Читать книгу Walking on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Including sections of the GR131 long-distance trail онлайн

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Once the Guanche people arrived and colonised the islands over 2000 years ago, the forests suffered as much from clearance as from grazing by voracious sheep and goats. Following the Conquest in the 15th century, the Spanish brought in other domestic animals; of these the cats had a particularly devastating impact on the native wildlife, practically wiping out giant Canarian lizards, which have only recently been rescued from the edge of extinction on El Hierro. The lizards seen on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are much smaller. Rabbits chew their way through the vegetation and appear regularly on Canarian menus. Ground squirrels are often seen on Fuerteventura, but aren’t found on the other islands.

Ground squirrels can now be found on Fuerteventura but are not native to the Canaries

National Parks

The Canary Islands include a handful of national parks and many other protected areas. There is no national park on Fuerteventura, but large parts of the island have been protected in other ways, such as Parque Rural (Rural Park), Parque Natural (Natural Park), Paisaje Protegido (Protected Land), Reserva Natural Especial (Special Nature Reserve), Monumento Natural (Natural Monument), and so on. Lanzarote has the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya, which is so strictly controlled that it is a forbidden to set foot on it! Prominent notices usually tell walkers when they are entering or leaving protected areas. There are visitor centres where more information can be studied, and where interesting literature is on sale.