Wildlife of Europe
Europe has a surprisingly diverse range of wildlife watching possibilities. The Lynx, though very rare, can be found in the forests of northern Scandinavia and the coastal wetlands of southern Spain and many places in between. Bears are still be found across most of Europe; Wild boar, deer, moose, otters, beavers, Mountain goats, Pine martens, polecats, wolverines and even bison can all still be found.
Whale and dolphin watching in Europe
Whales can be seen on the Atlantic coasts of Europe and in parts of the Mediterranean, especially in the summer. Minke whales are most common, but Humpback, Sperm, Fin and even Beluga whales can all be seen.
Orca (Killer whales), Bottlenose, Common, Risso's and Striped dolphins can all be seen, as well as Basking sharks and a variety of seals. It is even possible to swim with Orca in Norway, click here to read how.
Birdwatching in Europe
Europe has a huge range of habitats, from tundra and taiga to bogs, moorland, forests, mountain ranges, coastal cliffs, wetlands and semi arid deserts. This diverstiy provides suitable habitat for a huge range of birdlife, and nearly 80 different 'families' of birds are to be found in Europe, about half of the worlds total. Approximately 550 species of bird are regularly found in Europe, not counting rare migrants and accidentals.
Recent Europe news
- Norway suspends whaling
- Huge government subsidies for Norway & Japan whaling industries
- Iceland urged to call off slaughter of endangered whales
- Denmark requests a quota of 50 Humpback whales for ‘subsistence whaling’
- Dramatic worldwide decline in caribou/reindeer numbers
- Tiny transmitters inserted into Black-tailed godwits
- Wader populations declining faster than ever
- Hunter who shot lesser spotted eagle on Malta convicted
- Maltese spring hunt continues unabated despite new rules
- Boost for migratory birds as Cyprus bans hunting in May
- Europe’s vultures thrown a lifeline as carcass rules change
- EU bans sale of all seal products
- Spanish brown bears highly endangered by isolation, from each other.
- Coto Doñana threatened by agricultural contaminants
- Maltese Poachers defy spring hunting ban
More Europe news
- Climate change makes migrations longer for birds
- Mediterranean bluefin to be functionally extinct by 2012
- Malta spring Birdwatch protecting migratory birds
- ‘Giant’ lions roamed Britain just 13,000 years ago
- A million songbirds eaten in Cyprus in 2008
- UK can have wind power and wildlife
- One of the world’s rarest raptors, the Imperial eagle, on the road to recovery after numbers climb 600%
- 250 endangered Mountain gazelles found in Turkey – First record in Turkey
- Maltese Prime Minister bans spring bird hunt
- Polar bear poaching in Russia down – But climate change threatening their existence
- Irish frogs genetically different from British common frog – Due to the ice age
- Woodcock 5-10 times more numerous than previously thought
- Balkan lynx population declining – probably less than 100
- Portugal’s only nesting male Imperial eagle shot dead
- Russia bans hunting of young harp seals
Put a Cork in it for LynxesRelated News Articles
Norway suspends whaling
First North Atlantic right whale sighting in Azores since 1888
Biscay ORCA Big Whale Watch 2008 clocks up 9 cetacean speciesBiscay whale watch 2008.
In two days we had encountered 9 species of cetacean, including rare beaked whales, leaping Bottlenose Dolphins, large tuna, the second largest whale on earth, and ghostly white Risso's Dolphins. Read more »
New population of Iberian lynx discovered in Spain.
