Wild Spain Part 35

Wolves change their residence according to the season. In summer, when the peasants' goats and sheep are pastured on the hills, they inhabit the highest sierras; in winter, when the stock is removed to lower ground, there are the wolves also.

In all parts of Spain, it is customary for herdsmen to remain in constant attendance on their flocks by day and night, to protect them from the ravages of wolves and other "beasts of the field." In parts of Southern Estremadura and in the Sierra Nevada, it is sometimes necessary to keep fires burning at night, and shots are also fired at intervals, to secure the flocks from attack. When encamped, in the neighbourhood of Almaden, some years ago, we used to hear the packs of wolves keep up a concert of unearthly howls the livelong night.

Too cunning to fall either into trap or ambuscade, yet of late years the numbers of the Spanish wolf have been largely reduced by means of poison: they will, however, doubtless hold their own in Spain for centuries to come.

Like the bear, the wolf is also divisible into two distinct breeds, or races. There is the large grey wolf (the common kind), and the _Lobo serrano_, or mountain-wolf, which is smaller, darker, and more rufous in colour.

The following table shows the respective weights in English pounds (25 to the _arroba_), of the two types of wolf, both of which are found in all parts of Spain:--

Males. Females.

Lobo grande 125 to 150 100 to 112 lbs.

Lobo serrano 75 " 90 60 " 75 "

The gait of the wolf, when driven into the open, is a slow, slouching gallop; but he goes much faster than he appears to do. Well might the Lusitanian farmer tell Latouche, with an imitative gesture: "Corre, corre, corre; mas o diablo mesmo no o apanhava"--"Slowly he bounds, bounds along; but the devil himself could not overtake him!"

FOX (_Canis vulpes--var., melanogaster_).

Spanish: _Zorro_.

The Spanish foxes are all of the black-bellied species, or variety; but the majority lack the jet black underparts that distinguish Indian examples--being rather clouded, or marbled, than pure black. We have, however, shot one (in November) which was far more typically coloured--quite black below and on legs--than the average, which are generally greyer and more silvery than our British fox. A few show a white crescent on the breast. They run about 15 lbs. in weight, and 48 inches in length.

Foxes are not hunted in Spain except by the Calpe Hounds at Gibraltar.

SPANISH LYNX (_Felis pardina_).

Spanish: _Gato cierval_, _Lince_.

This species is also peculiar to the Peninsula, and in the southern provinces may be called common, frequenting the wilder, scrub-covered wastes and wooded sierras, where it preys on hares, rabbits, and partridge. In the spring the large and powerful males are also destructive among the young red deer.

The spotted lynx is the only species found in Spain, its range extending (though in decreasing abundance) to the Asturian ranges, and even, we believe, to the Pyrenees, where we have failed to find any evidence of the existence of the northern form (_Felis lynx_).

The movements of lynx are most dignified, having rather the demeanour of the tiger than of the wild-cat: it advances with slow, stately stride and measured movements, standing at the full height of the long, powerful legs, and the head carried level with the back.

Though its approach, _per se_, is absolutely noiseless, yet on a still day it is just possible for an ear attuned to distinguish anything differing from the ordinary sounds of the wilds, to detect a slight _crackling_--a rustle, as the dry cistus-twigs re-unite after being divided by the pa.s.sage of the lynx's body.

Its stealth preserves the lynx from falling readily into danger, and few are shot comparatively with their numbers in the wilder regions of Spain. When a lynx detects an ambuscade, there is an instant's cogitation ere the big cat bounds off. One moment, from the jungle, the great yellow eye meets one's own--that cruel, pretty face, full of hate and shy self-possession, set off by the bushy whiskers and tufted ears--then, like a yellow gleam, the beast disappears for ever in the thicket.

On one occasion, in winter, while redleg-shooting, we noticed a commotion among some kites hovering at a certain spot. On going there, the writer came suddenly on a lynx which had killed a rabbit--a morsel doubtless coveted by the _milanos_. This lynx, though a rather small female, on being wounded with small shot, made a gallant effort to attack its aggressor.

The country folk declare that there is no better meat than that of lynx; but then, it is true, they hold that otter is very good for the health, _muy saludable_; that bittern is _carne muy fina_, while the flesh of owls and hawks of all kinds possess medicinal properties, and with such remedies, various herbs and roots, bleeding, and other simple specifics, the rural Spaniard relies--perhaps with reason--on giving the _medico_ a wide berth. We have tried lynx, however, approaching the feast with perfectly open mind, and found it fairly good. The flesh was short in grain, white, and devoid of any unpleasant flavour. Without prejudice, a _guiso_ of lynx is as good as one of partridge or veal.

Lynxes produce their young in April, often using the hollowed trunk of some cavernous cork-tree, or forming a sort of nest on the big branches for the purpose. We have reared the young lynxes from babyhood, and found them at least more docile than the fanatically furious wild-cats: but that is not saying much: for both are impregnated to the marrow with hate and treachery, and eventually these attempts to "civilize" the wild _felidae_ resulted in a tragic finale. For nearly a year we had kept a young female lynx (chained) in the garden: though often vicious and never reliable, she showed some slight "feline amenities"--purring and rubbing herself against one's leg, when petted, like a domestic tabby.

But at length she perpetrated a terrible a.s.sault on a poor woman who chanced to pa.s.s near her kennel. The brute probably mistook her victim for the woman who daily brought it its food; and, seeing her pa.s.s by, with a sudden tremendous bound she broke her chain, and sprang upon the poor _lavandera's_ shoulders, tearing open her face with one claw, her breast with the other. a.s.sistance was luckily at hand, and the savage brute, after a long chase, was killed. The poor woman was desperately hurt: for days her life was in danger, and for many weeks she was obliged to remain in bed under the doctor's care.

The male lynxes are much larger and handsomer than the females, weighing some 42 to 50 lbs. The ground-colour of both is warm tawny-brown, but on the males the spots are fewer, larger, and more defined.

WILD-CAT (_Felis catus_).

Spanish: _Gato montes_, _Gato castellano_, or _romano_.

As above remarked, the young wild-cats are quite the most ferocious and utterly untameable beasts of which we have had any experience; the mixture of fear and fury they exhibit in captivity is indescribable, even when only a few weeks old.

Wild-cats are common throughout Spain wherever rabbits abound. In the sierras, they breed in crags and rabbit-burrows; on the plains the young are often produced in nests built in trees, or among the tall bamboos in the cane-brakes.

Weight of an old tom 10-1/4 lbs., of a female 8-1/2 lbs. In some examples the fur of the underparts is of a warm tawny hue. The general colour of the wild-cat is a brindled grey, with black stripes.

GENET (_Viverra genetta_).

Spanish: _Gineta_.

A beautiful beast, with clear grey fur, blotched with big black spots, a long tail, and a head more like a fox-terrier than a cat: common in all the southern provinces, and as far north as Old Castile; at La Granja, and in the provinces of Avila and Segovia. Not found (we believe) in Asturias or Santander.

The genet lives in holes in rocks and crags, and in large woods. In winter, we have shot them when beating the sallows and cane-brakes for woodc.o.c.k. It feeds on small rodents and young birds, occasionally, like the polecat, plundering hen-roosts, when it eats the brains of its numerous victims, and leaves the body untouched. In autumn, when the grapes are ripe, it is said to be very fond of a feast in the vineyards; but its princ.i.p.al food consists of mice and moles. It is considered a better _cazador_ than even the lynx, wily as a fox, and twisting as a snake.

Our friend Manuel de la Torre killed three genets in Estremadura that were _entirely black_, and rather smaller than the average. One of these specimens is in the Madrid Museum.

MARTEN (_Mustela foina_).

Spanish: _Foina_, _Garduno_.

Common in Andalucia, Estremadura, and Valencia: also observed in the Asturias and Santander. Only one kind of marten is found generally throughout Spain, but we have some reason to believe that the "_marta_"

of the Pyrenees is the rarer pine-marten (_M. abietum_).

POLECAT (_Mustela putorius_)--"_Turon._."

OTTER (_Lutra vulgaris_)--"_Nutra_," or "_Nutria_."

BADGER (_Meles taxus_)--"_Tejon._"

All these are common in Andalucia, and generally throughout Spain.

Though so strictly nocturnal in its habits, we have occasionally found the badger above-ground by day, in our _batidas_ in the Coto Donana, &c., and have dug out a brood of young as early as January 29th.

WEASEL (_Mustela vulgaris_).

Spanish: _Comadreja_, _Rojizo_.

Not observed in Andalucia, but common in Provincia de Madrid, Old Castile; in the Sierra de Guadarrama, and in Estremadura and Arragon.

MONGOOSE (_Herpestes widdringtoni_).