Sardinian animal life is characterized by numerous species and subspecies of animals, many of them endemic because of the insular isolation since bygone geologic eras.
Every species has its own habitat, or rather ecological niche which has allowed it to adapt to environmental adversities. The area is particularly interesting for the presence of rare Sardinian species, such as the mufflon (Ovis orientalis musimon), the marten (Martes martes latinorum) and the Sardinian garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus sardus).
The change of the natural environment – a characteristic of the last century – has decisively influenced the local animal life. Some mammal species like the Sardinian deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus) and the fallow deer (Dama dama L.) have disappeared in nature. They can be found in fenced areas of the “Azienda Foreste della Sardegna” (Sardinian Forest Board), where they are to reproduce. The existence of the monk seal (Monacus albiventer) is questionable, whereas the wild boar (Sus scrofa meridionalis), the wild cat (Felis lybica sarda), the hare (Lepus capensis mediterraneus), and some interesting species of chiroptera (bats) like the Rhinolophus hipposideros, the Myotis capaccini, the Myotis emarginatus meridionalis and the Myotis blythi etc. are very common. As regards the regional spread of chiroptera, the 10 years of work of the “Centro Regionale Studi dei Chirotteri” (Regional Centre of Chiropteria Studies) should be mentioned.
The birds’ fauna is represented by ecologically important species of predators: the common buzzard (Buteo buteo arrigonii), the kestrel (Falco timunculus L.) and the hawk (Accipiter gentilis arrigonii); during the last twenty years the vulture (Gips fulvus) hasn’t nested in Sardinia any more. Only rarely, some solitary specimen can be observed circling round the highest peaks. Sometimes a single straying vulture from the colony of Capo Marrargiu (Central East Coast of Sardinia) is signaled.
As regards reptiles and amphibians - which live both in dry and in humid natural environments and grottoes -, the Tyrrhenian Wall Lizard (Podarcis tiliguerta), the Bedriaga’s Rock Lizard (Archeolacerta bedriagae), the Ocellated Skink (chalcides ocellatus), the Fitzinger’s Algyroides (Algyroides fitzingeri), the Tyrrhenian Painted Frog (Discoglossus sardus), and the Supramonte Cave Salamander (Speleomantes supramontis), which lives exclusively in the Supramonte, must be mentioned.
