FAUNA AND FLORA

 

MADEIRA : GARDEN Of EDEN, BOTANICAL GARDEN OF GOD, PEARL OF THE ATLANTIC...

 

In fact Madeira has many nicknames and for sure all those who visit this island  are impressed by the beauty of its landscapes and the luxuriance of its vegetation. 

 

The major part of its exotic flora is imported from the 4 corners of the world by navigators, botanists and visitors.  Everywhere you go, you will think you are in "an open air garden", and you will appreciate the colours and the scents of the trees (jacarandas, tulip trees of Gabon, kapokiers) and flowers (bougainvilleas, Birds of paradise (strelitzia), Anthuriums, Proteas, Arums, Orchidées...). 

 

   

 

                         Also Madeira organizes the Floral Festival every spring.

 

 

The fauna is limited to cows, goats and horses in the pastures. However, you will be able to observe many birds (+/- 200 species) and insects (approximately 700 species) on the whole of the island and the famous "lagartixas" (lizards) which spend their time taking the sun and frightening the tourists sitting on park benches and low walls.  

 

Many "Cetacea" (dolphins, whales) also live in this turquoise water of the Atlantic;  whales spend June to September there.  We can see them sometimes if we make a trip by boat.  Moreover, the turtles, triggerfishes and "merous" are a delight to all the divers.  For your information, colonies of seals "lobos marinhos" also live on the coasts of the "Desertas" (deserted islands);  declared world inheritance by UNESCO. 

 

Don't worry, there are no dangerous animals on the island except "the scolopendre", a kind of millipede, the bite of which is not deadly. Feeling better ? Then feel free to explore the island.