seven rare species of nesting seabirds, whose eggs and nests were trampled by livestock.
A genetic treasure against global drought
However, the transfer did not sanction the killing of the animals, considered by experts to be a true genetic treasure. Twenty-one specimens were taken into custody by the State University of South-West of Bahia (Uesb) and the research company Embrapa, where they were placed in quarantine under the supervision of Professor Ronaldo Vasconcelos.
Scientists plan to map the chromosomal architecture of this species to isolate the genes responsible for extreme dehydration tolerance. The ultimate goal is to create seed banks and distribute these unique hereditary traits to small farmers in the Caatinga, the semi-arid Brazilian region, providing a decisive biological weapon to guarantee food subsistence in the face of progressive drying caused by climate change.
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