ENDANGERED ANIMALS AND PLANTS IN BASILICATA

Fauna

Loggerhead sea turtleScientific name: Caretta Caretta

Size: The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm long. The adult weighs about 135 kg

Look: The skin ranges from yellow to brown in colour and the shell is typically reddish-brown

Food: the sea turtle is omnivorous, feeding mainly on invertebrates

Behaviour: The loggerheads spend most of their life in saltwater and estuarian habitats. Females briefly come ashore to lay eggs. They have a life span of 47-67 years

European otterScientific name: Lutra Lutra

Size: Normally the European otter is 57 to 95 cm long, not counting the tail of 35 -45 cm. Its avarage weight is 7 to 12 kg.

Look: The European otter is brown above and cream below. Otters have long, slim bodies and relatively short limbs, with webbed paws.

Food: Its diet mainly consists of fish, but in winter otters eat also birds, insects, frogs, and sometimes small mammals.

Behaviour: The European otters are strongly territorial living alone for the most part. Hunting mainly takes place at night , the day is usually spent in the European otter's holt (den) – usually a burrow or hollow tree on the riverbank.

The red foxScientific name: vulpes vulpes

Size: On average, adults foxes measure 35–50 cm high at the shoulder and 45 to 90 cm in body length with tails measuring 760 to 1,600 mm. They weigh 2.2 to 14 kg , with vixens typically weighing 15–20% less than males.

Look: Red foxes have elongated bodies and relatively short limbs. The tail, which is longer than half the body length, is long and fluffy.

Food: Red foxes are omnivores with a highly varied diet: they primarily feed on small mouse-like rodents and mammals up to about 3.5 kg in weight and require 500 grams

Behaviour: Red foxes live in family groups sharing a joint territory they use their urine to mark it. They may leave their family once they rich adulthood if they win a territory of their own

Grey HeronScientific name: Ardea cinerea

Size: It is a large bird, standing up to 100 cm tall and measuring 84–102 cm long with a 155–195 cm wingspan. The body weight can range from 1.02–2.08 kg .

Look: Its plumage is largely grey above, and off-white below. Adults have a white head with a broad black supercilium and slender crest, while immatures have a dull grey head. It has a powerful, pinkish-yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults. It has a slow flight, with its long neck retracted (S-shaped)

Food: It feeds in shallow water, catching fish, frogs, and insects with its long bill. Herons will also take small mammals, reptiles and occasionally warbler nestlings, plovers, young and adult snipes, takes ducklings and tern chicks and other small birds

Behaviour: This species breeds in colonies in trees close to lakes, the seashore or other wetlands, although it will also nest in reedbeds. It builds a bulky stick nest.

Wild boar or wild pigScientific name: sus scrofa

Size: Adult boars measure 90–200 cm, in length, not counting a tail of 15–40 cm, and have a shoulder height of 55–110 cm. As a whole, their average weight is 50–90 kg

Look: The body of the wild boar is compact; the head is large, the legs relatively short. The fur consists of stiff bristles and usually finer fur. The colour usually varies from dark grey to black or brown, but there are great regional differences in colour. Wild boar piglets are coloured differently from adults, having marbled chocolate and cream stripes lengthwise over their bodies. The stripes fade by the time the piglet is about 6 months.Food: They are omnivorous.

Behaviour :Adult males are usually solitary , but females and their offsprings live in groups called sounders , made up of about 20 members.

Lesser kestrelScientific name: falco naumanni

Size: It is a small bird of prey, 27–33 cm in length with a 63–72 cm wingspan. It looks very much like the larger falcon but has proportionally shorter wings and tail.

Look: The male has a grey head and tail like male Common Kestrels, but lacks the dark spotting on the back, the black malar stripe, and has grey patches in the wings.

The female and young birds are slightly paler than their relative.

Food: The Lesser Kestrel eats insects, but also small birds, reptiles and rodents (especially mice),[which are often taken on the ground.

Behaviour : It nests colonially on buildings, cliffs, or in tree holes, laying up to 3-6 eggs. No nest structure is built, which is typical for falcons.

Italic WolfScientific name: Canis Lupus Italicus

Size: The Italic wolf is smaller than a common wolf. Its weight is about 20-35 kg and it is 120 cm ca. long and 50-70 cm tall.

Look: it has grey-brown medium hair and particular and hypnotic yellow eyes.

Food: Italic wolf is carnivorous and it generally eats small mammals and sometimes fruit and mushrooms.

Behaviour: Wolves are territorial animals and generally establish territories fare larger than their require to survive in order to assure enough supply of prey. They live in pack but they rarely remain with their pack for more than two years.

Flora

Maquis shrublandScientific name: Macchia mediterranea

Look: It is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs such as holm oak, tree heath, sage, juniper, buckthorn, spurge, and myrtle.

Location: It grows spontaneously on the shore on the coast of Italy and of most Mediterranean countries. On Policoro coast it marks the passage frome the pinewood to the sandy beach.

Size: It tries to spread wherever possible, but man is destroying it in order to exploit the shore for turistic purpose.

Pine “Loricato” Scientific name: Pinus leucodermis

Size: It is a big tree which can rich 30 m of height with an irregular trunk . Its pine niddles can be 10 cm long.

Look: Its Latin name means white skin because its bark is silverwithe, but the Italian name is compares the bark to the old Grecian armour.

Location: It grows in the highest part in Pollino National Park and it is very rare to see one. At the present there are only 2000 trees.

PassifloraScientific name: Passiflora

Size: The passion Flowers are mostly wines with some being shrubs. They can even rich 5 or 6 m. The flowers are made up of five petals and can be even 12-15 cm in diameter.

Look: They have a unique structure with lively colours which attract bees and insets.

Location: It can grow easily in the Mediterranean area and its name is connected to the Passion of Jesus Christ.