Linarejos remembers his most special neighbor: the deer ‘Carlitos’ never returned

Carlitos He doesn’t live but the fight continues. The silhouette of the deer is multiplied painted between the backs, walls, concrete pavements and facades of his Linarejos (Zamora, 10 inhabitants), where he used to walk since he was a child. The few neighbors, somewhat more abundant in summer, have honored him with brushes, buckets and anger. The deer, one more among those houses, died last September after being hunted despite Linarejos begging a pardon for this particular neighbor. There is no official confirmation that it was him from the Junta de Castilla y León, competent in this hunting management, but everything fits: the remains they saw had marks like those of Carlitos in one ear and he hasn’t gone to the place for months, as he always did after the rut.

The affection of this mountainous Zamora village towards the deer can be seen in the multiple drawings of its silhouette on any support. The inhabitants have resorted to photos of the animal, abundant given its frequent visits to the town to graze or eat apples, to capture it with those 14-point antlers, as respected in the town as it is prized by hunters. The deer is immortalized on the backs of houses, on floors and even on car stickers. Eloy Martín, 67 years old, remembers that “anonymous complaint” used to point out the quadruped as a huntable piece. Some neighbor, about whom there are strong suspicions, warned of an alleged danger of a bull that was approaching Linarejos but did not interact with people or did not attack. “He has not come nor will he come, they have killed him, there is no doubt! We do not expect any news in this policy of silence that the Board has, they are not interested in the topic,” Martín laments about the lack of precise information provided by the Environment area when asked.

Social mobilization occurred in September, when they saw how environmental agents from the Board guided hunters. Together they thwarted two raids and collected thousands of virtual signatures to demand forgiveness for Carlitos. Shots a few days later and the subsequent absence of the ungulate plunged the neighbors into sadness. For them, the Board has the perfect excuse. If it appeared, great; If not, as has been the case, it can be argued that he has migrated to other places, that his life has become complicated after going from the brown peaks to the rut or that he has suffered an attack by a wolf. Environment issued a statement after the first accusations arguing that “Carlitos “It is not endangered this year and will not be hunted.” The regional delegate in Zamora, Leticia García, stated shortly before that the deer “is a hunting species and during the hunting season it is susceptible to being hunted” in addition to its “considerable antlers” making it “a danger to the population.” although there were never any attacks. García also assured that “there was no way” to ensure the identity of the killed animal. On the other hand, Eloy Martín and the residents allege that it had characteristic marks on its ears and that they corresponded to the features seen in the remains found, without the sought-after head and its horns, although with the ears.

Another neighbor, Pilar Devesa, one of the great activists in defense of the missing deer, summarizes the process like this: “We keep waiting.” “Unfortunately he has not returned to us. Carlitos. Although at the time they tried to deny that he was shot down, it was true. In fact, it is the reason why the Board has maintained and maintains a rigorous silence every time we request reports on the status of the investigation of the evidence presented.” Disaffection has spread in the small town, where they had become accustomed to the recognizable deer walking through its streets. Even tourists from the rural house came taking into account their presence. Eloy Martín remembers with nostalgia when the later shiny deer “was very small and played with this mastiff,” alluding to one of the dogs in the area. He is one of the few neighbors who, instead of the affectionate Carlitos employ a serious CarlosHowever, the ungulate had reached a size and antlers without a diminutive. “He was born here and here he died. No doubt, Carlos It was unmistakable, the remains were undoubtedly his,” explains the Zamorano, sad with the outcome of a story that revealed a certain unity in the town to defend the deer.

This neighbor was the one who on the fateful afternoon heard the shots while taking a walk through the mountains that surround Linarejos. Dusk was approaching when on this route Martín glimpsed the car of the guards who accompany the hunters with permission to shoot down the corresponding game. The man hid and saw “three guards and a hunter” with flashlights to guide him in the incipient darkness. “I left some marks, I turned around carefully and at dawn I returned and found the remains,” recalls the witness, who confirmed the physical features shared with Carlos and immediately called the Seprona of the Civil Guard, who took some photos.

The lack of information leaves Eloy Martín and many other residents of Linarejos resigned. They know well their weakness in the face of the Junta’s devices, no matter how much the reason is on their part: they had the mammal very close and as soon as they hadn’t seen it for three or four days they would discuss it with the neighbor. That is why they have no doubt about his fateful fate, since he has accumulated so many months of absence, unprecedented even after the mating season and the usual movements in the species. “It was a deer like hundreds of thousands, but this one became our friend and was unique in the world, it was still a wild animal and it decided when to get close,” recalls someone who on so many occasions had it just a foot away without any hint of assault. Even the hunters in the area begged for his absolution for the emotional value. His sin, perhaps, was to eat some apples offered by the trees behind the walls, an annoying behavior, like his walks, for that anonymous complainant: “In the towns we all know each other and that is the great advantage and disadvantage.”

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