Читать книгу Trekking in the Apennines. The Grande Escursione Appenninica онлайн

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Anti-social badgers, on the other hand, leave grey tubes of excrement, but in discreet spots, unlike the foxes whose droppings adorn prominent stones. One of the few forest dwellers active in the daytime is the acrobatic squirrel, easily seen in mid-flight scrambling up the trunk of a pine. The clearest sign of their presence are well-chewed pine cones together with a shower of red scales at the foot of the trees.

In the wake of centuries-long persecution due to fear and ignorance, combined with increasing pressure by man destroying forests and enlarging settlements and pasture, wolves disappeared completely from view in the 1960s. However, sightings of these magnificent creatures are now regular occurrences along the Apennine chain as the population has expanded successfully northwards, recent studies confirming their safe arrival in the Alps. Rather smaller than their North American cousins, the Apennine males weigh in around 25–35kg. Their coat is tawny grey in winter with brown-reddish hues in the summer period. They were afforded official protection as of the 1970s. Stable packs have been reported since the 1980s, aided by the increase in wildlife, and therefore food: wild boar is their favourite prey, though they do not disdain roe deer, sheep and other livestock, for which shepherds receive compensation. Look out for their droppings – dark boar hairs account for the pointy extremity.