Native animal species in and around water As attractive as nature is above water, the animal and plant life below the surface is just as fascinating. To date, natural science has identified around 20,000 species of fish. Around 60 of these species live in our native waters. In addition, there are countless insects, amphibians, birds and mammals that spend a large part of their lives in or near water. And nowhere else is it easier to recognize the diverse, often almost miraculous adaptations of living creatures to the special conditions of their habitat than here. For example, the film provides an insight into the extremely sophisticated reproductive biology of the bitterling, shows how the mudminnow can survive for months 'in the dry', or how the arctic char were saved from extinction with the help of mud suckers.