Lone wolf

[Robert E. Spenger]

I have seen reports that there are still bears in the Pyrenees, but very
few, a dozen or less. I don't think that there is much chance for their
survival with such a small gene pool. At least one pilgrim has reported
a sighting of bear tracks - in the snow at Somport. See the following
URL and check 30. Stage (Urdos to Canfranc Estación).

http://www.hol.nl/private-pages/jp/meine_e.htm

regards,

Robert

George Greenia wrote:

>
> Not to make anyone apprehensive but I had the really delightful
> experience of crossing paths with a wolf on the Camino.  It was when
> we were biking from Paris to Santiago in June, 1998 and I was alone
> for the moment, Tom having fallen behind a couple of kilometers to
> take some photos of the Galician countryside just beyond Ligonde and
> heading north toward Vilar de Donas.  When it emerged from the
> underbrush and trotted across the road ahead of me, I thought it was
> just another of the large dogs the local farmers keep, but as I kept
> staring at the muzzle, lack of collar and lean look I was sure it was
> a wolf.  Looking pretty lean and dry myself from weeks of biking, it
> hardly gave me a sidelong glance before vanishing into a field of tall
> scrub.
>
> I had pretty much talked myself out of having seen a real lupus
> ibericus until we visited a museum of natural history in Santiago and
> I unexpectedly crossed paths with a stuffed relative of my lone wolf,
> this time in a glass case.
>
> That said, the native Galician wolf, the only species you'll ever run
> into on pilgrimage, is a very small wolf and as with most wild animals
> more scared of us that we are of them.  Wolves, bears, wild boars and
> even lions flourished along the Camino in medieval times but domestic
> dogs are the only thing to worry about now.  If your water bottle has
> a nozzle, squirt it into a barking dog's mouth; it will choke on the
> water but be otherwise unharmed and back off.
>
> george
>
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