What metaphors are used in The Centaur by Jose Saramago?

The wilderness is a safe haven for the centaur and other mythological beings. When they first experience persecution by humans, these creatures lived together in the wilderness. However, the narrator states that after a while, even the wilderness was encroached upon and the creatures had to disperse with some of them becoming extinct and the others adapting in order to live among people. The wilderness becomes both a symbol and a metaphor for safety.