Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

A PORTRAIT OF BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG 21

FORESTED ARDENNES
The Ardennes cover most of southeastern
Belgium and the Oesling area of Luxembourg.
Rivers thread through forested hills, with pock-
ets of farmland in the valleys and pastures on
open upland. To the south, the land drops
away into the rural, wooded Gaume region.

THE MOORS

Much of eastern Belgium is covered by

heath and moorland. Large parts of the

Kempen (or Campine) region in the north

are sandy heathlands of heather and pine

woods. The wildest moors are the Hautes

Fagnes in the upper Ardennes, east of Liège.

The western honey buzzard

(Pernis apivorus) arrives in these

forests during summer to breed.

The bird’s name derives from its

habit of eating the larvae from

wasp and hornet nests.

The European hedgehog

(Erinaceus europaeus)

is an adaptable, mainly

nocturnal mammal

found in heathland.

Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)

are shy, solitary deer that live

in forests and pasture, eating

grasses and shoots. The males

grow small antlers each year.

The little bustard

(Tetrax tetrax) is a

migratory bird that

breeds on heaths. The

male has a flamboy-

ant mating display.

DEPLETING WILDLIFE

It is estimated that between a third and a half

of Belgium’s animal species are threatened with

extinction. Twelve mammals are listed as either

Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened

by the International Union for Conservation of

Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). As ever,

the main causes of threat are loss of habitat,

climate change, the arrival of exotic predators

and pollution or other human activities that

cause disturbance. The red squirrel and European

otter (Lutra lutra) are on the Near Threatened

list, as is the European beaver (Castor fiber).

The garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) is listed as Vulnerable, along with four

species of bat. But the most threatened are the Cetaceans (whales, porpoises and

dolphins) in the North Sea. The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), sperm whale

(Physeter macrocephalus) and beluga or white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) are all

Vulnerable, while the northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is Endangered.

Bechstein’s bat

(Myotis bechsteinii)

The beluga whale

(D. leucas)

Honey mushroom

(Armillaria mellae)

is a forest fungus

that lives on the

roots of trees.

Harebells (Campanula

rotundifolia) are delicate

bell-shaped flowers that

grow wild on the moors.