Turkey is one of the most biodiverse countries in Europe and the Middle East — a consequence of its geographical position at the intersection of three biogeographic regions, its range of habitats from sea level to 5,000-meter peaks, and its role as a critical corridor on the main migratory flyway between Europe and Africa. The country records over 400 bird species, more than 160 mammal species, and a marine fauna of considerable richness in both the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

The loggerhead sea turtle — caretta caretta — nests on beaches along the Mediterranean coast in larger numbers than almost anywhere else in the Mediterranean, with major nesting sites at Dalyan, Belek, and Side. The İztuzu Beach at Dalyan, where the Dalyan River meets the sea through a delta of exceptional ecological richness, is one of the most important caretta nesting beaches in the world and the subject of a conservation effort that has become a model for Mediterranean wildlife protection. Monk seals survive in the sea caves of the Aegean coast in small but stable numbers.

Inland, the Kızılırmak delta on the Black Sea coast is one of Turkey's most important wetland habitats, supporting flamingos, pelicans, and a diversity of wading birds that reflects the productivity of this environment. The forests of northeastern Turkey — among the most intact temperate forest ecosystems remaining in Europe — shelter brown bear, lynx, wolf, and the Caucasian black grouse. Whale and dolphin watching in the Strait of Gibraltar's eastern equivalent, the Turkish Straits, produces regular sightings of bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, and occasional cetaceans moving between the Mediterranean and Black Sea.