Architecture
Elements of traditional architecture were designed in response to the wolf. This is a corrala (not corral!), a construction unique to the area. The heather thatch edging with an open centre protected sheep against both the rain and the wolf, and should the latter have managed to jump in, it would never have got out.
Most corralas are falling into disuse. A few have been restored as folk monuments. These days, shepherds lock up their flocks in warehouses. Muladares
A muladar. After being put down, old donkeys and horses are thrown here to accustom wolves to feeding here. Rich hunters pay to for the privilege of shooting a wolf. An auction is held every year in Villardeciervos for right to hunt 2-4 wolves in the Reserva de Caza de La Sierra de la Culebra. They go for around 6,000 euros a piece, less than for a prize red deer. Whatever we may well feel about some rich toff blasting away a defenceless animal, hunting 2-4 individuals within the Reserve has little or no impact on the wolf population. Wolves like foxes and are an R-strategy species (basically, they breed fast) and can withstand up to 50% mortality a year. Outside the reserve it may well be another story. See Shepherds and mastins
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