Animals in Spain
Iberian Lynx
Lynx pardinus
Spain has no official national animal chosen by law. The bull is the animal most linked to the country in popular culture, but among its wildlife the Iberian lynx has become the great symbol, and it is one of the best comeback stories in Europe. In 2002 fewer than 100 were left, split into two small groups in Doñana and the Sierra de Andújar, and it was the most endangered wild cat on Earth. Spain and Portugal then began breeding lynxes in special centers, releasing them into the wild and restoring rabbit populations, which are almost all the lynx eats. The plan worked. The 2025 census counted 2,663 Iberian lynxes, 2,269 of them in Spain, and in 2024 the IUCN moved the species from Endangered to Vulnerable. Its spotted coat, short tail and black ear tufts make it easy to recognize. Traffic is still one of its biggest dangers.
Wildlife in Spain
Spain covers about 506,000 square kilometers, one of the largest countries in Western Europe, and much of its center is a high plateau called the Meseta, ringed by mountains. Most of its roughly 49 million people live around Madrid and along the coasts, so the interior keeps wide farmland and quiet villages where wild animals still have room. Its landscapes run from rainy beech forests in the north and the snowy Pyrenees to dry plains in the southeast, coastal wetlands and the volcanic Canary Islands, where Mount Teide rises to 3,715 meters. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for nature, when millions of birds pass through on migration.
For centuries people and wildlife have shared the land. The dehesas, open oak woodlands grazed by pigs and cattle, give food and shelter to vultures, eagles and wintering cranes. Spain created its first national parks, Covadonga and Ordesa, in 1918, and today there are 16. Doñana, Teide and Garajonay are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and its best known conservation project has brought one of the rarest wild cats in the world back from the edge.
Spain welcomed a record 96.8 million international tourists in 2025, and many come for nature: Doñana in spring, Monfragüe for birds of prey, the Picos de Europa for summer hiking and boat trips from Tarifa. The wildlife follows these contrasts, with bears and wolves in the northern mountains, wild cats in the south, flamingos and storks in the wetlands, and dolphins and whales off the coasts.
Most Dangerous Animals in Spain
Spain is a safe country when it comes to wild animals, and serious incidents are very rare. Large predators like bears and wolves live mostly in remote mountains of the north and avoid people. The real conflict is with farmers, since wolves sometimes kill sheep and cattle and bears raid beehives. If you ever meet a bear, stay calm, keep your distance and back away slowly, and never try to get closer for a photo or leave food out. Wild cats such as the lynx are shy and pose no real risk to people. The animals that cause the most trouble are wild boars. They are common across the country and now walk into the edges of cities like Barcelona and Madrid looking for food. They can charge if they feel cornered, especially mothers with young, and they cause many collisions on country roads, so it is best never to feed them and to drive carefully at dusk. At sea, orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar and along the Atlantic coast have pushed and damaged hundreds of sailboats since 2020, so sailors follow official advice in those waters, but these orcas have not attacked people in the water.
Top 10 Animals in Spain
Spain's best known animals are spread from the northern mountains to the Strait of Gibraltar, and each one has its own place and season. The Iberian lynx lives only in the Iberian Peninsula, and the Sierra de Andújar in Jaén is the most reliable place to look for one, especially in winter, during the mating season. Brown bears live in two areas: about 370 in the Cantabrian Mountains and a smaller group in the Pyrenees, where 96 were detected in 2024 in a population shared with France. In the Cantabrian Mountains, Somiedo in Asturias is famous for watching bears from viewpoints in late spring and summer. Gray wolves live mostly in the northwest, in Galicia, Asturias and Castilla y León, and the Sierra de la Culebra in Zamora is the classic place to watch them at dawn with a guide. Red deer are easy to see in parks like Cabañeros and Monfragüe, and their autumn rut in September and October draws many visitors. At sea, whale watching trips from Tarifa look for dolphins and sperm whales, and the small group of orcas that follows the bluefin tuna usually shows up in summer. Smaller animals take more patience: hedgehogs, common genets and European wildcats come out mostly at night, and the chameleon hides in the coastal bushes of Andalusia.
Badger
Meles meles
The European badger, or tejón, is widespread across mainland Spain in forests, dehesa, scrubland and farmland, from the wet north to Andalusia, including Doñana. In the dry south, where worms are scarce, it eats more insects, fruit such as figs and olives, and young rabbits. It is nocturnal and secretive, so most people know it from tracks, latrines and setts rather than sightings. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Brown Bear
Ursus arctos
Spain has two brown bear populations. About 370 live in the Cantabrian Mountains, mainly in Asturias, León, Palencia and Cantabria, a native group that recovered from fewer than 100 bears in the 1990s, and around 100 more live in the Pyrenees, shared with France and descended largely from bears brought from Slovenia. Somiedo is a classic place to watch them. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Hare
Lepus europaeus
In Spain, the European hare lives only in the north, from the Cantabrian Mountains and the Basque Country to Navarre, La Rioja, northern Aragon and Catalonia, often in mountain meadows and farmland. Most of the rest of the country is home to a smaller native hare, and the two meet along a contact zone in Aragon and the Ebro valley, where they sometimes interbreed. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Hedgehog
Erinaceus europaeus
In Spain, the European hedgehog lives across the mainland, from Galicia and the Cantabrian coast to the meseta and Andalusia, wherever gardens, scrub, farmland edges and woodland give it food and shelter. It is more common where there is some greenery and water, and in hot areas it is most active in spring and autumn. It does not live on the Balearic or Canary Islands. Road deaths and the loss of rural habitat are growing threats. IUCN status: Near Threatened.
Gray Wolf
Canis lupus
Spain holds the largest wolf population in Western Europe, with most individuals found north of the Duero River in Castilla y León, Galicia and Asturias. A smaller, isolated southern population also exists in the Sierra Morena. The Iberian wolf is a distinct subspecies adapted to the landscape of the peninsula. Spain protected the wolf nationwide in 2021 and reversed it: since April 2025 wolves north of the Duero can be hunted again, while those south of the river stay protected. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Iberian Lynx
Lynx pardinus
Spain holds most of the world's Iberian lynx: 2,269 of the 2,663 counted in the 2025 census. Castilla La Mancha now has the most, followed by Andalusia, where the Sierra de Andújar and Doñana kept the last lynx alive in 2002, and Extremadura, with smaller groups in Murcia and Castilla y León. It lives in Mediterranean scrub and dehesa rich in rabbits, and traffic is its main threat. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Alpine Marmot
Marmota marmota
Marmots vanished from the Pyrenees at the end of the ice age. They were brought back to the French side in 1948 and spread across the border into Spain, where colonies now live on high meadows in places such as Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. Their sharp alarm whistle is a familiar sound for hikers in summer, and golden eagles hunt them on the open slopes. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Pine Marten
Martes martes
In Spain, the pine marten, marta, lives mainly in the forests of the north, from Galicia through the Cantabrian Mountains and the Basque Country to the Pyrenees, in beech, oak and pine woods. It also lives on Mallorca and Menorca, where the IUCN considers it introduced long ago, and where it uses holm oak woods, scrub and rocky ground. It hunts rodents, birds and lizards and eats a lot of fruit. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Stone Marten
Martes foina
In Spain, the stone marten, garduña, is found almost everywhere on the mainland, from the Andalusian sierras to the villages of Castile and the Ebro valley. It lives in rocky areas, scrub, olive groves and farmland, and it often sleeps in barns, ruins and old stone houses. It hunts rodents, rabbits and birds at night and eats plenty of fruit, such as figs, grapes and blackberries, in late summer. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Red Deer
Cervus elaphus
Spain holds one of the largest red deer populations in Europe, thought to exceed 500,000 animals. The Iberian red deer lives in the Mediterranean woodlands and dehesas of Extremadura, Castilla La Mancha and Andalusia, as well as in the northern mountains. Every autumn, the roaring of the berrea draws visitors to Monfragüe and Cabañeros national parks, while high numbers on hunting estates cause problems for the forests. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Red Fox
Vulpes vulpes
The red fox is widespread across mainland Spain, from the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Mountains to the dehesas of Extremadura, the olive groves of Andalusia and the coastal plains. Rabbits, rodents, insects and fruit are its main food. Where the Iberian lynx lives, as in Doñana and the Sierra Morena, foxes are scarcer, because lynxes chase and kill them inside their territories. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Red Squirrel
Sciurus vulgaris
In Spain, the red squirrel lives in forests across most of the country, from the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Mountains to the pine forests of the central ranges and the mountains of Andalusia, such as Cazorla; it is scarce only in the open farmland of the southwest. It favors pine and mixed forests and is a familiar sight in city parks. The gray squirrel has not become established in Spain. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Roe Deer
Capreolus capreolus
Roe deer are widespread in Spain, from the Pyrenees, the Cantabrian Mountains and Galicia to the Iberian System and the central mountains. Their range has grown strongly in recent decades as farmland was abandoned and forests returned, and they now also live in much of the south, where a small, distinctive native population has long survived in the cork oak forests of Los Alcornocales in Cádiz. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Wild Boar
Sus scrofa
The wild boar is one of the most abundant large mammals in Spain, found in forests, dehesas and farmland across almost the whole mainland. Its numbers have grown strongly in recent decades, and in Barcelona boars come down from the Collserola hills into the streets. Boar hunting is a major tradition, and wolves and the Iberian lynx take some, mostly piglets. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Raccoons arrived in Spain through the pet trade, and the Madrid region has had them since the early 1970s, along the Henares and Jarama rivers; more than 900 were captured there in five years. Another population lives on Mallorca. Spain lists the raccoon as an invasive species that must be removed, and it worries about its impact on waterfowl, amphibians and native carnivores. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Common Genet
Genetta genetta
Spain holds Europe's largest population of common genets, found across most of the mainland in holm oak and cork oak woods, pine forests, olive groves, riverside thickets and rocky scrub. Genetic studies suggest it reached the peninsula from North Africa through Andalusia and Catalonia. It hunts wood mice and other prey at night, uses fixed latrines, and is often killed on roads. IUCN status: Least Concern.
European Wildcat
Felis silvestris
In Spain the European wildcat lives in scattered patches across the mainland, from the Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees to the mountains of the center and south, where wild rabbits are a key prey. Large areas that once had wildcats are now empty, and in 2026 the Spanish mammal society SECEM warned that it is Vulnerable nationally. Crossbreeding with feral cats, roads and rabbit declines are its main threats. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Eurasian Otter
Lutra lutra
In Spain the otter declined sharply in the 1970s and 1980s, but it has since recovered across most of the country, from the rivers of Galicia and the Cantabrian Mountains to the Ebro and the marshes of Doñana. It is now returning to Mediterranean rivers where it had vanished, a sign of cleaner water. It shares many rivers with brown bears, wolves and wild boar in the north. IUCN status: Near Threatened.
Chameleon
Chamaeleonidae
In Spain the common chameleon lives on the coast of Andalusia, above all in Cádiz, Huelva and Málaga, in coastal pine woods, broom scrub, dunes and gardens with hedges. Its origin here is debated, and the IUCN considers it introduced long ago, but it is well established and legally protected. Urban growth on the coast, road traffic and people who take them home are the main threats. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Griffon Vulture
Gyps fulvus
Spain holds by far the largest griffon vulture population in the world, with 30,946 breeding pairs counted in 2018, more than 90 percent of all those in Europe. It nests almost everywhere except Galicia and the plains of Castilla La Mancha, from the Pyrenees to Monfragüe and Andalusia. Its recovery after poisoning bans and feeding stations is a conservation success story. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Eagle Owl
Bubo bubo
The eagle owl is one of Spain's most iconic birds of prey, found across rocky sierras, river gorges, and scrubland from the Pyrenees to Andalusia. Spain holds one of the largest populations in Europe. Pairs nest on bare cliff ledges, often in areas shared with other raptors. With its vivid orange eyes and booming call, it is a highlight for wildlife watchers across the peninsula. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Saker Falcon
Falco cherrug
Spain lies at the far western edge of the saker falcon's range, and the bird is only a rare passage migrant here, mostly seen in autumn and spring rather than staying for the winter or breeding. Records tend to come from open plateau landscapes and the broad river valleys of the interior, and some sightings involve escaped falconry birds. Any wild record is of real interest to ornithologists. The IUCN lists the saker falcon as Endangered.
Barn Owl
Tyto alba
The barn owl is one of Spain's most widespread and familiar birds, found across virtually the entire country from agricultural lowlands to village outskirts. It hunts at night with extraordinary precision, using its exceptional hearing to locate small rodents in complete darkness. Spain's barn owl population is generally healthy, and the species benefits from nest box programs installed by farmers who value it as a natural and effective pest controller.
Crane
Grus grus
Spain hosts the largest wintering population of common cranes in Europe, roughly 200,000 to 300,000 birds in recent winters. Most of them spend November to February in Extremadura, feeding on acorns in the dehesa, the open oak woodland of the southwest, and on farmland in Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia. The Gallocanta lagoon in Aragon is the country's best known migration stop, with tens of thousands of cranes in autumn. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Puffin
Fratercula arctica
In Spain, the Atlantic puffin is a rare but regular visitor to the waters off the northern coast, particularly around the Bay of Biscay. It is seen almost entirely at sea during the winter months and rarely comes close to shore. Globally listed as Vulnerable, it faces pressure from declining fish stocks and warming seas that affect the prey available along Spanish Atlantic waters.
Stork
Ciconia ciconia
Spain holds one of the largest white stork populations in the world, with 33,217 pairs in the 2004/05 census. Extremadura, with its dehesa of oaks and open pasture, is especially important, and many Spanish storks now stay all winter instead of crossing to Africa. Spain also sits at the Strait of Gibraltar, where huge numbers of storks cross between Europe and Africa every year. IUCN status: Least Concern.
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
The white wagtail is a common and lively presence across Spain, found near rivers, streams, farmland and urban areas throughout the country. It moves constantly, bobbing its long tail up and down as it forages for insects along the ground. Spain hosts both resident populations and large numbers of birds that pass through during spring and autumn migration, making it a species encountered in virtually every corner of the country at some point in the year.
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
Spain holds one of the most important peregrine falcon populations in Europe. The species nests on sea cliffs along the Cantabrian coast, on limestone gorges in Aragon and Castile, and even on cathedral towers in cities such as Seville and Madrid. After severe declines caused by DDT in the twentieth century, the population recovered well following the pesticide ban. Spain also serves as a key staging area for birds migrating between Europe and Africa via the Strait of Gibraltar. Its IUCN status is Least Concern.
Mute Swan
Cygnus olor
In Spain the mute swan is mainly a scarce winter visitor, with wild birds from northern Europe turning up at wetlands such as the Ebro Delta. The swans seen year round in parks, reservoirs and urban ponds are mostly released or escaped birds, and the IUCN does not count them as a wild breeding population. With its white plumage and orange bill, it stands out clearly among the ducks and herons of Spanish wetlands. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Nightingale
Luscinia megarhynchos
In Spain, the nightingale is a familiar visitor to riverside woodlands, cork oak scrub, and the dense thickets of Mediterranean hillsides. Males arrive in spring and fill the nights with their extraordinary song, which is considered one of the finest of any bird on Earth. Populations have declined in some northern regions due to the loss of dense undergrowth, though the species remains widespread across the Iberian Peninsula. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Golden Eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
Spain holds the largest golden eagle population in western Europe, with around 1,500 to 1,800 pairs, from the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Mountains to the sierras of Andalusia. It favours rugged country with cliffs for nesting and open land for hunting rabbits, partridges and hares. Spanish eagles stay in their territory all year. Pairs keep the same territory for years and often have several nests. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Flamingo
Phoenicopteridae (6 species)
Spain hosts flamingos at some of Europe's most important wetlands, including the Doñana National Park in Andalusia and the Fuente de Piedra lagoon in Málaga, which is one of the largest breeding colonies on the continent. These birds gather in the thousands to feed on brine shrimp and algae in the shallow, salty waters. The species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, and Spanish wetlands play a key role in supporting the European population.
Monk Parakeet
Myiopsitta monachus
Spain holds more than 80% of Europe's wild monk parakeets. Madrid counted 10,800 in 2015, Barcelona about 5,000, and Seville grew from 1,200 in 2013 to 6,300 in 2021, with more colonies in the Canary and Balearic Islands. Descended from escaped pets, they nest in parks and on pylons. Since 2013 the species has been on Spain's list of invasive species, so owning or selling one is banned, and several cities run control plans. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Eurasian Magpie
Pica pica
The Eurasian magpie is a familiar sight across Spain, from the olive groves of Andalusia to the parks of Madrid. It thrives in open farmland, dehesas and woodland edges, where food is easy to find all year. It is one of the most intelligent birds in the world, and Spanish scientists at the University of Granada led a 2020 study that tested whether magpies really recognize themselves in a mirror. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Bearded Vulture
Gypaetus barbatus
Spain, where the bird is called quebrantahuesos, has the largest bearded vulture population in Europe. Most pairs nest in the Pyrenees of Aragon, Catalonia and Navarre, and release projects are bringing it back to the Picos de Europa and the Cazorla mountains of Andalusia. It feeds on the bones left by griffon vultures and wolves at carcasses. IUCN status: Near Threatened.
Orca
Orcinus orca
Spain shares the Iberian orcas with Portugal and Morocco, a small, separate population of about 37 animals in 2023, listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered. In July and August they hunt Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Strait of Gibraltar, where boats from Tarifa and Barbate watch them, and in late summer and autumn they move north to Galicia. Since 2020 some of them have pushed and broken the rudders of sailboats, a learned habit rather than an attack on people. IUCN status: Data Deficient.
Bottlenose Dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
Spain has bottlenose dolphins on all its coasts. In Galicia a resident group lives in the Ría de Arousa, and they are common in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of Cádiz, where they are seen on trips from Tarifa. In the Mediterranean they live around the Balearic Islands and off Valencia and Almería, and they are also seen in the Canary Islands. IUCN status: Least Concern (Mediterranean population: Vulnerable).
Common Dolphin
Delphinus delphis
Spain has common dolphins on almost all its coasts. They are seen from Tarifa, in Galicia, in the Canary Islands and above all in the Alboran Sea, off Málaga and Almería, home to the most important group left in the Mediterranean. In the rest of the Mediterranean they have become rare, and that population is Endangered. IUCN status: Least Concern (Mediterranean population: Endangered).
Sperm Whale
Physeter macrocephalus
Spain has sperm whales in the Strait of Gibraltar, where boats from Tarifa see them mostly in spring and summer, often with long finned pilot whales and orcas. They also live in the deep waters of the Canary Islands, where collisions with fast ferries are a known problem, and in the channels around the Balearic Islands. The Mediterranean population, only a few hundred animals, is Endangered. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What animals live in Spain?
Spain is home to the Iberian lynx, brown bears, gray wolves, European wildcats, common genets, red foxes, badgers, martens, wild boars, red deer, roe deer, alpine marmots, hares, red squirrels and hedgehogs. Its birds include griffon vultures, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, eagle owls, barn owls, white storks, flamingos, cranes, nightingales, white wagtails and Eurasian magpies, and puffins spend the winter off its Atlantic coast. The chameleon lives along parts of the southern coast, and bottlenose and common dolphins, sperm whales and orcas swim in its seas. Raccoons and monk parakeets were brought by people and now live wild around some cities.
What is the national animal of Spain?
Spain has no official national animal set by law. The bull is the animal most often linked to Spain in popular culture, and the big black bull silhouettes along Spanish highways are famous. Among wild animals, the Iberian lynx is the best known symbol of the country. It lives only in Spain and Portugal, and it went from fewer than 100 animals in 2002 to 2,663 in the 2025 census thanks to one of the largest conservation efforts in Europe.
Are there bears in Spain?
Yes. Brown bears live in two parts of northern Spain. About 370 live in the Cantabrian Mountains, mainly in Asturias, León, Palencia and Cantabria, and their numbers have grown a lot since the 1990s, when they were close to disappearing. A second group lives in the Pyrenees, shared with France, where 96 bears were detected in 2024. The best place to try to see one is Somiedo Natural Park in Asturias, watching from viewpoints with binoculars in late spring and summer. Bears are shy and rarely meet hikers.
Are there wolves in Spain?
Yes. Spain has one of the largest wolf populations in Western Europe. The national census for 2021 to 2024 counted 333 packs, most of them in Castilla y León, Galicia and Asturias, in the northwest of the country. Wolves are rarely seen and almost never a danger to people, but they do kill livestock, so the rules on protecting and controlling them have been a heated debate in recent years. The Sierra de la Culebra in Zamora is one of the best places in Europe to watch wild wolves with a guide.
Why are orcas attacking boats in Spain?
Since 2020, some orcas from a small group that lives around the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal have pushed and damaged hundreds of sailboats, usually by hitting or biting their rudders, and a few boats have sunk. Scientists are still not sure why. Some think it started as a game among young orcas that others copied, while others think it may be a reaction to a bad experience with a boat. This group of only a few dozen orcas is critically endangered, follows the bluefin tuna, and has not attacked people in the water.
Researched and written by Juan Pablo. Sources: IUCN Red List, scientific literature and regional field guides. Last updated: .