The Fauna

The natural fauna of Mount Athos is one of the richest in Greece. The species it includes are not distinguished by their rarity in the Mediterranean area, but the stability of their variety and the size of their populations on Athos is admirable. The entire site of the Vatopedi Monastery is abundant in insects and reptiles, especially snakes (vipers, lafites, tree snakes), turtles and lizards. The variety of birds is equally great (woodpeckers, partridges, owls, hawks, eagles, cuckoos, falcons, woodpeckers, etc.). In particular, in the mountainous forested areas of the Monastery live wild boars, foxes, jackals, weasels, hares and squirrels, while the marine area remains rich in volume and variety of catches.