Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas

Fauna and flora

The orographic complexity combined with the abundance, or sometimes absence, of water have endowed these mountains with some of Europe's richest and most diverse natural habitats. They are home to over 2,300 species of plants, 360 of which are only found in very small areas, along with 34 endemic species. It encompasses Mediterranean shrublands in the Sierra de las Villas mountains, lowland thickets that have adapted to the dry, stony land, and holly groves in the Sierra del Agua mountains in Siles, a splendid woodland that is characteristic of a colder, more humid climate. Its most unique habitat is the laurel woodland, a typical feature of humid Mediterranean environments which, after the last glaciation, were reduced to deep, sloping ground, such as La Cerrada de Elías. There is also a notable presence of alfa grasslands, typifying the desert landscape that stands in stark contrast to the Guadiana Menor River. Holm oaks and Aleppo pines give way to black pines, yew trees, boxwood, gall-oak, maple…, until the highlands reveal swathes of the Austrian pine, the true emblem of the Nature Reserve that share habitat with broom and junipers. Worth noting is the presence of many rare, endemic species, such as the Cazorla violet and the Cazorla narcissus. However, large mammals are the star attraction at this nature reserve, home to a wide variety of vertebrates. There are some 36 species of mammals, 130 species of breeding birds, 21 species of reptiles, 12 species of amphibians and 11 species of fish, including the endemic Cabrera's vole, squirrels, a subspecies also present in the Sierra de Alcaraz, the Spanish Moon Moth and Spanish algyroides (a species of lizard), which are only found in these mountains. As regards birds, special mention should be given to the bearded vulture and the steppe fauna in the semi-desert area of Huesa and Hinojares.