Monte Casoli di Bomarzo Nature Reserve

Wildlife

The abundant supply of water, diversity of environments and limited human modification of this area have all permitted numerous animal species to flourish here. These include the wild boar, Sus scrofa, a typical animal of these parts, the fox, martin, Martes martes, polecat, Mustela putorius, badger, Meles meles, rodents such as the porcupine, squirrel, dormouse, yellow-breasted field mouse, the Savi pine vole and the bank vole, and amongst the insect-eaters, the hedgehog, the mole and the common shrew.There are many species of birds, whose presence is favoured by the lush vegetation, gullies and ancient ruins. During the night hours numerous raptors perch in wait for their prey consisting of small rodents, these include the owl, Asio otus, tawny owl, Strix aluco, and the barn owl, Tyto alba. During the daytime, other raptors begin the hunt; these include the buzzard, Buteo buteo, the sparrow hawk, Accipiter nisus, kestrel, Falco tinnunculus. Amongst the trees, we often find the green woodpecker, Picus viridis, golden oriole, Oriolus oriolus, wood pigeon, Columba palumbus hoopoe, Upupa epops. Reptiles include a large number of lizards, green lizard and snakes such as the rat snake, Coluber viridiflavus, four-lined snake, Elaphe quatuorlineata and the Aesculapian snake, Elaphe longissima. In the Vezza torrent, the presence of the river crab, Potamon fluviatile, indicates the excellent state of the area and the good quality of its waters. But the peculiarity of this area is the presence among the amphibians of a community of spectacled salamander, Salamandrina terdigitata, a protected species at great risk of extinction.