It is therefore a surprise that the Presa Canario or "Canary holding type" dog has become the symbol of Gran Canaria even though it is not a native species of this island. The wide head, its strong aspect and its medium height come from the mixture of the Bardino Majorero and several breeds.

Apart from this, we can say that birds and reptiles are the most numerous species of the wildlife of Gran Canaria. Among the vertebrates we have the Canarian lizard -endemic of the island and whose abundance is overwhelming-, the Gran Canaria skink, Boettger's wall gecko and Osorio shrew.

Birds have the biggest representation in the Island's wildlife population: specifically, 48 species including the nesting birds of this island, with endemic birds such as great spotted woodpeckers, robins and the blue chaffinch, the latter in the pine forests of Pilancones-Inagua. The canary bird deserves a separate mention due to its symbolic establishment that relates it both to the Canary Islands and to Gran Canaria in particular. The interesting thing about this bird, with a great singing ability, is that it was bred through crossbreeding with other species, thus producing a great variety. Besides, the island is a resting place for many migrating birds.

Terrestrial invertebrates are noted by their abundance and they are classified within the arachnid, the orthopteron, the coleopteran, the lepidopterous, the mollusk and the worm families.

The marine fauna of Gran Canaria is very rich and diversified in species, and this peculiarity is a result of the environmental diversity and the geographical situation of the islands. One of the distinct features of the marine settlements of the waters of Gran Canaria is the coexistence of species such as sharks (smoothhounds, bulls and sharpnoses), pelagic species or turtles. Within the turtle family the Caretta Caretta species is conspicuously the most common of the five types of turtles represented in the coastal waters of Gran Canaria. These species coexist with rays, manta rays, stingrays and angel sharks, swordfishes, big tuna fish or coastal species such as white seabreams, parrot-fishes, goldlines, saddled seabreams, pompanoes, groupers, blacktail combers, John Dories or pollacks. The fangtooth moray stands out because of its peculiar brown colour with dark spots.
Within the mammals that are found in the waters of Gran Canaria are dolphins, little tunnies and whales.

The birds related to the sea are numerous if we include migrating birds and those that are only found on the coast, such as herons, curlews or dunlins. We can point out Cory's shearwater of the birds included in the marine and nesting species.