page_title: Biodiversity of Albania
section_title: Mammals
hierarchical_section_title: Biodiversity of Albania / Fauna / Mammals
caption_attribution_description: English: European Otter Deutsch: Eurasischer Fischotter im Wisentgehege Springe bei Springe in der Region Hannover Español: nutria europea Français&#160;: Loutre d'Europe Latina: Lutra lutra
context_page_description: For a small country, Albania is characterised by a considerable wealth of terrestrial and marine ecosystems and habitats with contrasting floral and faunal species, defined in an area of 28,748 square kilometres. Most of the country is predominantly of Mediterranean character, comprehending the country's center and south, while the alpine affinity is more visible in the northeast.
  Apart the diversity of topography and climate, the direct proximity of Albania to the Mediterranean Sea and the significant location within the European continent have created favorable conditions for appearance of a vast array of flora and fauna with an immense quality, which, however, led the country to be recognised as an important biodiversity hotspot in the continent. The number of globally globally threatened faunal species in Albania is high with an integral part of more than 181 species, ranking seventh in the Mediterranean Basin.
  Albania is predominantly mountainous and hilly with the rapid landscape change from marine to alpine within a limited distance.
context_section_description: Albania is home to a wide range of mammals that are closely associated with its geographical location and climatic conditions. Approximately 58 species of mammals have been recorded to occur in the country. The protected areas, including national parks, nature reserves and biosphere reserves, provide protection to the mammals and are the most likely locations where these animals can be seen.
  For a small country, Albania challenges an important role in maintaining and ensuring the long term survival of the large carnivores of the western and southern Balkan Peninsula. The carnivores seem to be primarily distributed in the last remaining forests throughout the country especially in the areas around the Albanian Alps in the north, the Korab Mountains in the east and the scattered elevated areas in the south, such as in the Karaburun Peninsula, Valamara Mountains and Nemërçka Mountains.
  The country's cat species include the Eurasian lynx and European wildcat. All of them are critically endangered, threatened and protected. The country is host to at present the largest distribution area of the critically endangered Balkan lynx, which is considered to be the largest cat in the Balkans, with an estimated population of less than 100 individuals.
  The family Canidae has several members in Albania including the gray wolf, Eurasian wolf, red fox and golden jackal. The distribution range of the gray and eurasian wolf encompasses most of the country's territory. The red fox, which is native, is the largest fox species and appears in every corner of Albania. However, the range of the golden jackal extends across the Western Lowlands along the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea Coast.
  The brown bear, perhaps Albania's most famous wildlife species, is one of the most valuable elements of the biodiversity and plays as well as an important role in biodiversity maintenance. They are found across much of the country, including the Northern, Central and Southern Mountain Range of Albania, and are part of the Dinaric-Pindus population, which is the second largest population in Europe. The brown bear populations in both Albania and North Macedonia are of significant and important biological and genetic value, as they constitute the connecting populations between the bears of the countries of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia in the northern of the Balkans and the bears of Greece in the south.
  The largest family of carnivorous mammals belongs to the otters, badgers, weasels and martens, all of which are found in the country. All of these are short, furry animals with short, rounded ears and thick fur, but they differ markedly in size, habit and habitat. The Eurasian otter is found throughout much of the country and healthy populations were localised in rivers and marshes in the northwest and the south. The European badger is the most common badger in Albania and found across much of the country's territory.
  Classified as carnivores, pinnipeds are divided between earless seals and eared seals. Earless seals do not have ears and cannot get their hind flippers underneath their bodies to crawl. In contrast, eared seals have protruding ears and can walk with all four limbs on land. Nevertheless, the Mediterranean monk seal, among the world's rarest pinniped species, is the only seal species that can be found in Albania. It is primarily home in the rocky coastal regions of southern Albania such as in Karaburun Peninsula, Sazan Island and Ksamil Islands that provide good habitats for the endangered species.
  Considering the great availability of water, the country's coast is estimated to be 381 kilometres (237 mi) long. The Mediterranean Sea, which includes the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea that makes up the entire west border of Albania, is home to increasingly rare populations of cetaceans. Nonetheless, the country has several cetacean species that live in the Albanian Mediterranean Sea.
  The short-beaked common dolphin is known to inhabit coastal waters. The common bottlenose dolphin is abundant along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast especially in winter an
caption: The Divjakë-Karavasta National Park serves as a breeding and feeding ground for the Eurasian otter.[54]
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