# Gibraltar/ Southern Spain Trip 2011



## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

Well, finally decided to get round to starting a thread detailing my current trip to Gibraltar (with plenty of "field trips" to Spain). I was going to make it a "just reptile" thread but I'll add some location shots and various other animals I've seen as well for those interested!

First up we have the ubiquitous Large Psammodromus, _Psammodromus jeanneae_. (This species was formerly classified as _P. algirus_, but has recently been separated out into _P. manuelae_ and _P. jeanneae_ by some authorities, with the latter occuring in eastern Iberia and Gibraltar. Having noted differences in western and eastern populations myself, I subscribe to this change).



















An Otter!











Weather at the beginning of the week was surprisingly inclement, with a heavy cloud stemming from Gib's infamous "Levanter" wind. Although this can ruin "sunbathing" holidays (and herping trips) in the short term, the rain shadow effect created by the Rock has a beneficial effect on the surrounding area in terms of biodiversity, allowing a much more lush environment than other, more arid regions of Spain.

A view of Gibraltar from El Burgo, on the trail from La Linea de la Concepcion to Alcaidesa:










And the surrounding hills:




























Of course, all that lovely greenery (and AMAZING wild flowers) also mean a huge variety of cool bugs abound!





































One of the larger locusts/ grasshoppers that abound in this area... unlike the ones we buy in the UK as lizard fodder, these come equipped with bloody great spikes on the back legs that can surprise the unwary!










A Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauretanica) sunbathing on a post. These geckos become quite diurnal during the cooler months, and even in the summer can often be seen basking.



















This baby Blue Tit literally fell to my feet and started begging for food, so I took the opportunity to feed it some soft insects. Upon releasing it, the parents came to "claim" it and feed it some more, so all in all it had a good meal that day!










Investigating the storm drains after the previous night's storm yielded this little curio, a Western Three-Toed Skink, _Chalcides striatus_.










Another Large Psammodromus basking above a storm drain. These are probably the most common reptiles in Spain (although Moorish Geckos might compete for that title) but are very nervous and difficult to approach.





























Me paying more attention to the bugs and reptiles than the camera!










Next day coming up (Trip to Pinar del Rey) 

Regards,
Francis


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

In Spain, SO not something you want to share a field with... these things are killers, and even the cows can and have killed people...










Me on the hike from San Roque to Pinar del Rey (the King's Pine forest).
(I have a hat now. Hats are cool.)










More scenery to set the scene (and make up for the lack of reptile shots)










Um... pic or you weren't there?










I'd like to point out that I saw quite a few Montpellier Snakes (_Malpolon monspessulanus_) and a few Bedriaga's Skinks (_Chalcides bedriagae_)... but, um... they were WAY too fast for me to catch or get shots of (I must be getting older!)

So here's another one of me.


















_Macrothele calpeiana_, the Iberian Funnelweb... always lurking under rocks and logs.



















Another Moorish Gecko (_Tarentola mauretanica_)










All those dots are actually thousands of snails... don't ask me why.










A beautiful Large Psammodromus











Regards,
Francis


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

Andalusian Wall Lizards (_Podarcis vaucheri_) in "the Jungle", Gibraltar



























































































A big Horseshoe Whip Snake (_Hemmorhois hippocrepis_) in Gibraltar



















They have a beautiful red underside.










The reason you can only see my left hand is that my right is covered in blood... these snakes tend to put up a very determined and vigorous defence!

More to come soon (as I take them!)


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

OK, far be it for me to let personal injury get in the way of sharing some more pics for too long, here are some of Ocean Village, Gib's floating restaurant/bar/casino complex at night...

They've even thoughtfully put lights into the sea so you can see the fish!



















Aside from the usual Grey Mullet eating at everything floating on the surface (even spit - we tried







) a few Bass (locally named _robalo_) made an appearance and created a great distraction by hunting down and eating several smaller fish...



















Watching was very exciting as the little fish were actually leaping out of the water in their efforts to get away! The bass were merciless and dogged pursuers, however! What a pleasant way to spend an evening winding down after a day herping!

Back to business: yesterday's hike up the Rock, via the "Mediterranean Steps", a long, winding stairway cut out of the cliff itself... despite only being about a 2-3 hour walk (depending on how much you dawdle), it's a hike that takes it out of you far more than three consecutive hikes to Spain as it's essentially entirely up giant winding natural staircase all the way!

It's well worth it though with some of the most beautiful, panoramic views to be found in the Mediterranean!

The beginning of the walk; over that ridge it gets REALLY difficult!




























Gibraltar is rightly famed for its wild flowers, with loads of endemic species thanks to the rain shadow effect and times of relatively high humidity allowed due to the Levanter cloud. There are many beautiful species of orchid and other flowers found here and nowhere else!





































One of the caves accessible via the steps (Gibraltar has many interesting caves, some accesible to the public, most not. Being fortunate in having a family member in charge of the Gibraltar Museum, I have had the opportunity to visit several of the private caves in the past., such as Gorham's Cave... another little known fact is that "Neanderthal Man" was stolen from us, the title should be "Gibraltar Man" as their remains were discovered here before the Neander Province... it's a title stubbornly held onto by the local historians!

As an aside, Gibraltar seems to have been a place of significance for the Neanderthals, and may have been inhabited by them until comparitively recently, with many important finds here...

BUT I DIGRESS (as usual!) on with the tour!



















As there are no reptile shots in this post, I promise to put up loads of lizards in a moment! I just felt it pertinent to post some shots of the terrain!


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

A blue carpenter bee, a large and common insect over here...










Another large insect, yet another species of large locust - this one was also enormous, bigger than a cigar! (What a treat for an opportunistic Ocellated Lizard... imagine the crunch from one of these!)










A Moorish Gecko enjoying the morning sun (already 27C by early morning... _hell_ of a temperature to be climbing the Med Steps at!)



















A Gibraltarian specimen of Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus jeanneae) sitting on a step - quite a big one too!










Another Moorish Gecko deciding it would rather not stick around and have its _Geckobia_ mites counted!



























I'll give it to you all straight, the Mediterranean Steps is a hard climb in the heat (at least 2 litres of water required!) and towards the end you start caring less about spotting reptiles and more about actually reaching the top... but once you climb that final flight of steps, you come out onto the very "backbone" of the Rock of Gibraltar and a wonderful great blast of cool wind hits you... what a feeling!

In fact it was such a relief I forgot to take a photo...









Then comes the much easier and more relaxed trudge down the other side of the Rock, first stopping off at St. Michael's Cabin for a much-needed iced drink, and then to Princess Caroline's Battery...

A Barbary Macaque (_Macaca sylvanus_), Europe's only surviving wild primate (aside man!)










A monkey sitting beside an ape...


















There's a reason the windows come equipped with bars in St. Michael's Cabin, the restaurant/ bar at the top of the Rock...



















Of course, the Macaque's aren't stupid... this one was playing the decoy and distracting all the tourists while his opposite number stole into the bar via the door and nicked some packets of biscuits!


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

Below Princess Caroline's Battery, a popular tourist hotspot, is a fenced off area that can only be reached by climbing off the beaten track...










However it's probably my favourite herping spot in Gibraltar as i) it's completely undisturbed and ii) it's basically a giant concrete bowl cut into the Rock, so anything that falls in, stays in...

Climbing over the fence and tip-toeing along the narrow ledge can yield snakes in the trough below - those familiar with the story of my first Montpellier Snake might be interested to know that I caught it here; I saw it scarper below me as I passed by and jumped off the wall to grab it.

Unfortunately I landed on a piece of broken glass so as I triumphantly and obliviously held up my wriggling capture, my friends pointed out I was likely to collapse from blood loss at any minute from the gash on my thigh...










The buildings seen in the above photo are basically gutted and full of scrap metal, collapsed wooden beams and miscellaneous debris, so if you climb down and investigate you are virtually assured of finding something good!

Anyway, it's an excellent place to see loads of Andalusian Wall Lizards, here are a few of the specimens I photographed there to make up for so many habitat and bug shots!









































































The great thing about this site is that it's much more open than most other areas in Gib, but because it's so undisturbed the lizards still colonise it in droves... so it's very easy to watch their behaviours from above... there were many pairs basking together (I love watching the females "waggle their tiny feet" submissively when the male gets near!)
and I also saw several ambitious males moving around into other territories and getting into atercations with one another... I would have loved to film them, but these things are so tiny and so fast in their movements it would have been hard!
































































A heavily gravid female surely just a day or two from laying.



















This was something interesting I found under a rock. There are giant centipedes on Gibraltar, up to about 8" or 10" and as thick as a thumb, but they are brown or black and yellow in colour... but this was about 12" long, but very soft - like the tiny centipedes one finds in the UK.










I didn't want to get too close in case it bit! I remember getting bitten by a 4" one as a child and blimey did it hurt! (and shock the living daylights out of me!)


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

Here's a Moorish Gecko (_Tarentola mauritanica_) in Alameda Botanical Gardens... during the day they turn this amazing grey-black colour while basking.



















And another!










The great thing about the gardens is that all along the wall running along them, there are holes in which one can easily find geckos and wall lizards (and their eggs), and even Horseshoe Whip snakes! In fact, despite all the field guides I've read stating that Horseshoe Whip Snakes are essentially ground snakes, in Gibraltar they seem to have adapted to take advantage of all the walls and slopes and can be seen climbing even vertical surfaces quite regularly... last year I found a 24" specimen eight feet above the ground on a typical white-washed house wall.

Andalusian Wall Lizard (_Podarcis vaucheri_) in Alameda.



















Spanish Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa) - bottom basking beside an introduced Red-Eared Terrapin (Trachemys scripta) - top.










And I managed to get it taking a nose-dive!










Another introduced American species, Red-Clawed Crayfish. They breed rampantly in the various pools and waterfalls at Alameda.





































While we were walking back, a couple of Blackbirds decided to declare war upon one another and basically pounded each other into the pavement. I've never seen anything like this, these are obviously females or young males, yet they pecked and wrestled each other into submission for ten minutes at our feet, oblivious to the watching humans...




























They ended up exhausted, grasping one another's bills... they were so obvlivious I could have picked them up, if I had so desired!


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## reptilefoodstore.co.uk (Apr 7, 2010)

great photos shame i didnt know you were going i would have asked you to bring back some of them grasshoppers


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

Thought I had to add a post about my absolute favourite place in the world, the area of the Rock known as "the Jungle" to the locals... it's basically a series of dilapidated military ruins - entrenchments, barracks, pillboxes, all completely overgrown and undisturbed. They are technically off limits and inaccessible, but that doesn't seem to stop local children playing hookie from school hanging out here!

Living just above them, I've known several "secret" entrances all my life and tend to spend most of my time exploring the Jungle whenever I'm back on holiday... there really is a somehow "hallowed" sense of peace and isolation here. As a rule, my day starts with a ramble through this place, and more often than not I return at around four pm for another tour (the unique way the sun works around here, what with the mountain and all those ruins in the way, means that different areas are illuminated at different parts of the day!)

So here are some views of the intricate mazes of hidden roads and ruins.



















The wall below is perfect for wall lizards, geckos, and the occasional whip snake.










The same building from the inside.










Perfect habitat for spiders, scorpions, centipedes and geckos!










A view of part of the Rock's face and one of the pillboxes overlooking the Mediterranean from the Jungle. This year, there are Peregrines nesting on this cliff!










Another of the pathways cut into the Rock.



















The distinctive white rock and red soil of the Upper Rock (although neither look particularly white or red in this shot!). I've always thought there is a certain irony in these colours, as the national flag of Gibraltar is also white and red!










Parts of the Jungle are decorated with all sorts of baroque but somehow beautiful graffiti...



















Suddenly from out of the tranquillity a strange creature emerges...!










Many years ago I was once lucky enough to witness two adult male Horsehoe Whip Snakes "wrestling" on top of this roof (back when there were actually pantiles on it - now they've all eroded off and been overgrown).

Last year I was lucky enough to be here just as a clutch of baby Horseshoe Whip Snakes were emerging en masse from a hole in the wall opposite... it's nice to know there's still a thriving (but difficult to encounter) population in the area!


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

Speaking of which...










Another good-sized one!



















That beautiful underside! These snakes are awesome!










... If slightly psychotic!














































Going back where it belongs! There aren't many large snakes in Gibraltar - both the adult specimens I've seen this trip have been found here in the Jungle (as was the very first snake I ever saw, way back as a kid). Who knows how many times this snake and I have encountered one another over the years? Maybe I've turfed it up before when it was a baby (might explain its more than belligerent attitude hehehe).










Just beneath where I live, we often get unusual guests (thanks in part to the presence of several fig trees bearing fruit!)










Regards,
Francis


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## Thrasops (Apr 15, 2008)

reptilefoodstore.co.uk said:


> great photos shame i didnt know you were going i would have asked you to bring back some of them grasshoppers


 
They do make excellent lizard food... when I used to live here I had to go and collect my own insects for my pets.... I loved to hear the big locusts go "crunch"... :2thumb:

There's another really strange green or yellow grasshopper found here with a pointed head, but I haven't found any yet.


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## snakewhisperer (Nov 13, 2009)

Fantastic pictures, with a bit more storyline it could be a good book!!


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## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

Brilliant photos, Would love to do either northern or southern Spain
:no1:


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## reptilefoodstore.co.uk (Apr 7, 2010)

if you get any please pm me as i would like to get a few from you


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