Читать книгу The GR11 Trail. The Traverse of the Spanish Pyrenees - La Senda Pirenaica онлайн

17 страница из 51

You are much less likely to see some of the rare mammals which used to frequent the Pyrenees. There are no Pyrenean brown bears left on the Spanish side of the border and the Pyrenean Ibex seems to be extinct. Fortunately, you will have frequent sightings of the chamois (isard/izard) which was hunted to near extinction for the production of chamois leather, but has now made a remarkable recovery with numbers increasing to about 25,000. Other mammals you will see include marmot, several species of deer, fox, red squirrel and the reintroduced mouflon. There are badgers and wild boar, although these are less likely to be seen.

The most notable of these are the marmots, which are large ground squirrels that live in burrows. You will certainly know they are present when you hear their alarm signal, a loud whistle which sends them scurrying back into their burrows.

You are likely to see many reptiles and amphibians including several species of snake, lizard, toad, frog and the dramatic fire salamander.