Squirrels and Pigs

[akmcewan]

Just finished my third Camino: the Primitivo. Quite busy there into early October, but nothing compared to the huge numbers from the junction at Melide on in to Santiago!
I can understand the abundance of pilgrims given the circumstances, but dos preguntas:
With all the nuts everywhere (acorns, walnuts, chestnuts etc) on the ground and literally falling on your head, why no squirrels?
Also, didn’t see any pigs. Lots of ham and pork on every table. Where’s the pigs?
Buen Camino amigos!!

 

[wayfarer]

Just finished my third Camino: the Primitivo. Quite busy there into early October, but nothing compared to the huge numbers from the junction at Melide on in to Santiago!
I can understand the abundance of pilgrims given the circumstances, but dos preguntas:
With all the nuts everywhere (acorns, walnuts, chestnuts etc) on the ground and literally falling on your head, why no squirrels?
Also, didn’t see any pigs. Lots of ham and pork on every table. Where’s the pigs?
Buen Camino amigos!!

Don't know about the squirrels but the pigs are born and raised in huge breeding/fattening stations. Many of these can be seen and smelled along the Frances and the inmates never see the light of day.

 

[Bradypus]

Squirrels? There are no grey squirrels in Spain (fortunately in my opinion!) and the distribution of red squirrels is very patchy. I have seen a few in Galicia but not many.

Pigs? As @wayfarer says in the areas close to the Frances and the Primitivo they are mostly raised indoors in large industrial-style units. If you want to see the Iberian black pigs which make the high-end jamon then you should look further south in the oak-dotted dehesa pastures in Andalucia and Extremadura.

 

[ivar]

Just finished my third Camino: the Primitivo. Quite busy there into early October, but nothing compared to the huge numbers from the junction at Melide on in to Santiago!
I can understand the abundance of pilgrims given the circumstances, but dos preguntas:
With all the nuts everywhere (acorns, walnuts, chestnuts etc) on the ground and literally falling on your head, why no squirrels?
Also, didn’t see any pigs. Lots of ham and pork on every table. Where’s the pigs?
Buen Camino amigos!!

Almost every farm in Galicia has pigs, for chorizo and more... but they almost 100% keep them inside. As for squirrels, not sure.. but it might be related to the fact that there are quite a bit of large birds like hawks and so on in Galicia. They take a lot of chickens for example... I am sure squirrels are also on their menu.

 

[wisepilgrim]

Also, didn’t see any pigs. Lots of ham and pork on every table. Where’s the pigs?

The question almost answers itself

 

[SabsP]

Just finished my third Camino: the Primitivo. Quite busy there into early October, but nothing compared to the huge numbers from the junction at Melide on in to Santiago!
I can understand the abundance of pilgrims given the circumstances, but dos preguntas:
With all the nuts everywhere (acorns, walnuts, chestnuts etc) on the ground and literally falling on your head, why no squirrels?
Also, didn’t see any pigs. Lots of ham and pork on every table. Where’s the pigs?
Buen Camino amigos!!

The iberico pigs are having fun in Extremadura.

La dehesa de Extremadura es la cuna del cerdo ibérico de bellota

La Dehesa de Extremadura es un ecosistema único para la cría del cerdo ibérico, de los más singulares de España y cuna del Jamón ibérico de bellota.

tierradeliberico.com

 

[Camino Chrissy]

On all of my 6+ caminos, I have ever seen a squirrel or chipmunk which really has surprised me as they frolick everywhere in my neck of the woods at home. Pigs are raised indoors, so are rarely seen.

 

[Tincatinker]

Squirrels? Remember that really scrawny “chicken” on the “menu Peregrino”?

 

[Bradypus]

On all of my 6+ caminos, I have ever seen a squirrel or chipmunk which really has surprised me as they frolick everywhere in my neck of the woods at home.

I'd be at least as surprised if I did see a chipmunk. They're not native to Europe. But then neither are grey squirrels and there are plenty of those here in the UK!

 

[Anamiri]

Just finished my third Camino: the Primitivo. Quite busy there into early October, but nothing compared to the huge numbers from the junction at Melide on in to Santiago!
I can understand the abundance of pilgrims given the circumstances, but dos preguntas:
With all the nuts everywhere (acorns, walnuts, chestnuts etc) on the ground and literally falling on your head, why no squirrels?
Also, didn’t see any pigs. Lots of ham and pork on every table. Where’s the pigs?
Buen Camino amigos!!

The only place I saw squirrels was outside Logrono.

 

[LesR]

Just finished my third Camino: the Primitivo. Quite busy there into early October, but nothing compared to the huge numbers from the junction at Melide on in to Santiago!
I can understand the abundance of pilgrims given the circumstances, but dos preguntas:
With all the nuts everywhere (acorns, walnuts, chestnuts etc) on the ground and literally falling on your head, why no squirrels?
Also, didn’t see any pigs. Lots of ham and pork on every table. Where’s the pigs?
Buen Camino amigos!!

Red squirrels can be seen amongst the pine trees just before Parque de la Grajera on the way out of Logrono.

 

[Kathar1na]

I’ve only ever seen grey squirrels in parks in England. In the EU, they are classified as an invasive alien species imported from North America and a threat to the red squirrel; they are considered as a problem in the UK and apparently also in parts of Italy. There are efforts to eradicate them or to at least stop their spreading from Italy to other countries. Unlike them, red squirrels who are native to Europe are shy animals which may be one reason why you rarely see them even when they are present in a region in Spain.

 

[Kathar1na]

Fwiw, when I looked up the Spanish word for squirrel - it is ardilla - and entered ardilla España into Google there were numerous search results that referred to a saying that a squirrel was once able to cross Spain from the southern coast to the Pyrenees by jumping from tree to tree without ever touching the ground. It is apparently a reference to the belief that all of Spain was once covered by forests but it appears to be a myth.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Most squirrels I see in North America are gray. I ocassionally have see red squirrels on travels and even areas that have black squirrels. They all seem to act in a similar fashion from what I have observed.

 

[Kathar1na]

Squirrels are a synanthropic species. I had to look up the word since I did not know what they are called in English. Synanthropes are animals that can change their traditional habits to adapt to urban neighbourhoods and to the presence of humans, i.e. blackbirds changing from shy woodland birds to cheeky garden birds, foxes living in urban areas, red squirrels being fed by walkers. They loose their natural shyness.

As delightful as this may be, it is a sad sign of the increasing loss and destruction of their natural habitats in Europe. I am now so old that I can see the change: a fox marching along the sea promenade in the early morning hours in a town in England, foxes living behind my neighbour's garden across the road and me noticing for the first time ever fox droppings in my own garden this year, and, recently and only once, even seeing a red squirrel near the house. Unthinkable 50 years ago.

Seen in this context, it may not be surprising that pilgrims have observed red squirrels in the popular park area near Logroño.

 

[pelerine]

Plenty of open air pigs next to the Via de la Plata in Estremadura!

 

[Natale]

Just finished my third Camino: the Primitivo. Quite busy there into early October, but nothing compared to the huge numbers from the junction at Melide on in to Santiago!
I can understand the abundance of pilgrims given the circumstances, but dos preguntas:
With all the nuts everywhere (acorns, walnuts, chestnuts etc) on the ground and literally falling on your head, why no squirrels?
Also, didn’t see any pigs. Lots of ham and pork on every table. Where’s the pigs?
Buen Camino amigos!!

You didn't see any wild pigs? Lots of them

 

[bananarama]

How about wild boar? There are plenty in Galicia. Back in September 2018 I came across a mama and her 3 piglets nibbling away in an orchard of sweet chestnuts. I squatted down and watched from afar for 10-15mins; it was incredible. So you may find nuts in public areas don't get eaten, but out in the wild and quiet areas they do.

 

[mazzarina]

Incidentally, 'squirrel' is one of the hardest English words for a Spaniard to pronounce.

 

[Rita Flower]

Don't know about the squirrels but the pigs are born and raised in huge breeding/fattening stations. Many of these can be seen and smelled along the Frances and the inmates never see the light of day.

Oh how sad. I think I prefer the free range pigs along VDLP.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Don't know about the squirrels but the pigs are born and raised in huge breeding/fattening stations. Many of these can be seen and smelled along the Frances and the inmates never see the light of day.

It's the same in the USA.
The pigs live their lives inside barns, touching one another all day. I've seen it once and it is heartbreaking.

 

[bananarama]

The pigs live their lives inside barns, touching one another all day. I've seen it once and it is heartbreaking.

Out of sight out of mind

 

[wayfarer]

Oh how sad. I think I prefer the free range pigs along VDLP.

Unfortunately the end result is the same for the poor pig.

 

[Kathar1na]

Incidentally, 'squirrel' is one of the hardest English words for a Spaniard to pronounce.

Is it much harder than it is for native English speakers to pronounce the German name for squirrel which is Eichhörnchen?

And I know that I have to slow down and be careful when I attempt to say écureuil correctly in French.

 

[Kathar1na]

BTW, is this actually true? I see, thanks to Google, that squirrel is supposed to be one of the hardest words to pronounce in English for any non-native speaker, not just for Spaniards. That's total news for this non-native speaker ...

PS: There are endless threads about this on the internet. And I learnt a new word: shibboleth - words to make foreigners or non-locals pronounce for a laugh. Squirrel, Eichhörnchen and écureuil all make frequent appearances in these threads but the best one is this: Oachkatzlschwoaf. It's Bavarian/Austrian for squirrel tail. Oh, the fun that can be had with words.

 

[natcire]

Fwiw, when I looked up the Spanish word for squirrel - it is ardilla - and entered ardilla España into Google there were numerous search results that referred to a saying that a squirrel was once able to cross Spain from the southern coast to the Pyrenees by jumping from tree to tree without ever touching the ground. It is apparently a reference to the belief that all of Spain was once covered by forests but it appears to be a myth.

It may not be a myth. A lot of European and Mediterranean countries, including Middle East had more trees. In the Middle East, there were large swatches of oak, pine and cedar forests but they were decimated before the third millennia BCE for timber needed in empire building, agriculture, fuel, pottery, and metallurgy. The European forest was comparable to the Amazon forests suffered the same fate due to the maritime exploration starting in the 14C. Here are two of many Web sources that can be found on the Web. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00253/full

Unasylva - No. 68 - Forest history of the Near East

 

[Tincatinker]

The squirrel from coast-to-coast myth, perpetrated by the little tree-rats themselves, takes little account of ecological reality. Unless you’re a tree forest is a shite place to live. Little sunlight, little water, consequently not a lot of protein sources. If it hadn’t been for all those hard-core herbivores who devoted themselves to knocking down the trees and letting the light in and the grass to grow we would never have got very far once we’d climbed down out of our own tribal tree

 

[CWBuff]

The question almost answers itself

LOL I was going to post exactly that!

 

[ChrisGall]

Squirrels? There are no grey squirrels in Spain (fortunately in my opinion!) and the distribution of red squirrels is very patchy. I have seen a few in Galicia but not many.

Pigs? As @wayfarer says in the areas close to the Frances and the Primitivo they are mostly raised indoors in large industrial-style units. If you want to see the Iberian black pigs which make the high-end jamon then you should look further south in the oak-dotted dehesa pastures in Andalucia and Extremadura.

The black pigs roam free eating acorns around the outskirts of La Alberca, near Salamanca.

 

[Former member 88968]

We saw plenty of pigs in Portugal, mostly on farms

 

[Pelegrin]

About white pigs in Spain, they are foreign breeds, mostly Large White, Landrace and Duroc. Apart from the considerations about if staying inside is better for meat production, those breeds have a delicate skin that can't stand the Spanish sun. Therefore, only rustic breeds like "Cerdo Iberico" stay outside in Spain. In Galicia, there is a local breed called "Porco Celta" that can also stay outside and it is possible to see them in some places.
About the squirrels, I have no idea why there are so few.

 

[GregorMc]

Probably hard to make out, as there were piglets and sows together, so I was wary of getting too close. This was on the Camino Inglés, around Naron, yesterday. Pigs, geese, and goats were on the other side of the path. All roaming free. But the sign says it's for sale so probably not a commercial venture.

 

[bananarama]

Probably hard to make out, as there were piglets and sows together, so I was wary of getting too close. This was on the Camino Inglés, around Naron, yesterday. Pigs, geese, and goats were on the other side of the path. All roaming free. But the sign says it's for sale so probably not a commercial venture.

They're Celtic pigs!

 

[Pelegrin]

They're Celtic pigs!

Yes, they are "Porco Celta" breed.