The animals of Etna The composition of Etna’s fauna has changed a lot over the years. In fact, if we took into consideration the last 100,000 years we could include the presence of animals such as the large elephant. If we instead took into consideration the last 2000 years, we would obtain a different result with the presence of deer, fallow deer, roe deer, wild boars and birds of prey such as the griffon vulture. Unfortunately, in recent centuries, the situation has evolved a lot, with a significant reduction in Etna’s fauna due to a strong influence of human activity but also to rather intense eruptive activity. However, many mammals, birds of prey, reptiles and insects have resisted and today are of great importance in the fauna of Etna.mammals Among the mammals we find the fox, which is mainly present in the woods, some examples of wild cats and dormice in the deciduous forests, the weasel which is very widespread in the plains, martens in the coniferous woods, squirrels in the chestnut and oak groves, porcupines in areas rocky peaks up to 1,300 metres, hedgehogs in the undergrowth, hares, wild rabbits present in large numbers in bushes and coniferous woods, owls, which we can also find in the lava flow caves together with bats. The birds Among the bird species present in the Etna area there are the kestrel, the chaffinch, the buzzard, the robin, the spotted woodpecker in greater numbers in the wooded areas, the common raven among the rocky walls, in particular in the “Valle del Bove“, the partridge, an endemic species of Etna, mainly in the low vegetation above 800m. up to 2000m, the Sicilian tit, another endemic species, which is found up to the edges of the forests, and the wheatear, present in rocky areas up to 2,000 metres. Reptiles and insects The most present reptiles are the turtle, the gecko lizard, the Sicilian lizard, very widespread and endemic in the area, the green lizard, the snake, the rat snake and the viper, the only dangerous species if disturbed, whose presence is essential for regulate the number of rodents. Finally, insects are present with butterflies, dragonflies, crickets, cicadas, bees, wasps, spiders, ants etc. whose existence has a fundamental role in ecological balance.
