salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica) and the snub-nosed viper (Vipera latastei). A few of the local species are protected by the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. The red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) whose habitat is restricted and marginal in continental Portugal, is another species that is common to the park. After four centuries absent from Portuguese territory, its population began to be recorded in 1985–1986, in Viana do Castelo. There were also registered sightings in Albergaria, Lamas de Mouro and Serra da Paneda, while comparable encounters in Spain were identified across the border. Roe deer, which are a symbol of the park are encountered in prolific quantity, along the margins of the park, where they find shelter and food. Meanwhile, other mammals, such as the population of Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) have collapsed with human encroachment, while the number of exemplars are limited. Along with the golden eagle, the wolf was seen as a threat to livestock, and was almost hunted to extinction, although protected by law since the end of the 20th century. Brown bears disappeared from the region in the 17th century, and the extinct Portuguese ibex (Capra pyrenaica lusitanica), locally known as Gerês goat, was last seen in the 1890s. More than a century later, its vacant ecological niche was reoccupied naturally by Spanish ibex coming from Galicia, and their population numbered about 100 animals by 2011. Worthy of mention are the Garrano (or Minho horse), a breed of small equine species who were ancestors of the Galician pony and Andalusian horse, which mostly live in the wild, but are a gentle breed with no significant fear of humans. For a long time these horses permeated the farms of Vilarinho das Furnas (before it was inundated with the dam's construction), but later began to freely move between the Portuguese-Spanish border after 1979. There are 147 avian species that are associated with the Peneda-Gerês park, especially along the Mourela region in the southern part of its frontier. In this region, although it might vary throughout the year (given climate and season), approximately 36 species make their nests in the area. Of particular note in this park are the: hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus), common snipe (Gallinago gallinago), red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio), yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella), garden warbler (Sylvia borin) and whinchat (Saxicola rubetra). For the winchat, the area of Mourela is the