The terrestrial fauna
Tunisia is populated by 78 species of mammals, 28 of which are rare species and 7 protected or endangered species such as the Atlas lion (eradicated in 1927) and the cheetah. The country is known worldwide for the diversity of the reptile class. Among these, the lizard (whiptail) is hunted and killed to be sold stuffed to tourists or for its healing flesh. Tunisia has seen the disappearance of many species, such as elephants, cheetahs and lynxes. The wild animals (lions, panthers, leopards...) have been extinct for almost a century. The Tunisian Society for the Protection of Animals has established a conservation and breeding program for threatened species. We are currently trying to reintroduce some of them like mouflons and antelopes
In the desert, one can find lizards, rodents, snakes and scorpions, more difficult fennecs (desert foxes), and without any problem dromedaries. During the festival of Douz, the sloughi is honored. It is the "greyhound of the desert", smaller than the one of our countries, very popular for hunting small game to catch prey. Elegant and majestic, this short-haired greyhound is the only dog tolerated in Bedouin tents. Also called "desert sighthound", this fragile canid is one of the rarest breeds of sighthounds in the West. To the southwest of Bizerte (75 km north of Tunis in the Ichkeul National Park) one meets the water buffalo, the wild boar (found at the gates of the desert), the porcupine, the otter. In Djerba, there are mongooses, jackals, hyenas, reptiles, fennecs and dromedaries. In the national park of Chaâmbi live gazelles, mouflons, hyenas, eagles, vultures and falcons
Focus on the dromedary
The dromedary appeared in Tunisia around the 4th century AD, modifying the nomadic habits of the Berber tribes. Accustomed to the burning heat and the long meharees (hikes), it contributed by its endurance to promote the projects of conquest and trade of the populations. With a dromedary, nothing is lost. And everything is the object of a true respect that borders on worship: its hair, during the moult, provides the material necessary for the making of solid carpets and clothes; its milk, richer than that of cows and goats, is a prized food, while its excrements are endowed with powerful therapeutic virtues, in particular in case of snakebite. The proverbial sobriety of the dromedary allows him to stay up to 40 days without drinking. Its nostrils close when the wind rises, allowing this "vessel of the desert" to continue to walk without embarrassment when the simoun blows, and its feet, equipped with round pads, prevent it from getting stuck where the most modern 4x4 does not venture. This quadruped can travel 180 kilometers in a single day and fast for a week. On the other hand, when it drinks, the quantity absorbed can go up to a hundred liters, that is to say a sixth of its weight, 600 kilos! It can carry a load of 350 kg without batting an eyelid and lives about 40 years.
Aerial fauna
395 species of birds have been recorded in Tunisia, including extinct species. This fauna consists of sedentary species and winter migration when the birds join the wetlands. The Moussier's red-tail is the only endemic species in Tunisia. The country has many national parks where it is possible to observe the local fauna. Classified as a "biosphere reserve" in 1977 by Unesco, the Bou Hedma National Park, southwest of Sfax, is home to wading birds such as the bustard, whose meat is prized; the ostrich has also been introduced. In the national park of Ichkeul, many species of birds are counted in winter. In the marshes of the Gulf of Gabes flamingos, gulls and waders gather. Eagles and falcons also fly in the Tunisian sky; the Eleonora's falcon is found in particular in the archipelago of La Galite. On this small islet as well as on those of Zembra and Zembretta, many birds come to breed. Djerba is also a stopover for some migratory birds, such as pink flamingos.
The marine fauna
This fauna is little known, studies on this subject are lacking. However, Tunisian waters have an important population of invertebrates (mollusks, crustaceans, sponges, etc.). The vertebrate population that populates its waters is composed of mammals, although the seal-moon seems to have disappeared. The Gulf of Gabes is rich in marine birds and is home to some estuary sharks. Marine turtles are protected. There are also 59 species of cartilaginous fish and 227 of bony fish (out of 532 in the Mediterranean).
A flora adapted to the Tunisian subtropical climate
The presence of vegetation in Tunisia depends on its resistance to drought, especially during the summer, because the hot southern winds pose a serious threat to plants and trees. With their small rough leaves that limit evaporation, the cork oak, the holm oak or the wild olive tree resist. The Aleppo pine is also very resistant. It is the herbaceous plants that suffer: they wither and dry up. Between the Mediterranean Sahel and the Sahara, only esparto, a grass also called "spart", used in the manufacture of ropes, espadrilles or printing paper, and hemp, whose leaves are used for the manufacture of fabrics, resist. In the desert, perennial grasses penetrate the soil up to several meters to store moisture and resist the sirocco. The tamarisk allows the wind to pass through while providing shade, the bivouacs are usually near water points in areas where tamarisk grows, in the evening the dead wood is very useful to prepare the campfire. Date palms grow around the chotts el-Djérid, el-Fejej, el-Rharsa, thanks to underground water. Djerba and the peninsula of Zarzis escape the drought thanks to a Mediterranean crown. In summary, the Tunisian flora consists of orchids, trees (pines, thuja, prickly pears, cypress, juniper, Sodom apple tree, oak, poplars, tamarisk, olive tree, pistachio, date palm, oleander ...). The acacia is the only species of acacia native to Tunisia, a protected population in the National Park Bouhedma.
His majesty the palm tree
Here, the date palm is king. It is used in the island, as in the whole country, in a thousand ways. But if this tree is so precious, it is not thanks to its dates, of mediocre quality and abandoned to animals. It is its palms, its trunk and its sap that make its value. Its palms, once cut, are used in the fixed fisheries. They are also used to make traps, baskets, baskets, the famous petase, the Djerbian hat, and ropes. Its trunk becomes the main part of the frames of menzels. Once the fruit was removed, the date bunches were used to stuff mattresses. The heart of fresh palm, finally, is a dish of choice. But it is still the sap of this king tree, called lâghmi, which is the most appreciated by Djerbians. It is a refreshing drink, that some compare to pineapple juice. The harvest is done from April to October. For this, the king is stripped of his crown, his palms are removed and a circular gutter is dug on the remaining plant cone. The sap that drips from it is collected in a gargoyle hung on the tree for this purpose. The production is about 7 to 10 liters per day. This manipulation can unfortunately be fatal to the palm tree if all necessary precautions are not taken and especially if a young and robust specimen is not chosen. The Jebel leaves this meticulous work to the specialists, the men of the South. The palm tree is rented for 10 dinars a year. Generally renting several units, the harvester comes every day to raise the gargoulettes. In the morning, the freshly run-off sap is collected during the night and in the evening, the receptacle is reinstalled. You need to be physically fit to do this kind of work, where you have to climb from tree to tree all day long, using a rope, a ladder or simply your arms.
The necessary protection of the Tunisian biodiversity
Tunisia is an integral part of the Mediterranean space with multiple landscapes. A real culture of the environment was born, on which depends the well-being of current and future generations. If the countryside is affected by ecological problems only to a lesser extent, the outskirts of large cities, such as Tunis or Sfax, are very concerned by pollution, especially with a crisis of waste burial in Sfax that opposes the inhabitants to the State. The latter is therefore trying to harmonize environmental protection and economic development. The Ministry of the Environment and its agencies under supervision (the National Agency for Environmental Protection-Anpe, the National Office of Sanitation-Onas, the Agency for the Protection and Development of the Coastline-Apal, the International Center for Environmental Technologies Tunis-Citet, the National Agency for Waste Management-Anged, the National Bank of Genes-BNG) are now faced with new environmental emergencies following a slackening due to the crises of the last decade.
The priority issues are the fight against pollution and insect nuisance in the sebkhas, waste management with progressive recycling and revalorization, adaptation to climate change, a priority to sustainable development in all sectors
