European Animals Ireland and Italy

Wildlife of Ireland

Ireland is a European country that is located in the northwestern part of the continent in the North Atlantic Ocean. The country is divided into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and it is separated from Great Britain by the North Channel and the Irish Sea.

Here you’ll find the wild herds of Connemara ponies. These are athletic ponies known for their sweet dispositions, intelligence, and hardy good health, They run wild in Connemara, a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland.

Galway sheep are a breed that originated in Galway. They are large, white-faced sheep.

Wildlife Native to Ireland

Red foxes are the largest species of fox in the world. They can be seen across the entire Northern Hemisphere.

Stoats are also called short-tailed weasels. They are a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and North America.

Irish elk are a species of deer that are native to Eurasia.

Red-necked wallabies are a medium-sized species of marsupial native to eastern Australia including Tasmania. They make their homes in a small area in Ireland on Lambay Island.

Reeve’s muntjacs are also known as Chinese muntjacs, a species of deer native to China and Thailand. They were introduced to the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. They are named after the naturalist John Reeves.

Irish hares are one of the oldest species in Ireland.

Badgers are found all over Europe but are residential to Ireland.

Minute pygmy shrews are the smallest mammals in Ireland.

Marine Wildlife

Black guillemots are a species of seabirds that are native to the northern Atlantic in Europe and North America.

American minks are semi-aquatic species of mustelid that were introduced to many countries in Europe, South America, and Asia.

Eurasian otters are a species of semi-aquatic mammals that are native to much of Eurasia, the Indian subcontinent, and Indonesia.

Leatherback sea turtles are the largest species of turtle and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptiles. They can be seen off the west coast of Ireland.

Atlantic puffins are a species of seabirds native to the Atlantic Ocean. They can be found in coastal areas of Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Greenland, and Canada.

Walruses are a large species of marine mammals native to the Arctic parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

Harbor porpoises are a species of porpoise and one of the smallest cetaceans in the world. They are native to coastal areas and river estuaries.

Wildlife of Italy

The southern European country Italy is a boot-shaped peninsula. The country has both the Alps and Apennine Mountain ranges as well as central woodlands and southern shrublands. It has 4,900 miles of coastline right in the middle of the Mediterranean Basin biodiversity zone.

Official National Animal

Italian wolf

Mammals

Among the mammals in Italy are several types of shrews, Alpine marmots, European snow voles, wild boars, and steinbocks.

Etruscan shrews are the smallest known mammals by mass.

Alpine ibexes are found in the northern Italian mountain ranges.

The North Atlantic right whale is critically endangered.

Birds

There are 516 bird species in Italy but only 267 birds nest in the country. Among the birds here are bluethroats, hoopoes, and European roller.

Among birds of prey, there are Bonelli’s eagles, Eurasian eagle owls, and griffon vultures.

Bluethroats are small migratory birds native to Europe and Asia.

Hoopoes as colorful birds living in open countryside with trees or shrubs for cover.

European rollers have turquoise and electric blue feathers. They inhabit open countries with lots of trees.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Common reptiles and lizards found in Italy include spectacles salamanders, Italian newts, Italian stream frogs, Sicilian pond turtles, and Italian Aesculapian snakes.

Spectacles salamanders are mostly in the northern part of Italy in moist forests and alpine meadows.

Sicilian pond turtles inhabit shallow ponds, marshes, and lakes across the island of Sicily.

Fish

There are also plenty of jellyfish, porcelain crabs, and octopus.

In the waters, you can find sea bass, mackerel, soles, anchovies, mullet, and tuna. They are all in abundance in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas.

The largest fish in Italian waters is the Bluefin tuna.

The smallest fish native to Italy are among the goby species like the Sicilian Tyrrhenian Goby.

Rarest Animals

Among the rarest animals in Italy are the Iberian lynxes, Marsican brown bears, and the Italian wolves.

Iberian lynxes are wildcats native to the region of Andalusia Spain but can be seen in southern Italy.

Marsican brown bears are an endangered species found only in central Italy in the Abruzzo National Park. They inhabit forest areas near rivers and streams. These bears are also the largest animals in Italy,

Italian wolves live mostly in protected national parks throughout mainland Italy.

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