Not only the flora but also the fauna has suffered from the fires and deforestation that ravaged the forests of Montiferru in the last century. Wildlife has been severely effected by changes in the environment caused not only by the drastic cutting down of trees but also by extensive, unregulated hunting. At the beginning of the century Sardinia was known as a great hunting reserve. Throngs of hunters arrived here by ship from Genoa. Accompanied by local guides, they shot thousands of deer, mountain goats and vultures, returning home loaded with trophies. "Hunters can find a cordial welcome and much useful information by contacting, preferably with a letter of presentation, the Hunting Club of Cagliari, which in certain cases can also furnish recommendations for the interior of the island. Hunters can also contact some of the gun dealers in Cagliari who organize big game hunts", wrote L. Bertorelli in 1929 in his Guide to Sardinia published by the Italian Touring Club. On page 44 of this guide the best method for hunting vultures was also explained. In the mountainous regions of the interior the dead carcasses of donkeys, cattle, horses, goats and sheep were abandoned in valleys. Sometimes sharp hooks were planted in these carcasses, which the greedy vultures gulped down, remaining trapped. After the savage logging and forest fires, many species became extinct in Montiferru, but this is now ancient history. Today the only trophies that can be brought home for friends to admire are the photographs that birdwatchers manage to shoot of the fauna living on Montiferru. It is still a matter of rising at dawn and trekking through the woods. With a little luck birdwatchers can take home with them trophies of exceptional value. Montiferru, in fact, due to its geographical position, its geological conformation and the variety of its environment, offers safe refuge to non-migratory game as well as a good stopping place for migratory species. A great variety of species are there to be photographed - starlings, bee-eaters, shrikes, robins, stone-chats, sparrows, thrushes, jays, hooded crows, ringdoves, crows, blackbirds, hoopoes, and others. Characteristic is the partridge (Alectoris barbara), considered a geographical relic. Birdwatchers will not fail to take the chance to photograph the raptors sailing through the skies of Montiferru, some of which nest on its rocks: 5 or 6 pairs of peregrine falcons which, always widely diffused but only occasionally nesting here, have now it seems laid their eggs in nests on the rocky walls. The harrier too (Cyrcus pygarus) has come back to nest at Pabarile. The windhover (Falco tinnunculus) and the royal kite (Milvus milvus), once very common, now more rare, also nest in the rocky crevices. The sparrow-hawk (Accipiter misus), the buzzard (Buteo arrigonii) and the goshawk (Accipiter gentilis arrigonii Kleinsch) to be seen on Montiferru belong to Sardinian species, different from those existing in the rest of Italy. But for birdwatchers, no trophy is more sought after than a set of slides illustrating the majestic, spectacular flight of the griffin (Gyps fulvus), easily recognizable not only by its imposing size but also by its brown coloring and long neck covered by white down with a characteristic collar at the base. Its wingspread can reach 280 cm., allowing it to exploit to the full the rising currents of air through which it glides effortlessly. The Italian population of griffins is concentrated in the triangle bounded by Santu Lussurgiu, Bosa and Alghero where, in a distribution area of 2000 sq. km., about a hundred griffins now live. These birds, coming from Spain and France, were brought back to Montiferru starting in 1986 where, after a period of orientation in large birdcages, they were freed. Now it is common to see "the lord of the Sky" wheeling majestically in search of food. Then if the photographic hunter has a few more rolls of film left, he can train his lens on other splendid examples of Montiferru's wildlife. Deer and mountain goats are protected by fences around the restocking areas of the State Forestry Department, where they can be seen and photographed. The mountain goats (Ovis musimon) like to spend their days on the rocky cliffs at the edge of the woods. The deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus) prefer to live further inland, in the ilex grooves, where forests of sclerophylls alternate with pasture land. Other mammals living in Montiferru are protected, since in the last few decades their numbers have progressively dwindled to the point of arousing fear for their conservation. They include, among others, the wildcat (Felis sylvestris) and the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaens). No threat of extinction exists instead for another important inhabitant of Montiferru: the wild boar (Sus scrofa meridionalis), which is smaller in size than the continental boar. This animal has long been the lord of our forests, which have always offered it shelter and plentiful food: tubers, roots, bulbs, acorns, larvae, and insects. Along with the fox (Vulpes), the weasel (Mustela nivalis), the hare (Lepus capensis) and the wild rabbit (Oryctologus cuniculus), the boar is considered wild game. Hunting parties, with beaters, hunters and dogs, have to be organized due to the rapid proliferation of this member of the swine family which in Winter, when the mountain tops are snow-covered, wanders in search of food as far as the outskirts of Santu Lussurgiu and the other towns at the edge of the forest. The last photo to be shot could be that of the Bedriaga lizard (Archeolocerta bedriagae), an important native reptile which, it seems, has been recently recognized on our mountain and immortalized on film.

SPECIFIC BIBLIOGRAPHY
CAMARDA, FALCHI, NUDDA, L'ambiente naturale in Sardegna, Carlo Delfino Editore
STEFANI RENZO, Dispense di ornitologia, University of Cagliari
"SARDEGNA AMBIENTE", Supplement to Sardegna Estate, February 1990
PRATESI FULCO, TOSSI FRANCO, Guida alla natura della Sardegna, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore
BERTORELLI L.V., Guida d'Italia - Sardegna e Corsica, Touring Club Italiano

And Yorkshires again: Sha sha, Pallina, Beba, Lilli - Pavoni: Checco and Checca Faggiani: Game, male and female - Carmencita, the hen that laid the golden eggs 2 Doves, Bianchino and Bianchina - 5 Galopsites with Mario the song-bird. And many, many more.