The animals of Srebarna Reserve are presented of 1000 invertebrate and 318 vertebrate species.

The fish fauna of the Srebarna Lake is represented mainly by Danubian species. This is due to the close disposition of the lake with the Danube. In the last 40-50 years, the fish fauna has been changing depending on the state of the connection between the river and the lake. First data about the ichthyofauna of the Danubian lakes and marshes, including the Srebarna Lake, were given by KOVATCHEV (1923), MOROV (1931) and DRENSKY (1951). More detailed studies on the ichthyofauna of Srebarna were carried out by BULGURKOV (1958). In the Srebarna Biosphere Reserve, 23 fish species (or 18,1% from the Bulgarian freshwater fish fauna) were established.

In Srebarna Reserve, there are 12 species of amphibians and 15 species of reptiles.

The birds of the Srebarna Biosphere Reserve are relatively well studied. The first scientific information about them belongs to the Austrian ornithologist Eduard Hodek, who has visited the lake in 1880 (HODEK, 1882). Most probably, this is the first scientific paper about the Srebarna Lake at all. Until the end of the 19th century, the Srebarna Lake has been visited often by foreign ornithologists and naturalists. After a pause of almost 50 years, the scientific interest resurrected, this time predominately by Bulgarian scientists and conservationists. The bibliography on the birds of the Srebarna Reserve includes 97 scientific papers, reports and other sources. The lack of information for the period 1919-1940 is obvious. The number of the bird species established at the Srebarna Lake and its vicinities is 230, or 57,5% from the Bulgarian ornithofauna (which consists of approximately 400 species). Nine species are globally threatened and three of them are presented in Srebarna with stable and unique populations: Pygmy Cormorant, Dalmatian Pelican and Ferruginous Duck.

Checklist of Birds

The diversity of the faunistic complex of mammals in the Srebarna Biosphere Reserve is determined by the presence of a lowland temperate lake with a buffer zone passing into arable lands with steppe and forest-steppe refugia. In Srebarna Reserve, there are 42 species of mammals.

Otter (Lutra lutra) and Muskrat (Ondatra zibetica):