5 Native Animals of Europe

Europe is located on the Eurasian mainland. Eurasia is a vast land and is a combination of the continents of Asia and Europe. However, the continent of Asia and Europe only separated by the Ural Mountains.

The continent, which is the second smallest after the continent of Australia, has an area of 10,355,000 km². Europe is located in the temperate and cold regions. Even so, the European continent has cold air. This cold air causes during the summer, the air becomes warm.

Europe also has unique animals. But unfortunately, some of the animals in Europe have already extinct. The animals are classified as wild and mostly live in areas that are difficult to reach by humans.

What are the native animals of Europe? Let’s check the list down below.

1. Chamois

Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is a type of native goat in Europe. This animal is easily found in mountainous regions such as the Alps, Pirenia, Carpathia, Caucasus, Apennini, and the Balkans. Also found in several places in the country of Turkey.

Chamois belongs to the tiny family of Bovidae. Chamois has only 70–80 cm in height with a body length of 107–137 cm. The weight of male individuals is 30-60 kg, slightly greater than female chamois, which weighs 25–45 kg. Male and female chamois both have short horns on their heads.

Whatever the species, male and female goats definitely have some differences. For more comparisons, check out the differences between male and female goats in general.

Chamois is a unique animal where in summer, the fur is brown, while in winter, the fur turns gray.

2. Lynx

Lynx comes from a family of cats that are identic with cuteness and pets that are friendly to humans. But because it is classified as a forest cat, lynx acts more vicious and aggressive.

In Europe, the lynx cat is the third largest and most dangerous predator after brown bears and wolves. Lynx will prey on rabbits, foxes, and other animals smaller than him.

Apparently, not all rabbits can be eaten by lynx. Do you know jackrabbit? Does a jackrabbit classify as herbivore? Sadly, no. It’s such a twist to know that rabbits also eat meat.

Of the several species that exist, the Iberian Lynx is a species that is on the verge of extinction. Iberian Lynx survive in the mountains of Spain far from cold areas to avoid the threat of illegal hunting.

Turns out, this forest cat habit at night is like a normal cat habit. This is what you called Cat’s night call. Cats tend to be more active at night. You can check out how to train your cat to let you sleep at night so you can sleep peacefully.

Lynx has a distinctive appearance with black feathers on the ears and grayish-brown motifs on its fur. Lynx has sharp nails and teeth that are used as self-protection tools while making it easy for them to target prey.

3. Alpine Ibex

Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex) is a species of wild goat that lives in the Alps in Europe. They inhabit in steep, rocky, and grassy cliffs. The extreme abode makes alpine ibex good at climbing cliffs.

Because it was hunted on a large scale for consumption, in the 19th century, alpine ibex became extinct from the Alps mountain region. Luckily, some of the animals were still found in several zoos.

The animal was returned to its original place in the Alps to breed. They are precisely in the Gran Paradiso National Park in the Aosta Valley, Italy, and the Vanoise National Park in the Maurienne Valley, France.

4. Puffin

Puffin is a seabird that lives in European regions. Black and white feathered birds usually live near the beach, so they are easy to find food (sea fish). There are several islands inhabited by these beaked and light-footed birds, two of which are the Farne Islands, in England, and the Faroe Islands, in Norway.

Besides being able to fly, this beautiful bird can also swim and dive. They can also store lots of fish in their beaks. Some predators hunt them. Some of them are owls, eagles, and foxes.

5. Russian Desman

The Russian desman (Desmana moschata) is a small semiaquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga, Don, and Ural River basins in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. 

In the past Rus (the ancient name of Russia), people often put the desman tail in which there is a gland musk (secretion of scent from the gland) in the folds of clothing so that their bodies smell good.

The secretion from the gland is then used as an ingredient in perfume that serves to strengthen the fragrance of the perfume. Besides, desman skin has a higher selling value than beaver skin.

Actually, there are so many animals live in Europe but those 5 animals are the europian native animals. It’s all cute, but you can’t have them as a pet because of its endangered status.

But if you insist on have them as a pet, maybe you can consider having a normal cat and goat. Wants a goat as pet but not for the size? Here are 3 small goat breeds to consider. Don’t forget to pay attention to its healthiness! Check out these symptoms that will appear to tell whether your goat is sick.