Fauna

Serra da Estrela Dog

It is a result of artisan tradition of genetic preservation, this breed is considered one of the most ancient and genuine of the Iberian Peninsula. Despite its size it is a caring, brave and faithful friend. During winter time when the flocks searching for food had to move to the mountains, the Serra da Estrela Dog was the mindful guardian in the defence against beasts and robbers.

This breed exists in two variants: short and long haired it  is big and is about 40 to 50 kg. The head is strong and big and it has small and pending ears. Its mouth is big and it has strong teeth. The chest is curved and its abdomen is proportional to his body and the tail is long and large, it forms a hook at the edge.

Strong and fearless it is a great watching dog 

Sheep, Goat and Cow

Around the month of April, when the snow started to melt, the flocks started to mount to Estrela. They came from the foot of the mountain, from the lowlands of the North (Fornos de Algodres, Sátão, Nelas, Gouveia, Arganil, Oliveira do Hospital), from Cova da Beira, from Alentejo and even from Spanish border areas. At the first cold winds of autumn, the flocks would come to the Baixo Alentejo (Ourique fields), to some fields in Coimbra and to the Idanha prairies.

Today the ovine beings that exist in Estrela are less than half of what was in the first half of the 20th century. The transport is now made in trucks, but some flock owners from São João do Campo and Oliveira do Hospital still go to Baixo Mondego, Covilhã or Nelas. In the summertime they still go upwards to Montemuro and Baixo Douro. The importance of wool as a raw material has vanished. It was in the origin of important wool industries – cloths manufacture – that had a main plant which was the ‘Real Fabrica de Panos da Covilhã’. The goat milk always was the base product to the artesian production of the Serra’s Cheese, and it still is an important part of the actual cheese industrial production.

Wild Pig

Having unique shapes and corporal proportions, the wild pig is the big game species with the largest representation in Portugal. The wild pig can have 1.70mt of length and a weight of 140kg; it has a heavy and compact silhouette, with short and powerful members, it has a big funnel type head and no neck; all these characteristics gives it a solid and resistant look, completed by plenty of rude fur, which is more or less long.

In this specie, the sexual dimorphism is manifested not only in the size and weight (the male is bigger and heavier than the female), but also by differences in the bone structure, which are more visible in the male (the head is bigger and it has less funnel type, the existence of canines or fangs – these last are usually used as a weapon). The inferior and superior canines are usually wanted as a hunting trophy.

As the domestic pig, the wild pig is also an omnivorous. So its ‘diet’ is fruits, roots, bulbs, tubercles, parts of small plants, insects larva, small vertebrates (like mice, baby rabbits and bunnies), eggs and even cadavers from other animals. However it has a preference for acorns, chestnuts and cereals, which leads to the problem with farms exploitations because of the risk of setbacks to the farmers.

Birds:

Dipper

Partridge

Pheasant

Fish

Rainbow trout – The characteristics of the water above the 1500mts, particularly the low temperatures and the high quantity of dissolved oxygen, are propitious to the rainbow trout. This one is similar to the river trout, being the differences the colour and the smaller scales.

Bordallo – It has a long body with a big head and a small mouth.

Reptiles

Lagarto-de-agua – It can be found all over the Central Plateau, but it can be found with abundance in the areas with a minor altitude.

Iberian-rock-lizard (Lacerda monticola)– It can only be found in Serra da Estrela’s Central Plateau, it is a unique worldwide population and it can be found with abundance in highest areas.

Smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) - It is a rare snake in Portugal, however it can be found in Serra da Estrela, mainly above the 1900mts of altitude.

Amphibians

Salamander – Essentially detected at night when it goes to deposit its larva in creeks.

Iberian Green Frog (Rana perezi) – Typical specie found in lagoons, swamps and weak stream creeks.

Iberian Frog (Rana Ibérica) – It is an endemism from the Iberian Peninsula Norwest, typical from clear water and strong streams creeks.

European Tree Frog- Typical specie from small lagoons and swamps. During the reproduction period, in the end of the day and during night the males sing to attract females, making a big ‘chorus’ (end of spring).

Toad – It is usually detected in the dirt, under the rocks; going to the water only to reproduction, so it can lay its eggs. In the highest areas, the running toad can be found with abundance, in the areas of minor altitude it can be found the regular toad.

Bosca’s Newt (Triturus boscal) and Marble Newt (Triturus marmoratus) – These species can be found essentially at night in swamps, where they reproduce and fed themselves.