Fauna

The spatial diversity of species of animal life in Krkonoše is particularly determined by localised landscapes arranged into four distinct zones, these featuring a wide assortment of vegetative cover and significant extension beyond the alpine tree line. This has supported the relatively rich fauna composition of today, which has also been significantly affected by man as well.

The total number of species in Krkonoše is enormous, with at least 15,000 varieties of invertebrates identified, and that is just the beginning. Any published summary of the number of species only exists for a few groups, e.g. molluscs (74), beetles (about 1,300) – this including over 120 species of ground beetles, butterfly (over 1,000), spiders (428), harvestmen (15), and dragonflies (20). Zoologists report from the area over 400 species of vertebrates, of which one is a Cyclostomata representative (the European brook lamprey Lampetra planeri), five native species of fish, eleven amphibian species and six species of reptiles. For birds, 280 species have been recorded locally, either nesting or migrating regularly, as well as some random arrivals. Although seven mammal species are now extinct (e.g. the European brown bear, European wolf, European wild cat, European lynx, European ground squirrel or common hamster), 12 non-native species and 76 other species of mammals have been reported on the territory. The fauna of microbats (20 species) is surprisingly rich. A number of local animals are classified as glacial relicts, which for vertebrates applies, for instance, to the Eurasian dotterel and field vole, as well as nearly two dozen invertebrates. Compared to the high endemism of plant life, local endemic animals comprise just two subspecies of invertebrates – a gastropod (Cochlodina dubiosa corcontica) and a butterfly (Psodos quadrifaria sudetica).