FaunaWild game has always been highly appreciated as a welcome supplement to the daily diet, and it appears on the menu of many restaurants, season permitting.
The population of wild boar has grown considerably in recent years due to the introduction of some Romanian specimens approximately 50 years ago. Favoured by the mixture of vinyards and olive groves with small patches of wood, they soon spread to the whole area of the Chianti. Thus it is not uncommon to come across them while driving at dusk, around sunrise or even in the middle of the night, when they move between their watering holes and sleeping places. Single adults are usually male, whereas females form flocks with their youngs. Around harvest time winegrowers protect the vines with electric fences in order to fend off the destructive inquisitiveness of the beasts.
Other wild animals, which may be observed in the woods or the fields are: deer, hare, squirrel (black and maroon), badger, fox and amphibians such as frogs and toads.
Porcupines have now become common in almost all of the Chianti. They are nocturnal animals like the owls, but often you only notice their traces: upturned irisbeds, sign of a gourmet feast. (NB!: Even the spines of a dead porcupine run over by a car can puncture your tyres).
Reptiles and amphibians are both protected species, but unfortunately snakes often don’t survive a close encounter with a car. Grass snakes are easily distinguishable by their often vivid colour scheme (yellow/black, green/black) and their long and thin bodies, whereas vipers have more muted, grey/black colours and are fatter around the middle with triangular heads. The latter, although poisonous, is a protected species too, and it is therefore advisable to keep a safe distance. They are deaf and detect the vicinity of other animals via vibrations in the soil, but preferring stony and arid soil and being very shy creatures, you are unlikely to come across them.
Among the most common birds are: pheasants, starlings, swallows and swifts, blackbirds, wild pigeons and red robins; but if you are lucky you may also sight birds of prey such as falcons and buzzards. At night nightingales and even whippoorwills may also be heard.
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Official Site of the Tourist Information Offices of
Castellina in Chianti,
Gaiole in Chianti and
Radda in Chianti.
Last change: 24. 04. 2008