Aurunci: The wildlife

The wilderness of the Aurunci Mountains starts close to the sea, along the coast near to Sperlonga in South Pontino (Latium) and from the lowlands stretches the Mediterranean scrub, with stands of wild laurel giving way, further inland and with increasing altitude, to cork woods and mixed woods of white oak, hornbeam, sycamore, elm, holly oak and chestnut. This means the there are different climates within the park. The southern area is closer to larger towns and villages and therefore wild animals are limited to semi-urban Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) which scavenge close to garbage areas Outside urban areas,

they appear be most abundant in lightly wooded areas that are typically found in the South Pontino agricultural landscapes offering a wide variety of shelter and food. Here between a village and another there are many patchwork fields of farmland are perhaps the most familiar of Aurunci valleys landscapes.

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But inland, the presence of large hilly and mountainous areas of forest followed of chestnut, Turkey oak and white oak woodland up to approximately 1,100 mt creates a favourable environment for other more elusive wildlife. There have been registered 23 species of mammals (excluding the 19 species of bat) plus two other potential inhabitants like the wolf and the wild cat. Presence of the wild cat has been found several times, whilst few your single individuals of wolves have left their tracks within the park’s north-west borders around the area of Campodimele and also Spigno.

Nevertheless, the peculiar characteristics of the wolf and its natural social behavior would allow no more than one or two young individuals to live and survive in the park, maybe for several months a year. On the Aurunci Mountains higher slopes lie beautiful beech woods, which in some areas even stretch up to 1,500m. This is the territory of some of the most beautiful birds of prey in the Italian peninsula. Also, human presence is less evident than in proximity of the South Tyrrhenian Sea coast, with several miles within smaller villages. This creates the condition to prosper for the wildlife.

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Even if some of the most characteristic animals (wolf, deer and Golden eagle) have disappeared, there is still some interesting fauna, such as the re-introduced wild boar (Sus scrofa). The Aurunci Mountains forests provide all the necessary for its diet of roots, fruits, nuts, fungi, insects, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, birds and carrion.

The best time to notice them in the park is when the older male, usually solitary, joins up with females in the autumn mating season. Once mated, he will once again live alone in the most impenetrable patches of undergrowth. Here in the Aurunci, as they normally do, wild boars search for food mainly at dawn and dusk. Still partly a wilderness, with broken hills, woodland and large stretches of scrub that contrast with wide areas of rough ground and grazing land for herds of half-wild cattle, their area includes all the open spaces between the villages on the Aurunci area, slightly more present to the east of the park.

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Cultivate fields and large gardens are often visited also by porcupines, which usually prefer the open countryside in addition to the forest. Here vegetation is profuse and varied, comprising Mediterranean scrub and coppices of white oak alternated with large olive groves and fields. Wild boars enjoy rooting amongst the leaf litter and damp soil of open woodlands areas with their toughened snout. Sometimes, especially during winter when the food is scarce, they invade open cultivated fields of the Aurunci valleys and hills or even may scavenge on garbage at the outskirts of the villages.

They have a keen sense of smell and will eat almost anything! Their main diet consists of plant material but it will happily gobble up any animals it can catch. Further inside dense woodland nature lovers can observe badgers. Badgers are found throughout the thicker forest but are not great in number as in the Abruzzi. The best time to watch for badgers is at dawn or dusk when they emerge from their underground tunnels. Often the entrance is close to a large tree, where they start digging to open new entrances. Here in the South Pontino they have been hunted in the past and they are quite shy and elusive. They move quite quickly and tend to stay on traditional pathways around the lair. While aggressive between themselves, they are shy animals and will quickly retreat underground if spooked.

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