Lanzarote Animals

Birds dominate the vertebrate fauna of Lanzarote, as in the rest of the Canary Islands. There are currently forty known nesting species, compared to only three known species of reptiles and six known species of mammals. Among the former are the kestrel, the real shrike, and the houbara bustard.

Massif de Famara is a sanctuary that is 600 meters wide and fourteen kilometers in length. Of the species in the sanctuary, many are endangered. It is here that one will find the last surviving vultures on the island, called Guirre in the Canaries, along with osprey (winch) and Barbary falcons.

Avian wealth extends to the nearby islands of the archipelago Chinijo, where one will find Cinderella shearwater.

The most characteristic reptiles of the island are the Atlantic lizard and the Canary Island wall gecko. As for invertebrates, one will find the Munidopsis polymorpha known as “jameito”. This is a tiny albino crab that is blind from the salt-water lagoon in the volcanic pipes of Jameos del Agua, from which it takes its name.

Finally, one might point out the wealth of marine fauna, especially protected in the Marine Reserve Chinijo Archipelago, north of the island.