Flora and Fauna
Laurissilva UNESCO
World Nature Heritage
"Macaronésia" is an ancient geographic region in which
Madeira Islands are included, and whose unique characteristic is that
it preserves the remains of a great forest dating back to the Tertiary
Era before the great ice ages. This forest once covered huge extensions
of the European Continent. But glaciations led to the massive destruction
of the vegetation that once covered Europe. But thanks to the beneficial
influence of an ocean climate, these same species were able to survive
in the Atlantic Islands.
And so Madeira Island survived as the only region in the world where one
can find representative samples of this ancient forest. It is well preserved
and contains a large number of species.
The Laurissilva forest occupies a coastal strip from 300 to 1300 metres
above sea level, and plays a crucial role in soil preservation and the
capture and filtration of rainfall on the island. Considered a living
relic, almost all of it has been classified as part of the Madeira Nature
Reserve, and is deemed a Total Preservation Area.
It was awarded the distinction of UNESCO World Natural Heritage,
on the 2nd December, 1999.This new position of the Region in relation
to the rest of the world, enables it to be seen for its true and specific
value, as a biocultural heritage for all humanity
Madeira has been decribed as the "floating Garden of
the Atlantic", full of shrubs and trees from all over the
world, specially from tropical areas. Many of the trees are jacarandas,
Australian flame trees, frangipanis and Tipuana tipu. Exotic species
such as strelitzias, anthuriums, cymbidium orchids and lady´s slipper
orchids are among the thousands of flowers blooming year round
on the island.
WildLife
In the deep Atlantic waters surrounding Madeira there are around 250 species
of fish, most with delightful colours and shapes.
There are dolphins, whales and purpoises, sharks, eels, rays and
flying fish. The monstrous-looking black espada is unique to the waters
around Madeira, living between 800 and 1,600m below the surface.
Forty-two species
of birds have been listed as breeding in the Madeira Islands. The
sea birds on the islands include the Madeira little shearwater, Manx shearwater,
Cory´s shearwater and Atlantic herring gull. The Selvagens Islands
are an important bird sanctuary for rare birds.
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