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There are many kinds of mammals living in the mountains that surround Cabrera, and although like most animals they are generally wary of getting close to humans, almost all the species turn up in gardens and wandering on the roads every now and then. There are foxes, rabbits, tortoises and of course the biggest are the wild boar.
Wild Boar
We know they are present, but our local wild boar, or "jabalí", are rarely seen. Nevertheless, you don't have to venture far to find evidence of their presence, ie the plants uprooted in the search for food. Sometimes the earth has been churned up over an extensive area, and so thoroughly that it gives the appearance of having been roughly ploughed. Fine if you come across an area like that while walking on the mountain, but a bit of a nuisance if it's in your garden. Even then though, it seems a small
Wild Boar
We know they are present, but our local wild boar, or "jabalí", are rarely seen. Nevertheless, you don't have to venture far to find evidence of their presence, ie the plants uprooted in the search for food. Sometimes the earth has been churned up over an extensive area, and so thoroughly that it gives the appearance of having been roughly ploughed. Fine if you come across an area like that while walking on the mountain, but a bit of a nuisance if it's in your garden. Even then though, it seems a small
price to pay for the privilege of being visited by these impressive, albeit not very handsome, creatures.
The boars in our surrounding area are mainly nocturnal, using the deep overgrown ravines and darkness to give protective cover as they come down from the higher parts of the sierra. They then venture out onto more open areas and hillsides to root for food. It is difficult to estimate their numbers but there are probably more than we imagine. Antonio and Paco (the local workmen) once counted sixteen crossing the road up from Turre early one morning. They ranged in size from very small to very large and probably consisted of three families.
The wild boar is not necessarily a creature of the night but apparently has been so in this area for some considerable time. This is possibly due to human persecution and the lack of dense cover to protect it from danger. Although hunted to extinction in Great Britain over 300 years ago, the animal is quite common in many thickly forested areas of Europe. In Spain there has been a population increase in recent years due, it is thought, to the abandonment of remote villages and farms, and the consequent extension to the areas accessible to the boar.
What do we know about the animal itself? It can measure up to 90cm at the shoulder and weigh as much as 180kg. It has greyish black hair with coarse short bristles and two powerful tusks in the lower jaw. At about two years of age the male wild boar grows tusks on its upper and lower jaws. The top tusks are hollow and act as a grindstone to keep the lower tusks permanently sharpened. Females do not grow the upper tusks, and their lower tusks are smaller, but they are still pretty sharp.
As we've already noted, wild boar are very shy and wary of human contact. The sows can be aggressive to one another when establishing dominance within the group or when feeding, but the aggression usually only extends to pushing and maybe the odd bite. Mature males are most aggressive to each other during the autumn rut, a time when potentially fatal injuries are occasionally inflicted by the razor-sharp tusks.
Boar breed twice a year, producing litters of up to eight piglets. Living in family units with one male, the sows make hollow "nests" amongst the vegetation for sleeping. Their main food consists of roots and grain where available, but they will also eat small animals, insect larvae, worms and even birds eggs.
Boars are extremely powerful, fast-moving animals and they are also good swimmers. They are not normally aggressive and allowed the opportunity, they will use their acute sense of smell to detect humans long before they themselves are seen give humans a pretty wide berth. However, if they are cornered or feel their young are being threatened, they can become quite ferocious and will charge at great speed.
Our local wild representative of the pig family is certainly a wily and resourceful creature. If you haven't seen one yet in Cabrera, and can't wait for your opportunity to crop up naturally, try a visit to the Sierra Espuña natural park near Murcia. There, the boar have grown accustomed to humans and will often gather around the picnic areas looking for tit bits. Whether that is as good as spotting a truly wild wild boar in it's natural habitat on the Sierra Cabrera, is up to you to decide.
this item has been compiled mostly from an article written by geoff meeks for the cabrera courier. we will welcome contributions on other aspects of wildlife around cabrera for inclusion on this page.
The boars in our surrounding area are mainly nocturnal, using the deep overgrown ravines and darkness to give protective cover as they come down from the higher parts of the sierra. They then venture out onto more open areas and hillsides to root for food. It is difficult to estimate their numbers but there are probably more than we imagine. Antonio and Paco (the local workmen) once counted sixteen crossing the road up from Turre early one morning. They ranged in size from very small to very large and probably consisted of three families.
The wild boar is not necessarily a creature of the night but apparently has been so in this area for some considerable time. This is possibly due to human persecution and the lack of dense cover to protect it from danger. Although hunted to extinction in Great Britain over 300 years ago, the animal is quite common in many thickly forested areas of Europe. In Spain there has been a population increase in recent years due, it is thought, to the abandonment of remote villages and farms, and the consequent extension to the areas accessible to the boar.
What do we know about the animal itself? It can measure up to 90cm at the shoulder and weigh as much as 180kg. It has greyish black hair with coarse short bristles and two powerful tusks in the lower jaw. At about two years of age the male wild boar grows tusks on its upper and lower jaws. The top tusks are hollow and act as a grindstone to keep the lower tusks permanently sharpened. Females do not grow the upper tusks, and their lower tusks are smaller, but they are still pretty sharp.
As we've already noted, wild boar are very shy and wary of human contact. The sows can be aggressive to one another when establishing dominance within the group or when feeding, but the aggression usually only extends to pushing and maybe the odd bite. Mature males are most aggressive to each other during the autumn rut, a time when potentially fatal injuries are occasionally inflicted by the razor-sharp tusks.
Boar breed twice a year, producing litters of up to eight piglets. Living in family units with one male, the sows make hollow "nests" amongst the vegetation for sleeping. Their main food consists of roots and grain where available, but they will also eat small animals, insect larvae, worms and even birds eggs.
Boars are extremely powerful, fast-moving animals and they are also good swimmers. They are not normally aggressive and allowed the opportunity, they will use their acute sense of smell to detect humans long before they themselves are seen give humans a pretty wide berth. However, if they are cornered or feel their young are being threatened, they can become quite ferocious and will charge at great speed.
Our local wild representative of the pig family is certainly a wily and resourceful creature. If you haven't seen one yet in Cabrera, and can't wait for your opportunity to crop up naturally, try a visit to the Sierra Espuña natural park near Murcia. There, the boar have grown accustomed to humans and will often gather around the picnic areas looking for tit bits. Whether that is as good as spotting a truly wild wild boar in it's natural habitat on the Sierra Cabrera, is up to you to decide.
this item has been compiled mostly from an article written by geoff meeks for the cabrera courier. we will welcome contributions on other aspects of wildlife around cabrera for inclusion on this page.
Wildlife Around Cabrera
Wild Life in Cabrera
by Graham Meeks
Our friendly Wheatear has been great fun this year appearing on our table whilst have ben eating outside on the terrace. I am saying our Wheatear, actually we have had three of them appear at the same time, but the other two are very twitchy and won't come onto the table. They have lost their appetite for cereal now and much prefer pieces of cheese and fat from our jamon which we cut off for them.
It was good to hear that the Benellis Eagles had been around Cabrera this summer and Griffon Vultures in late October. They were spectacular! We saw them first in the early morning flying across the valley then coming to rest on the mountain above Eagles Rock waiting for the sun to rise for some warmth. Then off they went soaring again until they were out of sight. To our surprise they were there again the following day, heading out from Cabrera towards Vera. We estimate there must have been between eighty and one hundred birds overhead.
I have found out some facts about Griffons which you may find interesting: They breed on high cliff ledges in the mountainous parts of Southern Europe, North Africa and Asia. They are will represented in Iberia and like other vultures are scavengers feeding mostly on the carcasses of dead animals which they find by soaring over open spaces in large flocks. Although they eat almost always dead mammals, they have been observed taking a Kestrel chick from it's nest whilst the adult Kestrels were away hunting.
With a length from beak to tail of around 1 metre and a wingspan of around 2.65 metres, the Griffon Vulture is the third largest bird to be seen in Iberia. (the Black Vulture and Bearded Vulture are larger though not so numerous). The adult Griffon has a whitish bald head, very broad wings and a short tail, it has a dirty white neck ruff and a pale yellow bill. The young birds have a grey bill and a brown ruff.
Breeding starts early and often a pair can be seen flying in a synchronised glide to re-enforce bonding. Nests are repaired from January, egg laying in February and March and chicks around April. Incubation is shared and the egg is never left unatttended. When one bird returns from feeding a swap over takes place and the incubating bird goes in search of its own food. Griffons are excellent parents and will mate for life, using the same next site each year if they can. Once the chick has hatched it is guarded by the parents until it is big enough not to become a meal for other scavenging birds. The young are ready to fledge at 3 to 4 months, but still rely on their parents for food for anything up to 90 days more. They are mature enough to breed at 4 to 7 years and their lifespan can be as long as 40 years. Griffons are very social birds and prefer living and nesting in colonies. Often more than 100 pairs compose a colony and there are some huge colonies in Iberia numbering possibly a thousand birds. Esitmates for the Iberian population are between 18 to 22 thousands at any one time.
by Graham Meeks
Our friendly Wheatear has been great fun this year appearing on our table whilst have ben eating outside on the terrace. I am saying our Wheatear, actually we have had three of them appear at the same time, but the other two are very twitchy and won't come onto the table. They have lost their appetite for cereal now and much prefer pieces of cheese and fat from our jamon which we cut off for them.
It was good to hear that the Benellis Eagles had been around Cabrera this summer and Griffon Vultures in late October. They were spectacular! We saw them first in the early morning flying across the valley then coming to rest on the mountain above Eagles Rock waiting for the sun to rise for some warmth. Then off they went soaring again until they were out of sight. To our surprise they were there again the following day, heading out from Cabrera towards Vera. We estimate there must have been between eighty and one hundred birds overhead.
I have found out some facts about Griffons which you may find interesting: They breed on high cliff ledges in the mountainous parts of Southern Europe, North Africa and Asia. They are will represented in Iberia and like other vultures are scavengers feeding mostly on the carcasses of dead animals which they find by soaring over open spaces in large flocks. Although they eat almost always dead mammals, they have been observed taking a Kestrel chick from it's nest whilst the adult Kestrels were away hunting.
With a length from beak to tail of around 1 metre and a wingspan of around 2.65 metres, the Griffon Vulture is the third largest bird to be seen in Iberia. (the Black Vulture and Bearded Vulture are larger though not so numerous). The adult Griffon has a whitish bald head, very broad wings and a short tail, it has a dirty white neck ruff and a pale yellow bill. The young birds have a grey bill and a brown ruff.
Breeding starts early and often a pair can be seen flying in a synchronised glide to re-enforce bonding. Nests are repaired from January, egg laying in February and March and chicks around April. Incubation is shared and the egg is never left unatttended. When one bird returns from feeding a swap over takes place and the incubating bird goes in search of its own food. Griffons are excellent parents and will mate for life, using the same next site each year if they can. Once the chick has hatched it is guarded by the parents until it is big enough not to become a meal for other scavenging birds. The young are ready to fledge at 3 to 4 months, but still rely on their parents for food for anything up to 90 days more. They are mature enough to breed at 4 to 7 years and their lifespan can be as long as 40 years. Griffons are very social birds and prefer living and nesting in colonies. Often more than 100 pairs compose a colony and there are some huge colonies in Iberia numbering possibly a thousand birds. Esitmates for the Iberian population are between 18 to 22 thousands at any one time.
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