52
A red fox’s bushy tail is
called a brush.
This mink is one
of Europe’s most
endangered mammals.
It lives near rivers and
streams, and hunts
mostly at night.
European
mink
FRANCE
Oslo
Location
There are areas of forest
in mainland Europe from
Portugal as far as Russia.
Some get really hot in
summer, while others
are cool all year round.
Pristina
Red fox
This adaptable mammal can live
almost anywhere—farms or city
centers, marshes or mountaintops.
It lives in more places in the world
than any other carnivore.
B
A
L
T
I
C
S
E
A
POLAND
GERMANY
BELGIUM
NETHERLANDS
SWITZERLAND
AUSTRIA
SWEDEN
CZECH
REPUBLIC
SLOVENIA
ROMANIA
ITALY
CROATIA
LATVIA
LITHUANIA
BELARUS
ESTONIA
FINLAND
MOLDOVA
SLOVAKIA
BOSNIA &
HERZEGOVINA
HUNGARY
SERBIA
MONTENEGRO
KOSOVO
MACEDONIA
ALBANIA
BULGARIA
GREECE
NORWAY
DENMARK
Copenhagen
Amsterdam
Brussels
Berlin
Warsaw
Vilnius
Riga
Tallinn
Prague
Bratislava
Vienna
Ljubljana
Zagreb
Sarajevo
Belgrade
Skopje
Tirana
Sofia
Helskini
Rome
Paris
M
ED
IT
ER
RA
S NEAN
EA
Bern
Podgorica
Budapest
European
forests
Forests here mostly have a mix of trees. Some, like
the Bavarian Forest in Germany, have more conifers,
such as spruce. Others, such as Białoweża Forest in
Poland, have more broad-leaved trees, like oak. All,
however, provide great homes for animals.
Nightjars live in Africa in the
winter, but return to Europe
to nest in the spring. Their
speckled feathers hide them
perfectly among dead leaves.
European nightjar
Families of blue tits gather
together in winter to search
for food. They eat insects in
the summer, but eat seeds
in the winter.
Eurasian
blue tit
This millipede might look
scary, but it is actually a
vegetarian—it eats
rotting plants.
Black
millipede
A wood ant colony
contains around
250,000 workers.
This ant can spray
formic acid to keep
enemies away!
Red wood
ant
This little rodent
doesn’t hibernate in
winter. Instead, it
moves around beneath
the snow, searching for
plants to eat.
Bank vole
Stag beetle
This insect gets its name from
the male’s jaws, which look
like the antlers of a male
deer, or stag. Males get up to
3 in (7.5 cm) long.
Stockholm
London
LUXEMBOURG
BRITISH ISLES
The Hague
VATICAN CITY
MONACO SAN MARINO
LICHTENSTEIN
ANDORRA
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