Alpine waters are home to trout, char, grayling, tench and common whitefish. Alpine newts can be found in ponds.
Many insects are protected and include rosalia alpine (a blue longhorn beetle), stag beetle and rhinoceros beetle. Among the protected butterflies are swallowtail, death´s head hawk-moth and mourning cloak.
The Alpine salamander prefers dusk and rain. Green lizards love sun-warmed rocks and sunny wayside places. Among the poisonous snakes is the adder whose habitat are moors and higher alpine regions. Birds typical of the Alps can only be found in remote valleys and mountain regions. Protected birds include golden eagle, lammergeier, bearded vulture, alpine swift, common raven, rock partridge, finch and wood grouse.
Likewise protected are some mammals including bats and insect-eaters (hedgehog, mole, shrew). The forest is the natural habitat of rodents like dormouse, edible dormouse and squirrel; the marmot, a rodent related to the squirrel, is indigenous to alpine regions between 1300m and 2700 m. Common predators are fox, badger and marten, rarer are European polecat, ermine and weasel. Typical of the Alps is the chamois, a small antelope; the ibex, once an endangered species, was successfully re-introduced. Herds of deer populate Austria´s forests and meadows. Red deer can be spotted occasionally in high alpine forests.
