Fauna
The varied and unspoilt environment is home to many typical alpine species. Chamois can often be seen, particularly in the glacial basin below the Cima del Cacciatore. Also present, but rarer, are alpine ibex, reintroduced about twenty years ago and now present in numbers of fifty or so. Red and roe deer are present in woodland areas. Another large mammal sometimes spotted, if only very occasionally, is the bear, which, along with the lynx, has for some years been a major attraction of Tarvisio Forest animal life. Smaller mammals include the marmot and the white hare at higher altitudes, while badgers, foxes and pine martens are found lower down. Wood grouse, black grouse, hazel grouse and white partridge (tetraonids) are common, the black grouse having been adopted as the symbol of the Tarvisio Forest. Birds of prey include the golden eagle, eagle owl, buzzard and goshawk. The griffon vulture is a rare Summer visitor, occasionally stopping in the area at spots along the so-called "griffon highway", a route followed by birds travelling from the Austrian Tauri mountains to the Quarnaro Islands in Croatia. The European viper, known locally as the marasso, the alpine salamander and the alpine newt, found in the pool below Monte Prasnig, are some of the reptile inhabitants.
