Napoleon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picos_de_Europa_National_Park




History

It was the first of the National Parks of Spain along with Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park in the Pyrenees. When it was created 22 July 1918 it covered the western part of today's national park, centered on the Lakes of Covadonga. The Parque Nacional de la Montaña de Covadonga, as it then was called, had an areaof 169.25 km². On May 30, 1995 the park was extended to include its current total area of 646.60 km².

On July 9, 2003 UNESCO approved Biosphere Reserve status for the National Park. Picos de Europa is one of several biosphere reserves in the Cantabrian Mountains which are being integrated into a single super-reserve to be known as "Gran Cantábrica".



Flora and fauna

Several types ofwoods can be found in the area: trees include beeches and Cantabrian Holm Oaks.

The human population is about 1300. There are many protected animal species, like the Capercaillie, the Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus), the Cantabrian brown bear and the Iberian Wolf (Canis lupus signatus). The most representative animal of the Picos de Europa is the Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica) or sarrio,or its more specific relative, the Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) or rebeco, of which there are many sculptures around the park, as well as the Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica).



http://www.iberianwildlife.com/picos-europa/flora-fauna-picos-europa.htm


The Picos de Europa is a small but spectacular range of jagged limestone mountains in northern Spain, harbouring anincredibly diverse flora and fauna.

Butterfly and moth holidays
in the Picos de Europa
with Teresa Farino
The Picos de Europa is one of those rare places in Europe today that combines magnificent scenery, a thriving rural economy and an enormous range of flora [pic]Ándara: the eastern massif of the
Picos de Europa© Teresa Farinoand fauna, the traditional methods of livestock farming practised hereallowing wildlife to flourish alongside mankind. A veritable pincushion of knife-edged ridges and pinnacles - the heritage of localised glacial activity and ongoing [pic]Bee Orchid 
Ophrys apifera© Teresa Farinokarstification - peaks at 2,648m (Torre Cerredo) and is split into three distinct massifs by precipitous gorges.
In part a parque nacional of 64,660ha, the Picos de Europa houses morethan 1,400 species of vascular plant, 70-odd mammals and 154 butterflies, such that even a brief visit in early summer will make a lasting impression. In addition, the Picos de Europa supports healthy raptor populations, harbouring around 130 pairs of griffon vulture (plus numerous immature birds: a total of around 400 individuals), as well as several pairs of Egyptian. The eagles are represented bygolden, short-toed and booted, the latter two in fair numbers throughout, while honey buzzard, goshawk and sparrowhawk are all common in forested areas. Breeding black kites are particularly abundant in Cabrales, hobbies occur in the drier habitats around Potes and peregrines are [pic]Griffon Vulture 
Gyps fulvus© Kola Produktiesregularly seen preying on choughs around Fuente Dé.
Daily wildlifewalks in
the Picos de Europa,
led by Teresa Farino
From May to early July, the haymeadows of the Picos de Europa are simply glorious: some of the richest temperate grasslands in the world, literally teeming with orchids and butterflies. Add to this the faunal and floral delights of the alpine rockgardens and the diversity of woodland types in the surrounding valleys - ranging from Mediterraneanevergreen forests to cool, humid swathes of beech and sessile oak, from mixed deciduous canopies of ash, wych elm and small-leaved lime to extensive tracts of Pyrenean oak - and you have the recipe for the perfect natural history holiday.
Flora & Fauna of the Picos de Europa
Over the past 25 years, Teresa Farino has compiled a report (more than 100 A4 pages) that includes lists of all the...