The dramatic vertical topography of the country, ranging from 430 to 2600 meters elevation, entails the existence of a wide variety of fauna in a limited area. In such a small Alpine country, Alpine fauna is naturally the focus of attention. The Alpine fauna is still complete, so to speak. In addition to the four large species of red deer, chamois, ibex, and golden eagle, other members of the Nordic-Alpine group of animals native to the Alpine area include the snow hare and the Alpine ptarmigan. Both animals know how to skillfully adapt to their environment by taking on a white protective coloring during the winter. In addition to these species, Alpine fauna includes the widespread marmot, the northern bat, and among birds the black grouse, the three-toed woodpecker, the boreal owl, the Eurasian pygmy owl, the jackdaw, the wall creeper, the snow finch, the rock pipet, the Alpine accentor, and the citril finch.

Anyone hiking through the Alps in the rain has certainly already encountered the Alpine salamander. It is the only amphibian in Liechtenstein that bears its young live. The grass frog, common toad, and the Alpine newt are also common, but they are dependent on bodies of water where they can spawn and where their larvae can develop into adult animals. The only poisonous snake in Liechtenstein, the adder, also only lives in the Alpine area.

The Alpine area is rich in insects. The Alpine grass heath is the main habitat of the Liechtenstein butterfly, both in terms of extension as well as number of species (88). Among grasshoppers and crickets, the Siberian grasshopper can only be found in a few locations, the chirring cricket even only in the Schneeflucht area between Steg and Malbun at 1500 meters elevation.

Part of Liechtenstein’s Alpine
fauna: the marmot