Trip to Sierra de la Culebra

[nick]

Thanks for this Lisa,

I think Sergi was involved with this in August. It's an ongoing study.

[lisa]

Forgot the link for the study measuring stress levels in wolves. 

[steveT]

Jan,

It sounds like it was a superb trip!!!!!!!!!

steveT

[nick]

I'm off again for a few days next week to the Sierra de la Culebra. Yippee!

[judith]

Wish I could go wolf watching! Really hope you enjoy the trip!

Did you ever find out at what age wolves learn to howl?
One of our dog pups, the bitch, has learned to do it already (Approx. 5 months), she thought she was on her own, put her head back beautifully and howled for all she was worth! Her barks are still high pitched yippees, but the howl was perfect!

Was the wolf's head severed with a knife or could it have been accidentally pulled off in a decomposed state by another wolf? Have heard that lions and other big cats will eat their own if carrion, but don't know if the dog family does it.

Awaiting your trip report with baited breath (no pun intended) and seeing the photo's....hopefully some live ones this time!
The wolf paw prints photo's and scratch marks were excellent and very clear!. Have you got into wolf scats yet? Not as disgusting as it sounds! I would love to see photo's of them and details of their composition at the time of your trip....if you can bear it (no pun intended)!

Enviously Judith

[lisa]

 

[Technopat]

Greetings Nick,

I'm off again for a few days next week to the Sierra de la Culebra. Yippee!

I'm not surprised you never get anywhere with them thar she-wolves if you go 'round calling out yippee all over the place - I'd imagine something like ¡auuuuuuu! would be more appealing to wolves born and bred on the Ib. Pen.
Have a great trip!
Looking-forward-to-field-trip-report-and-pics. regs.,
Technopat

[judith]

Beautiful picture Lisa! Thanks! That's brought a smile to my face that'll last all day!

[nick]

Hi all,

I had, as ever, a wonderful time in the Sierra de la Culebra, and got some great views of wolves. This was the first time I'd visited in August and despite the daytime temperatures I'd throughly recommend it as for they are very good opportunities to watch juveniles. This was some of the best wolf watching I've ever had with prolonged 20 minute sessions most days of a group of four juveniles (down, worryingly, it seems from six, two weeks before) who gathered in the early morning/evening at their "rendezvous site" to frolic and fight. Whether we were watching the same four wolves or we were really watching six is not entirely sure. Probably the former as juveniles tend to congregate at these sites.

http://www.google.es/search?hl=es&suggon=0&q=rendezvous+site+wolves&meta=

On the last evening we hiked with our scopes along the old Roman road from where we had parked the car to one of the wolf watching sites. I managed to get a lift back to the car from another group, and left my two companions to walk part of they way back along the dark road. After fifteen minutes or so they came upon the four young wolves watching them 20 metres from a ditch. The wolves stared, yelped and retreated into the bush. I arrived a few minutes later by car to their elated faces. One of them had been coming to the Sierra de la Culebra for 15 years and had never had such an experience.

An interesting development was the number of local people who have been turning up in some numbers at the watching sites wanting to see a wolf. A remarkable change in just a decade. One old guy was an ex-shepherd who had lost many sheep over the years but seemed excited as a child about seeing a wolf again. Unfortunately on that occasion they did not oblige.

By the way,
As somebody on this forum told me (Steve?) the flies and horse flies were a nightmare here in August, though from what I can gather this may be cyclical explosions in population.

[lisa]

Good to hear you had another successful trip Nick. I've got lots of questions about the Culebra. Here are a few.
Was it full of wolf-watchers/tourists?
Do you think the area is likely to be given some sort of protection status, ie. natural/national park?
Are the locals happy with this kind of tourism?

[Clive]

Ouch!

Lisa, you should know better than that, asking questions.....

But... There are wolves because it is a regional hunting reserve... If you change that then you get what sort of hunting?

Where in Iberia do wolves exist because of nature park status?

Off topic as this is a trip report... Continue somewhere else or make a new topic? .......

[nick]

Lisa,

There have been days, I believe, when they have been a lot of watchers. The wardens now give out a map with designated sites where you can watch them from.

Should the Sierra de la Culebra be protected? Well, it is. It's a Regional Hunting Reserve as Clive says - the first mandate of which is something like preserving biodiversity for the Spanish people.

I would modify Clive's comment and say there are "so many" wolves because it is a regional hunting reserve

If it were turned into a natural park park this might well attract many more people, investment, hotels...Would this be good for biodiversity?

I think this Thread should be usefully kept all together whether it is moved or not as it has lots of info and issues on one place.

[Clive]

If it went in to a different form of status then the Sierra de Culebra would end up with coto privada de caza and every hunter with his/her own land would want a trophy every now and again. As it stands now the regional status means that only a selected number of species are hunted and the total is collective for the whole area...

I think that one of the biggest problems with the hunting system is the coto privada part

[lisa]

Thanks both.

Where in Iberia do wolves exist because of nature park status?

Nowhere!
I realise that giving an area Natural or National Park status is no guarantee (is that right? I can never spell that word  ) of protection for the animals living in it and would just attract even more visitors. It's just that there is talk about it.
So, visitors are being controlled to an extent. I didn't know that.
Nick, do you think it needs more control? Have you seen a significant increase in tourism there during your visits?

[nick]

Hi Lisa

So, visitors are being controlled to an extent. I didn't know that.

Not so much controlled as not actively attracted by the status of a natural park

Nick, do you think it needs more control? Have you seen a significant increase in tourism there during your visits?

Possibly, but how to do this without changing the area's very nature? I think in a sense it's already happening, as for the first year ever, they've started telling people where you can watch the wolves which is clearly an exercise in damage limitation.

Yes, there are definitely far more outsiders coming to watch wolves and more locals with a certain degree of interest...

But it's not Ordesa. There are dozens and dozens of places which by the conventional standards of beauty are more attractive, and that is what really brings in the punters.

[nick]

A friend of mine Sergi Garcia, the guy I sometimes do wolf trips with, was recently interviewed about the Sierra de la Culebra.
Interesting read. And check out the credit of the out of focus photo! 

http://www.nortecastilla.es/20100124/zamora/valores-apreciados-inmensidad-casi-20100124.html

PS

The Tejedal de Requejo is well worth a visit. Superb yew forest.

[steveT]

Nick just put Tejedal de Requejo in google images.....there's a good photo of a number of yews ...... never new yew formed forest/predominant stands ....... wow what a place.......must go there one day!!!

No wonder we were importing yew for our longbows!

steveT

[nick]

Yes, well worth a visit, but there are a couple of evem larger ones: The biggest is in the Sierra de Sueve in Asturias. Most annoyingly, I spent a week in the Sierra de Sueve four years ago withiout realising that yews were even there.

 Sierra de Sueve

http://www.iberianature.com/spainblog/2008/06/largest-yew-forest-in-europe-to-be-protected/


See also

http://www.iberianature.com/material/yew_spain.htm

[steveT]

Snap Nick, we were staying right next door last summer.......next time!

steveT

[nick]

Part of the new Iberianature Places in Spain site

http://iberianature.com/placesinspain/lubian-wolf-trap/