European fauna

Compared with the other continents, Europe has relatively few animal species. This is due first to its having been largely covered several times by ice during the ice ages of the last million years, and second to the human activities of deforestation, agriculture, and industrialization that have taken place during the last few thousand years. The species that remain are characterized by their successful adaptation to life close to humans.

Carnivores and birds of prey have suffered particularly from human development, which explains why they figure prominently among the rare and endangered European fauna. Remnant species include the golden eagle and the eagle owl, wolf, lynx, wolverine, wildcat, lammergeier vulture, and bear.

Woodland species Characteristic European woodland species are the gregarious red deer and the solitary roe deer; both prefer deciduous woodlands, but have adapted to coniferous forest and other habitats. Woodland carnivores include the badger, fox, stoat, and weasel. Rabbits, formerly much reduced in numbers by myxomatosis, but now recovering, are a key prey species. Squirrels, either the indigenous red or the introduced grey, are common and widespread in mainland Europe, though in Britain the grey has become predominant and the red is now rare. In many areas they form the principal prey of the marten, one of the few carnivores able to match their agility in trees.

On the whole, large mammals such as the wild boar survive only in small, often isolated, populations. The wisent, or European bison, has barely escaped extinction. In contrast to its North American relative, which is a grassland animal, the wisent is a species of the deciduous forests and a browser.

Mountain dwellers As human development has been chiefly in the lowlands, highland regions – notably the Carpathians, the Alps, and the Pyrenees – have been important both as untouched pockets for native species and as refuges for species that could not survive close to humans. These include the ibex Capra ibex of the Alps and Pyrenees; the mouflon Ovis orientalis, native to Corsica and Sardinia, but introduced to mainland Europe; the chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, whose survival has been assisted by its remarkable ability to inhabit even the most precipitous places; and the capercaillie. Particular interest attaches to the Pyrenean desman Galemys pyrenaicus, a rare and little-known member of the mole family that has adapted to life in and around water; it is restricted to a few fast-flowing streams in the Pyrenees. The spectacular growth of spring flowers, which is such a feature of the Alpine zones, sustains outstanding populations of butterflies such as the clouded yellow Colias phicomone and the shepherd's fritillary Boloria pales.

Coasts and estuaries Europe's high ratio of coastline to landmass imposes a natural emphasis on coastal and estuarine habitats and their associated species. The disappearance or pollution of much of Europe's wetland has enhanced the importance of what remains. The three pre-eminent wetland areas – the Danube Delta, Romania; the Camargue, southern France; and the Marismas at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, southern Spain – are of exceptional importance not only for resident and wintering birds but for waterfowl migrating to and from Africa. Typical mammals of such areas are otters, muskrats, and various species of vole and shrew. Reptiles and amphibians include lizards and frogs. Predators include snakes, foxes, stoats, and the Spanish lynx.