Wildlife of Lebanon
Lebanon is a small country on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean. It has four main areas: the narrow coastal plain, the tall Mount Lebanon range, the Beqaa Valley between the mountains, and the Anti-Lebanon mountains to the east. The climate is Mediterranean—hot, humid summers on the coast and cooler, wetter winters inland, with snow in the mountains.
Lebanon offers many habitats for wildlife, including mountains, valleys, marshes, wetlands, and the sea. The coast has bays, sandy beaches, and salt marshes, but pollution and development threaten coastal wildlife. The mountains are home to forests with pine, oak, fir, beech, cypress, and juniper. The cedar of Lebanon, grown in the mountains, is the national symbol and has been heavily used for timber in the past.
The Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve protects a large cedar forest and a variety of plants and animals. Lebanon has worked on reforestation to reduce erosion and restore forests, including planting cedars, oaks, maples, and junipers.
Wildlife in Lebanon includes many rare and faded big mammals because of hunting and habitat loss. The striped hyena is the national animal, though it is shy and mainly nocturnal. Red foxes and golden jackals are common in forests and near villages. In the mountains you can find Nubian ibex and roe deer. The gray wolf lives in some forests, while the Syrian brown bear is considered extinct in the country, with only rare possible sightings in recent years. Wild boars roam the Beqaa Valley.
Other mammals include wildcats, jackals, mongooses, badgers, otters, and many rodents. Reptiles and amphibians are present in the region, and a small number of plants are unique to Lebanon, such as the endangered Lebanon violet found in rocky areas. The Beqaa Valley is also home to the country’s endemic fish, Pseudophoxinus libani, in Lake Yammoune.
Important bird and wildlife sites include the Aammiq Wetland, the country’s largest wetland, which hosts hundreds of bird species and is important for migratory birds. The nearby Shouf Mountains host species like the Syrian serin, horned owl, chukar partridge, and long-legged buzzard. The Palm Islands Nature Reserve is a group of small offshore islands that’s an Important Bird Area and a stopover for migratory water birds; it also supports breeding sea turtles and, occasionally, the endangered Mediterranean monk seal.
Overall, Lebanon still has diverse wildlife, but faces threats from habitat loss, pollution, overgrazing, and hunting. Conservation efforts, including forest restoration and the protection of reserves and wetlands, aim to safeguard the country’s natural heritage.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:41 (CET).