No Human, No Cry 2012 2013

Austria, England, Italy, Poland, Portugal

ENDANGERED PLANT
AND

ANIMAL SPECIES CALABRIA, ITALY

Griffon Vulture
(Gyps fulvus)

The Griffon Vulture (Gypsfulvus) is a large bird of prey belonging to the Accipitridae family. Like other vultures , it is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals which it finds by soaring over open areas.

It breeds on crags in mountains in southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia, laying just one egg. In Italy, the species has survived in the wild only in Sardinia, but has recently been reintroduced into a few other areas of the peninsula including Calabria (National Park of Aspromonte).

Golden Eagle
(Aquila chrysaetos)

The Golden Eagle belongs to the Accipitridae family. Its sharp beak allows it not only to kill animals of medium-small size, but also to open carcasses of large animals which are already dead. This majestic bird is the symbol of the city of Catanzaro (regional capital of Calabria) which is nicknamed "the eagle's nest" because of its strategic position dominating the Gulf of Squillace.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

(Carettacaretta)

The loggerhead sea turtle is an oceanic turtle found throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the Cheloniidae family. The loggerhead sea turtle is found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as in the Ionian Sea where it nests along the sandy beaches of the provinces of Crotone, Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria.

Young loggerheads are exploited by numerouspredators and the eggs are especially vulnerable to animal predators as well as black market collectors of these precious eggs.

Otter
(Lutralutra)

Until the 1970s the otter was found all over Italy but today it is extinct in all the northern and central parts of the peninsula. The remaining populations are found only in the southern regions of Basilicata, Campania, Puglia, Calabria and a small isolated nucleus in the central southern regions of Abruzzo and Molise.

Scarce Swallowtail
(Iphiclidespodalirius) The Scarce Swallowtail is a butterfly belonging to the Palearctic family found in gardens, fields and open woodland. It is considered rare-endangered and protected in some provinces of Austria and Southern Italy (Calabria).

The caterpillars of the Scarce Swallowtail have been noted to leave silk trails from their permanent resting sites to feeding sites. This has been seen in both solitary and territorial larvae who appear to have the ability to discern their trails from those of others.

Forest Dormouse
(Dryomysnitedula)

The forest dormouse is about 110 millimetres long with a fluffy grey tail nearly as long as its body. The fur on the upperparts of the body is grayish-brown and on the underparts, yellowishwhite. A black stripe surrounds the eye and extends to the small ear. The whiskers form a bushy tuft about 10 mm long. There are six pads on each paw.

The species which is typical to Calabria and Basilicata is called the Dryomys nitedula aspromontis.

Wild Boar
(SusScrofa Linnaeus)

European wild boar are typical inhabitants of mature woods but in general prove to be very adaptable in terms of habitat and colonize almost any kind of environment available. However, in the territories occupied by wild boars there must always be a source of water, from which the animal never strays far. There are many examples of wild boar in Calabria, especially in the mountains of Sila (Cosenza), Sila Catanzarese (Catanzaro) and Aspromonte (Reggio Calabria) where they are continually under threat as their meat is considered a culinary delicacy and hunting of the animal is widespread.

Wolf
(Canislupis)

The wolfs fur is variable in colour depending on the animals age, the season and its habitat. In Sila (Calabria) it is usually a brown-beige colour with dark streaks. Because of the systematic persecution it suffered in Italy during the 1970s, only a few examples have survived in the wild, almost exclusively in Calabria, thanks to the campaign of local wildlife associations which have succeeded in making the wolf a protected species.

Loricate Pine
(PinusleucodermisAnt.)

The Loricate Pine is the symbol of the National Park of Sila in the province of Cosenza, Calabria where it may be found above all in the area of Lorica. Its bark is fissured into scaly, shiny, grayish white plaques and has characteristic dark green needles. It is a relic of the last Ice Age. It is to be found now in the most inaccessible rocky areas, shaped by wind, frost and lightning.

Silver Fir
(Abies alba)

The silver firis one of the most important trees in Italy. Its wood is white, light and soft. It grows all along the Apennines as far as Calabria. Its presence in the Apennines is due to man. The Carthusian monastic orders were responsiblefor the forestation of this species in Calabria, especially around Serra San Bruno. However, the recent construction of roadsacross the mountains threatens the existence of this beautiful tree.