Common name: Impala

Scientific name: Aepyceros melampus

Class: Mammalia

Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Bovide

Nutrition: Leaves, grass, fruit, flowers and seeds.

Features: The impala is an animal of medium size, it measures about 70-92 cm and weighs 40-76 kg, the males are about the 20% heavier than the females and they have long horns. It has a life expectancy of about 15 years, it is a submissive animal that lives in herds of about 30-40 individuals often divided into two groups.

Curiosity: When a threat approaches it produces a sneeze that echoes in the savannah, interrupting the harmonious silence and alerting the companions.

Common name: Marbled cat

Scientific name: Pardofelis marmorata

Class: Mammalia

Order Carnivoria

Family: Felidae

Nutrition: Birds, squirrels, rodents, and reptiles.

Features: The dimensions of the marbled cat are very similar to those of an ordinary domestic cat, it has a longer tail and the fur is characterized by stains and particular stripes, similar to the marble, which is usually compared to that of the bigger clouded leopard. Moreover, it has unusually big canines, that reminds those of the big felines.

Curiosity: The marbled cat is rarely sighted in his natural habitat.

Common name: Fallow deer

Scientific name: Dama dama

Class: Mammalia

Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Cervidae

Nutrition: Grass, leaves, sprouts, fruits and some types of mushrooms.

Features: The fallow deer has a spotted mantle which, during spring-summer, is reddish-brown with a blackish stripe on the back. The flanks and the back are dotted with white spots that persist also in the adulthood. In winter the coloration takes on shades of grey. The horns, named antlers, present only on the male specimens after the first year of age, fall off in April and begin to grow back in summer. 

Curiosity: The fallow deer is an invasive species hailing from Turkey and widespread in Europe and in Italy from the Ancient Romans and the Phoenicians.

Common name: Wester marsh harrier

Scientific name: Circus aeruginosus

Class: Aves

Order: Accipitriformes

Family: Accipitridi

Nutrition:  Fishes, frogs, lizards, insects, eggs and birds, little mammals, in particular rats and voles.

Features: Whereas the male has unique chromatic shades, brown feathers, reddish mantle, light grey wings and tail, the female has a more uniform brown plumage, the yellow head, clearly visible, which is added to a characteristic collar of facial feathers common to both genders. 

Curiosity: The male of the western marsh harrier proposes to the partner several nests, prepared by it, among which the female will choose the definitive place that will host the brood.

Common name: Long-eared owl

Scientific name: Asio otus

Class: Aves

Order: Strigiformes

Family: Strigidae

Nutrition: Little mammals like mouses, rabbits, squirrels, bats, rats, birds, insects.

Features: Its dimensions vary from 35 cm to 40 cm of length, with a wingspan of 90-100 cm. During the day it sleeps in the hollows of trees or in old ruins, perfectly camouflaged by the plumage. 

Curiosity: The long-eared owl can’t move the eyes, but it can rotate its head as much as 270°.