18 Wild Animals in Georgia [Wildlife in Georgia]
Want to know more about wildlife in Georgia?
Discover 18 wild animals in Georgia in this post, as well as interesting facts about them. 🇬🇪
Learn All About Georgian Animals
Ready to learn all about Georgian animals?
I’ve always been fascinated by animals, and by how they can be so different from one country to another. In this guide, we’ll focus on the many animals Georgia has on the land, in the sky, and under water.
I’ve split the guide into 4 categories:
- Native animals from Georgia
- Endangered animals of Georgia
- What is the national animal of Georgia?
- How many animals native to Georgia?
Let’s dive in right away with our first category!
Native Animals from Georgia
Georgia is a small Asian country located in the western part of the continent, at the crossroads with Europe. It is one of the smallest countries in all of Asia, and it used to be part of the Russian Empire. It is bordered by Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, and its capital and largest city is Tbilisi, which counts more than 1,202,000 inhabitants.
An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its wildlife. In light of that, I have listed the best of it, and I hope you will love learning what animals live in Georgia.
Here’s the native Georgia animals list.
1. Indian crested porcupine
- Name: Indian crested porcupine
- Scientific name: Hystrix indica
- Conservation status:
The Indian crested porcupine is a large species of rodent native to southern Asia and the Middle East. It belongs to the Old World porcupine family and is considered of least concern, despite threats such as urban expansion and pesticide use. The reason for the stability of this species is its wide range and most importantly its adaptability in terms of diet.
This porcupine indeed feeds on a wide range of plant materials such as fruits, grains, roots, and small vertebrates and insects.
2. Caucasian squirrel
- Name: Caucasian squirrel
- Scientific name: Sciurus anomalus
- Conservation status:
The Caucasian squirrel, also known as the Persian squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel native to the temperate forests of Southwest Asia. It is a relatively small species with short claws that can be found from Turkey to Iran and as far as Jordan and Israel.
This squirrel is a diurnal and solitary animal that only temporarily forms groups in order to forage for food. It feeds on nuts, seeds, shoots, and buds and hides its food in tree cavities.
3. Persian leopard
- Name: Persian leopard
- Scientific name: Panthera pardus tulliana
- Conservation status:
The Persian leopard, also known as the Caucasian leopard or the Anatolian leopard, is a rare species of leopard native to the Iranian Plateau, as well as neighboring areas such as Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan.
Currently, there are less than 1,000 mature individuals left in the wild, as this species particularly suffers from poaching, human disturbance, habitat loss due to deforestation, and depletion of prey. Hope remains for the Persian leopard, as there are more than 100 captive animals in zoos worldwide.
4. Striped hyena
- Name: Striped hyena
- Scientific name: Hyaena Hyaena
- Conservation status:
The striped hyena, less known than its famous relative, the laughing hyena, is a species of hyena native to the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and East and North Africa.
There are less than 10,000 mature individuals left in the wild, which is why it is considered near threatened. The reason for that is deliberate persecution and depletion of prey. Its decline is expected to continue by 10 percent over the next 3 generations.
5. Caucasian lynx
- Name: Caucasian lynx
- Scientific name: Lynx lynx dinniki
- Conservation status:
The Caucasian lynx, also known as the eastern lynx or the Caucasus lynx, is a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx native to the Caucasus, European Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
It is a very shy and alert animal that hides in the heights of the mountains, in a temperate climate. In order to feed, it stalks its prey, usually small to medium-sized mammals or birds, and it has few natural predators, apart from wolves and sometimes wolverines.
6. Jungle cat
- Name: Jungle cat
- Scientific name: Felis chaus
- Conservation status:
The jungle cat, also known as the swamp cat or the reed cat, is a medium-sized species of wild cat native to the mountains of the Caucasus, southeastern and southern Asia, as well as southern China. It lives in swampy areas with dense vegetation, and although it is listed as least concern, it is threatened by trapping, poisoning, and wetlands destruction.
Kittens leave their mother after 8 months, as they can already hunt for themselves when they are 6 months old. The preferred prey of this species is small mammals and birds.
7. Steppe wolf
- Name: Steppe wolf
- Scientific name: Canis lupus campestris
- Conservation status:
The steppe wolf, also known as the Caspian Sea wolf, is a subspecies of the gray wolf native to the Caspian steppes, as its name suggests. These steppes are located in the region of the Caucasus, southern Kazakhstan, and the lower Volga region.
Like many other wolves, the steppe wolf is known to carry rabies. Because of this, local inhabitants need to reliably vaccinate their domestic animals, as disease transmission is very frequent, due to the proximity of wolves.
8. Brown bear
- Name: Brown bear
- Scientific name: Ursus arctos
- Conservation status:
The brown bear is one of the most iconic animals in the forests of Eurasia. It is a large animal; in fact, it is the second-largest terrestrial carnivore on the planet, only rivaled by its closest relative, the polar bear.
Although it is considered of least concern, its range has considerably shrunk over the decades. There are about 110,000 mature individuals left, and it is threatened by habitat loss and persecution.
9. European hamster
- Name: European hamster
- Scientific name: Cricetus cricetus
- Conservation status:
The European hamster, also known as the common hamster, the Eurasian hamster, or the black-bellied hamster, is a critically endangered species of hamster native to grassland areas of Eurasia, from Belgium to Russia.
While you might not imagine such a common domestic animal to be critically endangered, this rodent is severely threatened by pollution, climate change, agricultural expansion, and habitat loss. Because of this, countries such as France have started breeding programs, and release about 500 individuals into the wild per year.
10. Common minke whale
- Name: Common minke whale
- Scientific name: Balaenoptera acutorostrata
- Conservation status:
While we haven’t talked about it yet, Georgia does have marine life, since it has a stunning coastline of 310 km / 193 mi.
The common minke whale, also known as the northern minke whale, is a species of minke whale within the baleen whales suborder. It is the smallest species of the rorquals and used to be ignored by whalers due to its small size. However, at the turn of the 20th century, it began to be seriously exploited, and it is still now a primary target.
11. Harbor porpoise
- Name: Harbor porpoise
- Scientific name: Phocoena phocoena
- Conservation status:
The harbor porpoise is one of eight species of porpoises in the world, and one of the smallest species of cetacean. It is the most familiar porpoise, as it always stays near coastal areas and river estuaries, which is where it gets its name from.
Sadly, this proximity is a huge threat to the harbor porpoise: staying so close to humans is synonymous with hunting, fishing accidents, and pollution, among other threats.
12. European jackal
- Name: European jackal
- Scientific name: Canis aureus moreoticus
- Conservation status:
The European jackal is a subspecies of the golden jackal native to the Caucasus mountain range, Anatolia, and southeastern Europe. While it used to only live in southeastern Europe, some populations also exist in Italy, northeastern Europe, and even western Europe. The main reason for that is the decline of the gray wolf’s range, allowing the European jackal to thrive and colonize more and more areas.
The largest European jackal population is located in Bulgaria, and its range has grown by 33 times over the course of 25 years!
13. Raccoon
- Name: Raccoon
- Scientific name: Procyon lotor
- Conservation status:
The raccoon, formally known as the common raccoon, is a species of mammal native to North America. It is the largest member of its family and has a characteristic black mask on its face. It is renowned for its intelligence and its opportunism: this animal is nocturnal and omnivorous, feeds on invertebrates, plants, and vertebrates, and is very close to humans, as it can easily be seen looking for food in garbage bins.
This species was introduced to other parts of the world throughout the 20th century.
14. Caucasian badger
- Name: Caucasian badger
- Scientific name: Meles canescens
- Conservation status:
The Caucasian badger, also known as the Southwest Asian badger, is a species of badger native to western Asia and several islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Compared to the European badger, this species is smaller, and it has a similar facial mask.
This badger species can be found from Anatolia to the Caucasus Mountains, and even in areas, it shares with the European badger such as Afghanistan.
15. Goitered gazelle
- Name: Goitered gazelle
- Scientific name: Gazella subgutturosa
- Conservation status:
You might not expect gazelles outside of Africa, but you will find the goitered gazelle, also known as the black-tailed gazelle, in Georgia. In fact, it can also be found in Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, among other countries.
Its scientific name means “full below the throat”, and is a reference to the enlargement of the neck and throat of males during the mating season. It lives on limestone plateau and gravel plains in large herds, and it used to be captured and killed with desert kites about 6,000 years ago.
16. Wild boar
- Name: Wild boar
- Scientific name: Sus scrofa
- Conservation status:
The wild boar, also known as the wild swine, the common wild pig, or the Eurasian wild pig, is a species of suid native to most of Eurasia and North Africa, and one of the most common animals there. As a matter of fact, it is one of the widest-ranging mammals on the planet, and a highly adaptable omnivorous species that will feed on anything it can, and lives in almost any habitat.
17. Chamois
- Name: Chamois
- Scientific name: Rupicapra rupicapra
- Conservation status:
The chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to European mountains, such as the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Apennines as well as the Caucasus. It has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand, and it is sometimes strictly protected depending on the area.
It is a popular game animal with tasty meat, and that can easily be hunted if the hunter is stalking from above: the chamois is known to look for danger coming from below!
18. Short-beaked common dolphin
- Name: Short-beaked common dolphin
- Scientific name: Delphinus delphis
- Conservation status:
The short-beaked common dolphin, informally known as the common dolphin, is the most abundant cetacean species in the world, with numbers that go well into the millions, in almost any temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters in the world.
While it is rarely hunted, it is used as shark bait in Peru, but the biggest threat to the short-beaked common dolphin is definitely fishing practices: while tuna is the target, thousands of dolphins were caught in fishing nets.
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So there you have them, these were my 18 animals that live in Georgia. I hope you enjoyed this list and that you learned something new today.
In case you want to learn more about animals in the country, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:
Endangered Animals in Georgia
This is definitely the saddest part of the list, but it is very important to raise awareness. Because of this, let’s go through the list of endangered animals in Georgia.
Here are the animals in danger of extinction in Georgia.
- None
- Sociable lapwing
- Ship sturgeon
- Common hamster
- European mink
- European eel
- and 5 more…
- Mediterranean monk seal
- Steppe eagle
- Kazbeg birch mouse
- Saker falcon
- White-headed duck
- and 4 more…
To see the full list of endangered species in Georgia, head over to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
What is the National Animal of Georgia?
The national animal of Georgia is the wolf.
Though it was not claimed officially, the wolf is probably what best represents the country of Georgia. It is a powerful pack hunter that symbolizes freedom and pride. It is also a prominent figure in European folklore and literature, and it goes way back in Georgian history.
How Many Animals Native to Georgia?
What is the diversity of native animals in Georgia?
Let’s look at the total number of species of Chordata (mammals, birds, fishes, and reptiles).
Total number of animal species in Georgia: 643 (5,029 in total in West and Central Asia)
More About Animals in the World!
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