The thick bark of the cork oak of the Mediterranean region protects the tree from fire.

The animals of the Mediterranean woodlands and shrublands, both vertebrates and invertebrates, are highly diverse. In addition to resident species, many migratory birds and some migratory insects spend the winter in Mediterranean woodland and shrubland climates, as do some human populations. The plants and animals of the Mediterranean woodlands have been derived from diverse evolutionary lineages. For example, in the Mediterranean woodlands and shrublands of North America, the native browsers, herbivores that feed on the buds, twigs, and bark of woody plants, are deer. Around the Mediterranean Sea, in addition to deer, there are wild sheep and goats. In southern Africa, the native browsers are small antelope, and in Australia, they are kangaroos.