In the Casentino the local fauna is probably more varied than in the whole of the northern Apennines. This is mainly due to the presence of vast forests and abandoned pastures. Most of the vertebrates that live here are birds (80 nesting species). Reptiles, amphibians and fish are also widely represented and numberless invertebrates people the whole area. Among the 40 species of mammals recorded, besides those of the wolf and the fox, noteworthy are the ungulates.

The wolf
A story of enmity with no holds barred links man and wolf.
And wherever respect for the nature and human beings is ousted by fear and superstition, wolves are bound to die. In the past years a real catastrophe was almost reached here, especially because of the circulation of firearms. But the situation has changed now. Man's old enemy and, as such, mercilessly kept at a distance, the wolf is among the few surviving original predators of this land (the lynx and the brown bear having disappeared two centuries ago). From the Sixties on, unmistakable signs of its presence on the Apennines have increased and the end of lawful hunting, together with a large supply of preys, made its safeguard possible and its survival a reality.

The ungulates
Five ungulates are typical of the area: wild hog, red and roe deer, fallow deer and mouflon. Will hog and red deer became extinct two hundred years ago, but their re-introduction since 1840 is the reason why, for instance, the red deer population is of 900 heads today. The wild hog has come back to the Casentino only over the last twenty years. At present its numbers have considerably increased and spoor or signs of gouging and wallowing can be found almost everywhere. Roe deer have always survived and constitute a present population of five thousand specimens. Fallow deer - a Cervidae originally from Anatolia - were first introduced around 1840, but by the early 20th Century, none were left. Reintroduced from 1958, the species is now very common, especially on the Romagna mountain sides. Characterised by its unmistakable spiral horns, the mouflon is extremely rare.

Birds
In beech-woods and mixed woodlands, blackcap, chaffinch, wren, blackbird, robin, are the most common species. Bullfinch, long-tailed tit, jay, cuckoo, marsh tit, nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker and green woodpecker are widespread but less common. In areas of silver fir and in some mixed woods, the tree-creeper was recently sighted for the first time. The most common birds of prey are sparrow-hawk, buzzard and kestrel. The rarer honey buzzard and goshawk almost certainly nest in the Park. The golden eagle is also sighted regularly, probably nesting on large trees or shrubs against the cliffs.

Reptiles and amphibians
The spectacled salamander and the Italian cave salamander are Apennine species. The latter was formerly thought to live only in caves, but is also found in woods. All newts found in the Park are distributed throughout central and northern Italy. The fire salamander is another amphibian, little found in other parts of the Apennine range. Its preferred habitat is in beech-woods. The yellow-bellied toad lives in ponds and brooks. The common lizard and Italian wall lizard, green lizard and slow worm all occur in the Park. The most common snakes are the western whip snake, Aesculapian and grass snake, dice snake, smooth and southern smooth snakes, and asp.