Flora and fauna



Wolf in the Gronawalþ
The flora and fauna on Friland were traditionally limited to species that managed to reach the area during the ice age via ice and land bridges. This changed when plant- and animal species from the European mainland that were useful to man were introduced during the Middle Ages. Besides the intentionally introduced species there are also animals and plants in Friland that invited themselves, like a number of weeds that came along with imported agricultural products and rats and mice who hitched a lift on board of ships.
        Incidentally, only the flora and fauna of European Friland are mentioned on this page. Those of the overseas territories can be found on the relevant pages.

Plants
It is of course impossible to mention all the trees, plants, grasses, mosses, flowers and bushes that are present on Friland, but some of the occurring species are:
Willow, birch, pine, spruce, elm, oak, linden, ash, apple tree, hazel, yew, juniper, rowan, elder, ivy, house leek, mistletoe, poplar, beech, maple, plane and chestnut.

Animals
Some of the occurring animal species are:
(Water animals:) trout, salmon, freshwater eel, lamprey, brass, carp, herring, crab, mackerel, carrelet, sole and smelt. (Birds:) pheasant, partridge, heron, duck, goose, pidgeon, jackdaw, raven, rook, crow, magpie, stork, hawk, falcon, sparrow hawk, golden eagle, buzzard, white-tailed eagle, swan, coot, cormorant, gull, owl, woodpecker, swallow, sparrow, thrush, tit, finch, lapwing and blackbird. (Reptilians:) sand lizard, wall lizard and viper. (Mammals:) wisent, sparwalþ horse, wild boar, red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, fox, badger, otter, beaver, wolf, hare, rabbit, squirrel, hedgehog, mouse and brown rat. (Cattle:) cow, pig, horse, chicken and sheep. (Pets:) dog, cat, Guinea pig and domesticated rat.

Endangered species
Wisent in the Sparwalþ
In the vast nature reserves of Friland there are still healthy populations of animals that have an endangered status elsewhere. This does not only concern birds of prey, ravens and vipers but also the wolf, who is extinct in large parts of Europe but is still abundantly present in Friland. Although the wolf has a bad reputation in many cultures and is unrightfully accused of posing a threat to man, the wolf is mainly respected and admired in Friland.
        Another endangered species is the wisent or European bison, who most people only know from prehistoric cave drawings. The animal, which weighs almost 900 kilos (1984 lbs), seems to come straight out of the ice age and is extinct nearly everywhere. Only in Russia and Poland there are still some animals in the wild, and of course in Friland, where the wisent occurs in multiple nature reserves.
        However, the most spectacular species of Friland is the sparwalþ horse; a subspecies of the tarpan, the wild horse from which most current horse breeds descend and which became extinct in 1887. The sparwalþ horse, named after its habitat, is even, according to some, identical to the tarpan, although there is no scientific consensus on this. Although the discussion will probably continue for some time, the Frilanders are convinced that they are the last refuge of this "extinct" species.