Fauna on the Menišija is remarkably diverse, which is the result of carbonaceous bedrock and great variety of plants. It was the very abundance of animal species that contributed to the inclusion of the plateau in the Natura 2000 Network.
In the extensive forests, scattered with marvellous meadows, bear is rummaging for berries, rootstocks, beechnuts and carrion. A pack of wolves is shadowing deer, and lynx is waiting for a daydreaming doe to come close enough...
Wildcats, pine and beech martens, weasels and foxes are feared among smaller small mammals and birds.
The abundance of small mammals makes the Menišija plateau a true paradise for owl species – Ural, Boreal and brown owl – there is plenty of space and food for all of them. Woodpeckers diligently drill holes in tree trunks for themselves and other dwellers of the forest which, is filled with passerines' chirping. The latter chat with each other and conscientiously greet each new day.
If we put the diversity of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians together, it won't even roughly be near the diversity of the invertebrate species. During the day, the meadows are full of dragonflies, grasshoppers, flies, bees and butterflies. Owlfly Libelloides macaronius also joins this party, but each and every one of them may end up in spiders' invisible trap.
At night, the forest ground and tree crowns are just as lively. All small creatures that were hiding from dehydration in the rotten wood, and under fallen branches by day, now come into sight. Common toad wakes up at the same time and swarms of moths awaken the bats...
Water habitats are especially valuable. Ponds host Alpine crested newts and yellow-bellied toads. Brooks are home to bullheads, and areas around them host Balkan goldenrings and ground beetle species Carabus variolosus.
| Number of qualifying animal species to designate the area as a Natura 2000 Site: | 17 |