Wildlife in Maremma Tuscany

If you are travelling in Tuscany and do not learn the Italian word cinghiale or, wild boar, you have not spent enough time here. These native pigs are everywhere…everywhere! Although they are not exactly cute, their stout brown noses and little tusks will make you smile. Typically I see them in large groups: 20 babies and one mamma, or a few adults together. If we see cinghiale while our horse riding in Tuscany, all horseback riders are delighted. They often ask if the horses are afraid of these wild animals to which I reply, “definitely not.” It is always the boars that run, while the horses watch attentively, seeming to say, “look, more of those things running through the woods.” Seeing them gives you the satisfaction of witnessing one of Italy’s native inhabitants in its environment. (You may also see these critters on the dinner table, a typical Tuscan dish.) The wild boars can be destructive, too. It is not uncommon to hear of an ongoing boar versus garden battle from the neighbor. I remember when my mother came to visit me last year we were driving home on her last night in the country and she desperately wanted to see cinghiale. Not two minutes after expressing her disappointment, we passed four huge specimens munching some grass on the side of the road.

 

While riding I have seen many other animals that I never saw in the States including, badgers, porcupines, hedgehogs and small red deer. We often see falcons and hawks, too. Tiny lizards part the Red Sea as I lead the way across the Maremma terrain. Once, I had a close encounter with a “viper”(to an Italian, all snakes are vipers) as I dismounted to pick up dropped sunglasses. Reaching down, I almost made contact with the sleeping snake. Of course my clients thought this was hilarious as I jumped about ten feet backwards out of surprise (not fear, I like the little guys!). The snake never moved.

Last year we found an abandoned baby deer in the woods (we named him Kiko). We fed and cared for it all summer and into the fall until he was old enough to join the other deer back in the forest. 

No matter where you go, you are sure to see wildlife from your window of our Hotel in Maremma Tuscany. It is a special part of the environment, one that is sure to make you smile. 