A rather less fearsome example of local wildlife now. The arrendajo or gayo - jay in English - is common in the Alpujarra, and particularly visible in Autumn, when pairs of the birds fly around the forests, collecting acorns to bury as a food source through the winter. Apparently they forget half their hiding places, and thus inadvertently 'plant' thousands of trees. 
A wolf in the Alpujarra
Arachnophobes look away now. Here's a prime example of local Alpujarra wildlife - a female wolf spider with hundreds of tiny baby wolf spiders on her back. We found her on a walk above Portugos last week, sunning herself and her offspring in beautiful October sunshine. She's about the size of a mouse, and I thought the covering was just hair or something until I enlarged the shot and had a proper look. A little reassurance if you're thinking of visiting the area and are less keen on invertebrates than I am; wolf spiders won't bite unless cornered, they don't come into the house, and this is the first time I've seen one in about six years of regular visits to the area.
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