Burnt areas of countryside and forest, left charred and devoid of many animal inhabitants, have become a breeding ground for rats.
With the death or absence of natural predators in the once forested areas, the proliferation of rats is the latest headache for Councils.
Biologist Jorge Paiva told the Lusa news agency, "Many of the snakes have died," as well as birds of prey and mammals, such as foxes, which normally would control rat and mouse populations. Farm cats also have died or moved away.
The retired professor at the University of Coimbra explained that the rats survived because they went underground when the firs swept across the parched landscape in 2017. Their normal predators died or fled as the fires advanced.
The Regional Health Administration for the Central region says that, "no cases of rodent-borne disease have been reported, nor has there been any recourse to health services for reasons related to the increase of these animals."
The Council in Arganil, in the district of Coimbra, commented, "we will be particularly alert to this situation, in order to guarantee hygiene and public health conditions in the county, making ourselves available to support citizens with any doubts."
In the same district, the fires of October 15 and 16, 2017 "devastated 97% of the forest area in the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital, destroying fauna and flora."
The proliferation of mice "originates in the imbalance of ecosystems," said a source at the mayor's office who confirmed that work has been intensified by using specialised rodent extermination companies.
The fires that broke out in Pedrógão Grande and Lousã, Leiria and Coimbra districts, on June 17 and October 15, 2017, devastated extensive forest areas and killed thousands of domestic and wild animals.
The fire in June 2017, left 66 dead and 250 injured, while in October, 50 people were killed and about 70 injured.
