For all its castles and caf\u00e9 culture, Europe is still gloriously wild. So to mark World Wildlife Day \u2013 March 3 \u2013 let\u2019s dive into the continent\u2019s natural side. Would you believe that in Europe wolves still dominate the forests, flamingos flock to France and dolphins pop up in capital cities? We\u2019ve found the best wildlife facts from across Europe, from feel-good conservation stories to quirky trivia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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For an animal once written out of Western Europe\u2019s storybooks, the wolf has made a remarkably calm return. After being exterminated in Germany<\/a> in the 19th century, the Gray wolf began naturally recolonizing from Poland<\/a> in the late 1990s. Today, established packs roam eastern and northern Germany<\/a>. Also in the west you\u2019ll find the Iberian wolf, where stable populations in rural Spain and Portugal<\/a> number around 2,000 to 2,700.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Each spring, thousands of Greater flamingo gather in the wetlands of the Camargue<\/a> in southern France \u2013 one of the species\u2019 most important Mediterranean breeding sites. These aren\u2019t ornamental birds but fully wild pink flamingos that move between France, Spain, Italy and North Africa in response to water levels and food availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFlamingos breed in southern France<\/h2>\n\n\n\n