Castilian: Lobo
Catalan: Llop
Portuguese: Lobo
The European wolf, Canis Lupus, has suffered much persecution, already being eradicated from some countries. Despite a bounty being offered on the wolves of Iberia during the 1950’s and 60’s some small populations of these mammals continued and now receive partial protection.
These populations are mainly in scattered packs in the forests and plains of north-western Spain with Sierra Morena in Andalusia and the north of Portugal holding small numbers.
The Iberian wolf, which can reach a height of around 70cm and length of 120cm, differs in colour from the Eurasian wolf by having dark markings on its forelegs, back and tail with white markings on its upper lips. This is the reason for the last part of the scientific name, with signatus meaning marked. Males weigh around 40kg with females being of a finer build.
Their main prey is wild boar, roe deer, red deer and rabbit. Occasionally taking domestic stock animals, this is the cause of some current persecution. The diet depends greatly on the habitat in which they are living. The shooting of a limited number of wolves is permitted in some areas with a high price being paid by the hunter for the trophy (stuffed head).
A female can begin breeding at one year old but does not reach full maturity until 5 years. The average litter of pups is between 5 and 6. These pups can be preyed upon by Eagle owls and Golden eagles in their first weeks.
More in depth information on this species can be found at Nick Lloyds excellent Iberianature website.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 23 July 2008 11:32 )
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