Mammals at La Cassinazza

Mammals are much harder to observe than other animals, such as birds.
One need only think of bats, or of small rodents, which are not only nocturnal, but also fossorial: that is, they live underground.
ALarge mammals are just as difficult to observe: foxes have only been seen once, while badgers, stone martens and stoats have been recorded only thanks to the tracks they have left in the mud, or because they have fallen into the traps set for nutria (from which they have always been released unharmed).
In order to accurately survey mammals, special techniques are often necessary.
For example, in order to census bats we made several nocturnal outings with a so-called bat detector. This is a sophisticated electronic tool that makes it possible for us to capture and record the ultrasounds that bats make, and to identify the species making them through spectrographic analysis.
In the case of small mammals, we follow an even more indirect procedure: the analysis of bone remains in owl pellets. Barn Owl pellets are particularly well-suited to this and we made a special efforts to collect them in the attic of the farmhouse, where a pair nests and roosts during the day. The pellets were examined by experts from the Department of Animal Biology of the University of Pavia.
Roe deer were the focus of a re-introduction project, with the first individuals released in 2003.

The mammal checklist



INDEX