Local Wildlife In Tuscany

Tuscany sits on the western coast of Italy and is a region rich in history and heritage, dotted with ancient buildings and sleepy farming communities among the lush and rolling countryside. The hot sun and long, warm days have encouraged a surprising diversity of wildlife to inhabit Tuscany. The more common and expected European animals include hare, deer and wild boar, but there are also scorpions and porcupines inhabiting the area. This makes for a rich and exciting tapestry for wildlife-loving tourists to spot and photograph.

Do you find Scorpions in Tuscany, Italy?

Yes - A holiday in Italy wouldn't be complete without meeting some of the local residents; however, perhaps the native scorpion population wasn't what you had in mind! Before you start jumping on the sofa, it's worth mentioning that the variety you'll find in Tuscany is pretty harmless. While a Tuscan scorpion can give you a nasty sting, it's been likened to the strength of a bee or wasp, so although this isn't pleasant, you won't find yourself in hospital.

Are the Scorpions in Tuscany dangerous?

The scorpions found in Italy and Tuscany are not venomous. They are black and small, rarely growing beyond 30mm in length, and if they do sting, the result is similar to that of a bee or wasp sting. Only people with allergies to insect stings need to take further precautions. If a scorpion is found inside a building, it simply needs to be trapped and removed.
In actual fact, there are about 1,400 species of scorpion in the world, and surprisingly, only 25 of these are fatal to humans, giving the rest a bad name. Thankfully, the species of scorpion you'll find in Europe aren't dangerous, although allergic reactions have been observed in some unlucky victims.

How can I prevent scorpions from coming into my villa?

As scorpions are nocturnal, you'll be lucky to see one during the day, although if you leave the door to your villa open overnight, they could venture inside. It's best to take sensible precautions by ensuring you eliminate their food sources, so make sure you buy a household pest spray to keep flies and spiders at bay. Shake out any clothes or bedding before getting inside, and don't walk around the villa barefoot.

What should I do if I am stung by a scorpion?

Scorpion attacks are relatively rare in Tuscany, but if the worst does happen, then it's important to know how to treat the sting.
First of all, be sure to clean the affected area with soap and water to rid the site of any dirt and bacteria. Elevate the affected limb and apply a cold compress to soothe the swelling. Finally, take some simple pain relief tablets, and within 30 minutes you should notice the pain beginning to subside. If you experience any further symptoms or a child is stung, it's best to be seen by a doctor to be on the safe side.

Visiting and Staying in Tuscany

Although you might encounter a scorpion on your trip to Tuscany, it certainly isn’t something that should put you off visiting this beautiful region. The wine, culture, food, landscape and other residents – human and animal kind – are just a few of the reasons for adding this dream destination to your holiday wish list.

For more reasons to visit, explore our Tuscany Travel Guide, full of the top things to do, places to eat and insider tips for making the most of your trip. Alternatively, if you are ready to start planning today, why not browse our collection of beautiful villas.

Wild Boar
Wild boar are numerous in Tuscany, and the best time and place to see them is at night near cultivated land. Boar love to feed on grapes in the vineyards. They are hunted between November and January, and boar meat is so popular that one dish - Pappardelle Cinghiale - is known as Tuscany's national dish.

The Tuscan wild boar – or 'cinghiale' – has the dubious double honour of being a local emblem and a local delicacy. It enjoys a measure of protection, particularly in the densely forested slopes of the Maremma and in other regional parks, but the snuffling and foraging which usefully aerates the woodland floor is less welcome in village gardens - or in Tuscany's famous vineyards. Tempted down from the hills by the scent of ripening grapes, wild boar can rip through rows of vines in minutes, causing damage counted in the millions.

Given the animal's reputation as a pest, few locals argue with the need for population control. The hunting season – between mid-September and late-January – remains part of the rural year, particularly for the older generation, and provides a prime ingredient for rich and sustaining recipes. When simmered, the lean meat lends a subtly gamey flavour to the sauce for pappardelle cinghiale: the closest thing Tuscany has to a national dish. Savouring it on a winter's day with a fine wine may demonstrate why many in the countryside are reluctant to abandon their tradition.

Fortunately, Tuscany's visitors tend to take a gentler interest in these creatures. Your best chance of spotting a wild boar is when driving along a winding country road at dusk. Look for a blackish-grey back, with a slight bristly ridge, hidden in the undergrowth; if the boar ventures out, you'll notice the distinctive, wedge-like silhouette, the animal's long snout and its surprisingly dainty trot. The young are more or less as Walt Disney would have drawn them: cute piglets with pale stripes running through their chocolate-brown fur. Be aware that their mothers may attack if they feel their family is threatened and in any case you should always treat wild boar with extreme caution.

Porcupines
Of all the creatures populating Tuscany, the porcupine can be the most aggressive. Its poor eyesight means it is prepared to attack first and ask questions later. Porcupines are mostly active at night, but if one is spotted during the day it should be left alone. Aggressive behaviour includes grunts, stamping feet and rattling the spines on its tail.

In a region with so many claims to fame, it’s highly unlikely that anyone has ever visited Tuscany for a porcupine-spotting holiday. But, in practice, that works out just fine. For bright-eyed visitors bristling with curiosity about the area’s wildlife, the sight of one of these quietly confident locals is an unexpected highlight. And as for the largely peace-loving ‘istrici’, they are happy to keep a low profile – if that’s the right phrase for a creature with a coat of white-tipped spines on its back. Safe from all but the most confident predators, they continue doing what they do best: roaming pine woods and farmland with typical rodent resourcefulness.

These quiet creatures are most active between sunset and the early hours of the morning, when acute hearing, sensitive paws and a finely developed sense of smell are more useful than sight, particularly in the burrows and undergrowth that they love. Calm and insouciant by nature, they tend to move at an amble rather than a scuttle; although if you happen to see them at their most impressive, flaring their quills in defence, it’s probably time to get back in the car…

Tuscany’s population of crested porcupines are the descendants of the first few pairs imported from Africa by the ancient Romans, who intended them as a food source. Nowadays, it’s the porcupines which do most of the eating, sometimes roaming over 10 kilometres from their lairs in search of windfall fruits as well as seeds and insects. Their fondness for roots and tubers, combined with an ability to tunnel under fences, infuriates the region’s gardeners, and although porcupines are less destructive than wild boar, they share a notorious appetite for Chianti – or at least the grapes.

Roe and Fallow Deer
Tuscany is home to both the small roe and larger fallow deer. The shy roe deer tends to hide in the forests, although cultivated crops can tempt it out to feed. In contrast, you’ll spot herds of the bolder fallow deer on open arable land. Both types are majestic creatures and watching them roaming free in the Tuscan countryside – running, jumping and swimming – is a truly memorable experience. Dusk is when deer venture out, making it the best time to view and photograph them.

The roe deer, known as the 'capriolo' in Italian, weighs around 35kg and it can be identified by its small tail, which is only 2cm-3cm in length. As the seasons change in Tuscany, its coat turns from red-brown to thick grey by the winter months. The bucks shed their antlers in November, and these regrow to their full length by May.

The fallow deer's Italian name is 'daino', and it weighs about 85kg. It has a distinctive long neck and slim head and a unique set of antlers – a close look reveals tiny spades on the end to help lift objects from the ground. These antlers are shed by May and re-grow during summer. The fallow deer’s coat is often spotted and comes in a variety of beautiful shades of brown.

Although both types of deer prefer to turn out at dusk, you are still likely to see females during daylight hours because their instinct is to protect their young at night. For the very best chance of spotting these graceful animals, look for a location that is rich in blueberries and mushrooms – ideal grazing for deer.

The Hare
One animal you are very likely to spot in Tuscany is the hare. It is much larger than the rabbit, its more numerous cousin, and one easy way to tell them apart is the hare’s bigger, black-tipped ears. The hare's fur is generally a shade between sand and brown, and white on their bellies, though this can vary; for example, hares in the far north of Italy turn white in winter to blend in with the snow.

This ability to camouflage itself is important for the hare because it spends a large part of each day lying still in the ground cover, hidden from predators. Its preferred territory is cultivated countryside or level ground within forests, where its incredible ability to turn in different directions at speed is put to good use when fleeing danger. The hare has longer legs than rabbits and more powerful forelegs. This enables it to make sudden changes of direction when running to throw off predators. This trait, known as telemarking, also helps identify hares from rabbits.

Also unlike rabbits, hares do not live beneath ground but in scrapes, small areas of hollowed-out earth where they can lie still. If you spot scrapes around your villa in Tuscany, it is a sure sign that hares are close by.

The best time to look for hares is during the evening and as night falls because they are most active during the hours of darkness, when they feed on plants and mate. Baby hares are called leverets and are born throughout the year. At birth, they are already quite self-sufficient; their eyes and ears are already open, unlike many mammals. By the time they reach the age of one, they are fully grown and independent.