Bulgarian Nature - Fauna
Bulgarian Mammals 
Bulgaria has about 100 species of mammals. These include large carnivores
such as brown bear (Ursus arctos), wolf (Canis lupus)
and golden jackal (Canis aureus), as well as European wildcat
(Felis silvestris), European otter (Lutra lutra),
marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna peregusna) and the Balkan
chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica). Particularly impressive
is the number of bats found within Bulgaria. Some 32 of the 39 species
of bats known in Europe have been discovered in Bulgaria, making Bulgaria
one of the richest countries in Europe in terms of the number of species
of bats. However, the rarest and most endangered of all Bulgarian
mammals is the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus)
which once bred along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast but is now extinct
as a breeding species and sadly today almost never sighted. |
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Bulgarian Birds 
Bulgaria has long been renowned by ornithologists and birdwatchers for its exceptional variety of birds. Indeed over 400 species of birds have been recorded in Bulgaria. The richness of Bulgaria's birdlife is greatly influenced by its geographic location. Bulgaria occupies a central location in the Western Palearctic region, and stands at the crossroads between Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean. Indeed Bulgaria lies along two major bird migration routes, the Via Pontica and Via Aristotelis. The Via Pontica runs along Bulgaria’s Black Sea coastline whilst the Via Aristotelis includes the Sofia Plain and follows the course of the Struma Valley and Kresna Gorge through the mountains of south-western Bulgaria. There are also several other smaller, but none-the-less important migration routes through the heart of the country, such as the valleys of the Maritsa and Tundzha, and of course another migration route along the valley of the river Danube on Bulgaria’s northern border. Bulgaria’s great variety of habitats, not only offer important refuelling and resting places for migrating and over-wintering birds, but they are also valuable breeding sites for numerous species of resident and summer visiting birds. Amongst Bulgaria’s most important regions for birds are: the Eastern Rodopi (Rhodope) Mountains which are renowned for their vultures and birds of prey, the Burgas (Bourgas) wetlands, the riparian forests along the valleys of coastal rivers such as the Veleka, Ropotamo, Kamchiya (Kamchia) and Batova, and lake Sreburna and the flood forests of certain Danubian islands. |
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Bulgarian Herpetofauna 
Because of its mild climate, varied habitats and geographical location,
Bulgaria has an abundant and very varied herpetofauna comprising 17
species of amphibians and 36 species of reptiles. The Bulgarian herpetofauna
is interesting, as the geographical location of Bulgaria means that
it marks either the southern or northern boundary of distribution
for many species of amphibians and reptiles. Within Bulgaria are found
Bulgarian endemic subspecies of the fire salamander (Salamandra
salamandra beschkovi) and Kotschy's gecko (Mediodactylus
kotschyi rumelicus). |
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Bulgarian Fish 
Currently 217 species of fish have been recorded on Bulgarian territory, of which 194 species of fish are native to Bulgaria and 23 species of fish have been introduced. A total of 134 species of fish have been recorded in the Bulgarian part of the Black Sea, whilst more than 140 species of fish are known from inland waters such as rivers, wetlands, natural lakes and man-made reservoirs. The freshwater fish of Bulgaria belong to three distinct watersheds, the Danube watershed, the Black Sea watershed and the Aegean watershed. The ichthyofauna of the Danube is very rich. In their upper courses, its tributaries run through mountainous regions, while their middle and lower courses flow through the Danubian plain. This means that they offer a range of ecological conditions which, in conjunction with their direct connection to the Danube, accounts for the great variety of fish which are found within them. By contrast, only the upper and middle courses of Aegean watershed rivers are found within Bulgarian territory, so their variety of fish is more limited. However, the Aegean watershed is renowned for its many endemic forms, which are characteristic for the Balkan Peninsula. The ichthyofauna of the Black Sea watershed is also rich in terms of number of species. It comprises two groups, fish which are permanently resident in the rivers and fish which temporarily penetrated into them from the Black Sea or coastal lakes.
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Bulgarian Invertebrates 
So far some 27,000 species of invertebrate have been discovered in Bulgaria, of which over 20,000 species are insects. Currently, Bulgaria is known to have some 68 species of dragonflies and 214 species of butterflies, making it one of the richest countries in Europe for both of these groups. Bulgaria also has a great variety of other invertebrates including at least 4 species of scorpions, 975 species of spiders and 445 species of molluscs, of which 111 are marine molluscs, 96 are freshwater molluscs and 238 are terrestrial molluscs. With over 20% of its territory made up of karst terrain, Bulgaria has over 5000 caves and potholes. So far, within their depths, more than 800 animal species had been recorded, including 167 troglobite and stygobite species, of which the majority are Bulgarian endemics.
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