Wildlife

Van cats, loggerhead turtles, flamingos and wild horses

Flamingos in the Gediz Delta, near İzmir. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Turkey sits on the migration highways between Europe, Asia and Africa, and its wildlife is genuinely wild: loggerhead turtles nesting on Mediterranean beaches, flamingo colonies in the Aegean deltas, the odd-eyed cats of Van, and free-roaming yılkı horses on the Cappadocian steppe.

The best encounters are seasonal: turtles nest from May to September, flamingos peak in spring, and the Bosphorus raptor migration runs through September and October.

A Van cat (Van kedisi), the odd-eyed cat of Lake Van

Van catsEastern Anatolia · The odd-eyed cats of Van, at the university's Van Cat Research Center.

A rehabilitated loggerhead turtle released at İztuzu Beach, Dalyan

Loggerhead turtles at İztuzuMediterranean · Caretta caretta nesting beach and the DEKAMER rescue center at Dalyan.

Flamingos of the Gediz DeltaAegean · One of Europe's largest flamingo colonies, at the İzmir Bird Paradise.

Wild yılkı horses on the Erciyes foothills, Cappadocia

Wild yılkı horsesCentral Anatolia · Free-roaming horses on the Erciyes foothills above Cappadocia.

Mediterranean monk sealsAegean · The rare seals of Foça's Siren Rocks and the marine reserve.

Brown bears of the KaçkarsBlack Sea · Bears, wolves and chamois in the high forests.

Jersey tiger mothsMediterranean · The butterflies of Butterfly Valley, clustering by the waterfalls.

Raptor migration over the BosphorusMarmara · Honey buzzards and storks riding the thermals each autumn.

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