At first glance, Tenerife is an island that stands out in terms of traditional tourist elements; big resorts, beautiful beaches, plenty of natural and man-made destinations and generally being a paradise to enjoy the perfect vacations, honeymoon or for any other purposes.
However, there is more than that when it comes to Tenerife. By offering incredible wildlife and adventure options, resulting from this extensive ground and surfaces in the island that include mountains and volcanic terrain, forests and desert land and of course counting with the vast waters of the Atlantic Ocean where for many the actual adventure begins.
To find this wildlife and plenty of options for adventures in the island of Tenerife, visitors just need to know where to look and what to look out for. This is a guide to do so in every piece of land on this paradise.
From Whales to Giant Lizards and other Animals Living in Tenerife
For those interested in exploring Tenerife and finding animal life, variety in species is quite extensive and of all sizes in every sort of land, water and also in the air. To begin with, the Canary Islands and including Tenerife is the home of the endemic giant lizard or Gallotia Simonyi, a very interesting specimen that can reach up to 60 centimeters in size.
In fact, the giant lizard is of the best-known native animals living in the Canary Islands, giving them the title of “Land of Giants”, since according to fossils and other finding in previous centuries another lizard specimen, even bigger than the Gallotia Simonyi lived in the island; we are talking about the Gallotia Goliath that could reach a whole meter of length.
Other oversized animals lived in the islands that made them worthy of the title of “Land of Giants” were: the Tenerife giant rat or Canariomys Bravoi could reach one meter including the tail, but got extinct centuries back, probably due to cats. In Tenerife also once lived the giant tortoise or Geochelone Burchardi, reaching twice the size of traditional tortoises.
Birds are another type of animal that are worthy of addressing in Tenerife and the Canary Islands, with up to 200 hundred species and 5 endemic ones: Canary Islands Chat, Tenerife Blue Chaffinch, Bolle's Pigeon, Canary Islands Chiff-Chaff and the Laurel Pigeon.
On the other hand, when it comes to the big animals in Tenerife and the Canary Islands visitors should turn to the water surrounding the island. Up to 26 species of whales can be found in Tenerife waters and the space between the islands: La Gomera, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. This is the main reason for many tourists to visit, thanks to incomparable whale and dolphin sightings, along with 500 different species of fish that are worth diving in.
Flora and Adventure in Tenerife
If Tenerife has something as a region, it’s rich and varied land that includes volcanic soil, forests and desert surface, abrupt height changes, rainfall and more that all have an impact on the environment. This is the perfect combination to give life to an extensive variety of flora, both endemic and introduced to the island.
In detail, there are up to 2000 different species of plants in the Canary Islands and Tenerife, with half of that number being endemic to the region, even having a subtropical climate and shortage in water that are not the best circumstance for plants, but as said before surfaces, height differences and rainfall are main characteristics to Tenerife and the other islands.
A great example and place to enjoy the flora in Tenerife is the Parque Nacional de Teide, a gigantic and incredible mountain and mostly inactive volcano that due to the surface’s features has given life to an amazing set of flora and fauna.
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