My Sardinia

Sardinia’s large mammals include the cinghiale sardo (wild boar), a smaller-than-average boar that roots around the nut groves and woodlands of lower mountain slopes. Nowadays, however, the authentic Sardinian wild boar is harder to find as hunting reduced their numbers over the years. A larger boar from mainland Italy was imported to boost the population and their interbreeding is creating a newer, bigger breed.

Other indigenous species roaming the Sardinian mountains and forests are the swarthy cervo sardo (Sardinian deer) who calls the thick forests of Gennargentu, Monte Arcosu and Monte Sette Fratelli their habitat. The deer almost went extinct in the 1960’s but the WWF saved them just in time. Some 700 animals remain under the watchful eye of the WWF (www.wwf.it).

Achettas run wild in the high plateau of the Giara di Gesturi. In the northwest, the albino donkeys of the Parco Nazionale dell’ Asinara are a sight to behold. In the Isola Asinara you can see about 500 mouflon (wild sheep), which are some of Sardinia’s oldest inhabitants. The mouflon is coveted by locals for their remarkable curved horns (used to make handles for quality Sardinian knives). Like the cinghiale sardo (Sardinian wild boar) and cervo sardo (Sardinian deer) they were also on the verge of extinction not long ago. To save themselves, the mouflons went to scale the cliffs in the less accessible parts of the interior.

The smaller mammals include marten, wildcats, foxes and hares and along the southwestern coast’s arid beaches turtles come to lay their eggs.