Editing Harz (section)

=== Fauna ===
{{more citations needed|section|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Lynx lynx.jpg|thumb|The [[Eurasian lynx]] – once again found living wild in the Harz]]
A multitude of wild animals live in the beech forests of the Harz Mountains. Over 5,000 species, most of them insects, have their home in these woods. They include many species that help to decompose leaves and work them into the soil and ground cover, including [[springtail]]s, oribatid [[mites]], [[woodlice]], [[roundworm]]s, [[millipede]]s, [[earthworm]]s and [[snail]]s. Characteristic breeding birds in the beech woods, with their abundance of dead wood, are the [[black woodpecker]] (''Dryocopus martius'') and [[stock dove]] (''Columba oenas''). An indication of the natural state of the beech woods in the Harz is the return of the [[black stork]] (''Ciconia nigra''). This shy and susceptible resident of richly diverse deciduous and mixed forest has become very rare in central Europe due to increasing disturbance of its habitat (caused by a lack of old trees and natural brooks). Through improvements to its habitat, including the renaturalisation of waterways and the creation of relatively undisturbed peaceful areas, the black stork population has now recovered. A typical mammal of such deciduous woods is the [[European wildcat]] (''Felis silvestris''), that has established a stable population in the Harz. It prefers the diverse wooded areas, which offer a rich variety of food.
The animal kingdom of the mixed beech and spruce woods is also diverse. Species that thrive in mixed forest are especially at home. For example, the mixed mountain forest is the natural habitat of the [[capercaillie]] (''Tetrao urogallus''). The [[Tengmalm's owl]] (''Aegolius funereus'') may also be found here. It breeds almost exclusively in [[black woodpecker]] holes in old beeches, and needs, unlike the spruce woods, more open beech forest with its higher population of small mammals in its search for food. For cover, however, it prefers the darker, denser spruce trees.

A large number of the animals that live in natural spruce forest are suited to the special conditions of life in the higher parts of the Harz. Typical residents amongst the bird population include the [[crested tit]] (''Parus cristatus''), [[goldcrest]] and [[common firecrest|firecrest]] (''Regulus regulus'' and ''Regulus ignicapillus''), [[Eurasian siskin|siskin]] (''Carduelis spinus''), 
[[Eurasian treecreeper|treecreeper]] (''Certhia familiaris''), [[coal tit]] (''Parus ater'') and [[common crossbill|crossbill]] (''Loxia curvirostra''). Special mention should be made here of the [[Eurasian pygmy owl|pygmy owl]] (''Glaucidium passerinum'') which is threatened with extinction and which lives in the submontane to subalpine zones within mixed and pine forests interspersed with open areas. They prefer spruce woods for breeding, but feed in more open stands of trees or on open moorland. Like the [[black stork]], the pygmy owl had long since disappeared from the Harz, but returned in the 1980s of its own volition, as its ancestral homeland once again became more natural, so that there was sufficient food to support it (insects, small mammals and small birds) as well as standing dead wood (spruce trees with woodpecker holes).

In addition to the many species of birds, there is a range of large butterflies in the various spruce woods that, outside of the Harz, are seriously endangered or simply non-existent. Two species will be mentioned here as examples. ''Gnophos sordarius'' occurs in old, open wood-reed spruce forest, sometimes in connection with stone runs or bog spruce forests; ''Enthephria caesiata'' is a native of the bilberry-rich bog spruce woods.

Only a few animals are able to survive the extreme conditions of the [[raised bog]]s. Examples of these are the [[List of Odonata species of Great Britain|Alpine emerald]] dragonfly (''Somatochlora alpestris''), which only occurs in Lower Saxony in the Harz, and is endangered in Germany, and the [[Aeshna|Subarctic darner]] (''Aeshna subarctica''), a [[damselfly]] which is threatened with extinction.

Rocks and [[stone run]]s are important habitat components for the [[peregrine falcon]] (''Falco peregrinus'') and [[ring ouzel]] (''Turdus torquatus''). The peregrine, which is threatened with extinction here, needs steep rock outcrops with little vegetation. After its population had died out in the Harz, a breeding pair was re-established in the region. A crucial contribution has been made by extensive efforts to promote quiet areas in the ancestral breeding grounds of this shy species. Since 1980, a breeding pair has settled in the eastern Harz as the result of a wildlife reintroduction project. The ring ouzel prefers semi-open stone runs and lightly wooded transition zones between treeless [[raised bog]]s and [[forest]]s. The Harz is home to one of its few, isolated breeding areas in central Europe. Its main distribution area extends across northwest Europe, including large parts of England and Scotland, as well as the high mountains of southern and eastern Europe.

The waterways, with their distinct mountain stream character, play an important role right across the Harz. In comparison with the other natural regions of Lower Saxony, they are still very natural and varied, and the water is very clean. As a result of the high water velocity of the Harz streams, flowers rarely gain a foothold in the water. Even the animals in these streams need to be well suited to high velocities. Only a few species, such as fish, swim actively against the stream. The most common species are [[brown trout]] (''Salmon trutta forma fario'') and [[European bullhead|bullhead]] (''Cottus gobio''). Much richer in variety, by contrast, is the range of species in the system of crevices under the streambed. In addition to the insects and fish hatchlings that thrive here, may be found [[protozoon]]s, flatworms (''[[Turbellaria]]'') and water mites (''Hygrobatoidea''). Other species of animals cling fast to the stones, e.&nbsp;g. [[caddis fly]] larvae (''Trichoptera'') and [[snails]], or can only live in the reduced water velocities on the bed of the stream or on stones by having flat body shapes, e.&nbsp;g. [[stonefly]] larvae. In the calmer parts of the stream, behind stones or in blankets of moss, there are also [[water beetle]]s (''[[Hydrophilidae]]'') and small shrimp-like [[amphipod]]s.

Occasionally the golden-ringed dragonfly (''Cordulegaster boltoni'') and [[beautiful demoiselle]] (''Calopteryx virgo''), a type of [[damselfly]], can be seen by streams in the Harz.

The [[dipper]] (''Cinclus cinclus''), which is found everywhere on Harz streams, occurs almost exclusively in the highlands. Its habitat is very fast-flowing, clear mountain streams with wooded banks. It can dive and run under water along the stream bed. It turns stones over in its search for food. The [[grey wagtail]] (''Motacilla cinerea'') also uses the rich food supplies of the mountain brooks.

In 2000, the [[Eurasian lynx|lynx]] was successfully reintroduced by the [[Harz National Park]], and it has since fitted well into the ecology of the region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Das Luchsprojekt Harz|url=http://www.luchsprojekt-harz.de/ |access-date=22 March 2009}}</ref> Through specific conservation measures in past years, the retreat of the bat population in the Harz has been halted. Amongst the mammals that may be hunted are the [[red deer]], [[roe deer]], [[wild boar]] and [[mouflon]].