FACTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS THE WORLD OF ENDANGERED ANIMALS EUROPE BROWN BEAR BOOKS
Habitats Threats and Conservation Europe is a relatively small continent stretching from the Atlantic coasts of Portugal Spain France Ireland and Norway in the west to Russia’s Ural Mountains in the east and from the Mediterranean Sea in the south to the Arctic Ocean Unlike South America Africa Asia and Australia no part of the continent is in the tropics Apart from one small area in the south of Spain there are no true deserts Nor are there any tropical rain forests Europe was the first continent where wholesale logging of forests took place so many declines in animal populations must have occurred long before people took much notice of such things What we do know is that in the United Kingdom the last brown bears were seen around 1000 CE gray wolves became extinct in the 14th century and Eurasian beavers suffered a similar fate two centuries later For these large forest-dwelling mammals a combination of forest clearance and hunting for meat fur or skins sealed their fate Bears and wolves were also persecuted because they were a threat to people and their livestock These animals now face less persecution and in many less densely populated areas they are experiencing a revival of their fortunes Varied Habitats Along the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea shores and coastal lagoons have been very important environments for large numbers of breeding and feeding herons shorebirds gulls terns and seals For example the Mediterranean monk seal is now considered to be Critically Endangered with a total population of only 350-450 It has suffered from accidental human disturbance and deliberate persecution by some fishermen also many animals have been caught accidentally in fishing nets These problems have cut numbers dramatically and this seal is at risk of extinction Ports vacation resorts and golf courses are concentrated along the coastal strip in Portugal Spain France Italy and Greece Beaches are more disturbed inshore waters have 4 been polluted and coastal lagoons have been drained for construction or to provide water for irrigation projects The Tablas de Daimiel National Park in southern Spain was once of international importance for its birds but was almost destroyed by an irrigation scheme in the 1970s wildfowl stopped visiting because it no longer contained enough water Much rocky chaparral which was not considered good enough for agriculture was turned over to housing schemes There are however many protected areas along the Mediterranean coast In Spain for example the Ebro Delta National Park protects the world’s largest breeding colony of Audouin’s gulls classified as Near Threatened as well as many other species of birds amphibians fish and invertebrates Mountains and Plains The mountain ranges of the Alps France Italy Switzerland and Austria Pyrenees Spain and France and Dinaric Alps Slovenia and Croatia are cloaked in forest at lower altitudes with grassy meadows above the tree-line The Pyrenees have small populations of brown bears and birds of prey called lammergeiers but sadly the Pyrenean ibex went extinct in 2000 The Alps have a great diversity of animal life including gray
HABITATS THREATS AND CONSERVATION wolves brown bears lynx chamoix ibex and marmots Some species are found nowhere else for example the Alpine field mouse and Bavarian vole One species the Alpine salamander was discovered as recently as 1988 and is one of the world’s rarest amphibians Even within mountains there are important habitats for animals Cave systems provide places for bats to hibernate in winter and roost during the summer The limestone caves in the mountains of Slovenia and Croatia are important too for the world’s only population of the olm a blind amphibian that is now considered Where once there was scrubby chaparral teeming with wildlife much of the Spanish coastal strip has witnessed the large-scale development of roads vacation apartments and golf courses Vulnerable This animal is dependent on clean fresh water Even though the olm is protected chemical-rich run-off from farms poses a threat In some areas of Spain the dehesa is an unusual habitat of undulating oak parkland with the ground between the trees being alternately grazed and 5
