Who does not know the image of Bambi, so cute, nice and helpless! Well, it is not difficult in spring to see puppies alone in the tall grass or in the thick of the woods crouched down and still unable to move quickly. They have not been abandoned by their mummy, she has gone off in search of food and will be back soon to feed them. They are very tender and you must not let the desire to help or caress them overcome you. They are fine: in the first few days of life this instinctive behavior shelters them from the risk of being preyed on, but if we touch them, we leave our scent on them and their mother may no longer recognize them and then, yes, abandon them.

Animals can be tracked, however, and it is always a discovery: if we find hazelnuts, we immediately look for a nice central hole. It was then a woodpecker; is there a small hole with the marks of the incisors? The glutton is a wild mouse. If we are at a higher altitude, we could hear the marmot’s whistle warning our companions of our arrival: the sound will be unique. However, on the other hand, it could also warns that there is a predator in the air, probably an eagle or a hawk.

The pinecones tell us if the pine nuts have been eaten by a squirrel, in which case they remain with only a tuft of scales on the apical part, or by a mouse, which gnaws at them from beginning to end.

The trees, on the other hand, bear witness to the passage of ungulates: the male specimens of deer and roe deer bark their trunks rubbing their boxes (the majestic horns) to mark the territory. The hare instead gnaws the tender trunks in search of food, especially in winter.

In short, nature is an open book, in which we can enter and read: let us do it always on tiptoes!