Animal Info - Portugal

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area/Land Use, Protected Lands, Economy, Education), References and Links

Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur in Portugal and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.

Critically Endangered:
- Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus).
- Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus).
Endangered:
- Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus).
- Northern Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis).
Vulnerable:
- Azores Noctule ( Bat) (Nyctalus azoreum). (Endemic to Portugal.)
- Bechstein's Bat (Myotis bechsteini).
- *Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra). (Not listed in 1996.)
- Garden Dormouse (Eliomys quercinus).
- Geoffroy's Bat (Myotis emarginatus).
- Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena).
- Lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros).
- Madeira Pipistrelle (Bat) (Pipistrellus maderensis).
- Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus euryale).
- Mehely's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mehelyi).
- Pyrenean Desman (Galemys pyrenaicus).
- Sperm Whale (Physeter catodon).
- Western Barbastelle (Bat) (Barbastella barbastellus).

Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Total number of species: 63 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of endemic species: 1 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of threatened species: 1996: 13* (21 % of total species) (IUCN 1996); 2000: 17 (27 % of total species) (IUCN 2000) [*Whales were not listed by country in 1996.]

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

Portugal contains portions of the Mediterranean Shrublands & Woodlands Global 200 Ecoregion (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)

Population

Population in 1995: 9,914,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 107.3 people/sq km (277.9 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 9,927,556 (World Almanac 1999)
Average population growth rate, 1980 - 1990: 0.6 % (World Bank 1992)

Area/Land Use

Area: 92,390 sq km (35,672 sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Percentages of primary world ecosystem types:

Other Coastal Aquatic: 3 %
Grass and Shrub: 12 %
Crop and Settlements: 18 %
Interrupted Woods: 45 %
Major Forests: 21 %

(Groombridge 1992)

Percent of land area classified as the following degree of human disturbance: Low: 0 %, Medium: 20 %, High: 80 % (WRI 1994)

Protected Lands

Area: 5,560 sq km (2,146 sq mi) (Groombridge 1992)
Percent of land protected: 0.26 % totally protected, 5.81 % partially protected, 6.07 % totally or partially protected (Groombridge 1992)

Economy

Per capita GNP ($ U.S.) (1991): $5,944 (WRI 1994)
Per capita GDP ($ U.S.) (1996): $12,400 (World Almanac 1999)

Education

Percent of females in secondary education (1989): 54 % (World Bank 1992)
Percent adult literacy: Female: 82 % (1990), 65 % (1970); Male: 89 % (1990), 78 % (1970) (WRI 1994)

References and Links

References: Groombridge 1992, Groombridge & Jenkins 1994, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, World Almanac 1999, World Bank 1992, WRI 1994

General Links (After you get to one of these sites, click on the link for Portugal): CIA World Factbook, Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C., Library of Congress - Country Studies, University of Texas - Country Maps, Washington Post - Countries, World Resources Institute - Country Profiles; Links for Portugal: Iberian Lynx (English and Portuguese)

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Last modified: February 23, 2004;