Island Vibes: Your Monthly Malta Fix
Here are some of the animals that can be found in Malta.
The Maltese Wall Lizard as the name suggests, is native to Malta and commonly found in rocky areas, walls, and rubble filled spaces, and can often be seen scurrying across pavements.
The painted frog is a small amphibian species found in a few isolated locations in Malta. It is characterised by its vibrant colouration and warty skin.
The Maltese Pygmy Shrew is the smallest member of the shrew family and is native to Malta. It lives in various habitats, including woodlands and agricultural areas.
The North African Hedgehog is believed to have been introduced into Malta from Morocco, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria.
Snakes
There are four species of snake in Malta but I am deliberately not showing pictures of them as I am aware that some may have a fear of them.
The four species are the Western Whip Snake, which is the commonest snake in Malta and is 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) long. The Algerian Whip Snake is 1.1 metres (3.6 feet) long. The Leopard Snake is 1 metre (3.3 feet) long, and the Cat Snake, 0.49 metres (1.6 feet) long. The Algerian Whip Snake and the Cat Snake are found solely on the main island of Malta and are quite uncommon. They are both thought to have been brought over to Malta from North Africa along with timber consignments during the First World War.
The only species which is venomous is the Cat Snake, with poison fangs located at the back of the upper jaw. Upon catching its prey and weakening it by coiling itself around it, the Cat Snake bites the prey and waits for the venom to start working. Since the venom is weak (just strong enough to kill its prey, often small rats, mice or lizards) and because the fangs are located at the back of its mouth, this snake is not dangerous to humans.
Birds
Malta is an important stopover for migratory birds, especially during the spring and autumn. A variety of bird species can be seen, including European Bee-eaters, Blue Rock Thrushes, and numerous types of herons and waders.
Farm Animals
Sheep and goats are commonly raised in Malta for their meat, milk, and cheese production. These animals are well suited to the island's dry climate and rocky terrain.
While the number of cattle in Malta is relatively small, there are farms which raise dairy cows and beef cattle. Dairy farming in Malta primarily focuses on producing fresh milk and cheese and the cows are very similar to the Fresian breed.
Chicken farming is widespread, with both egg laying hens and broilers being raised on local farms.
Rabbit farming is also common, with rabbits being bred purely for their meat, as rabbit is the national dish of Malta.
MaltaPost
MaltaPost was established in 1998 as a public limited company and became the sole authorised provider of postal services in Malta.
Like many other countries, it offers a wide range of postal services to individuals and businesses.
A Maltese Postman
The Central Sorting Office is located in Marsa, near Valletta, which serves as the primary hub for sorting and processing mail and packages.
There are also regional sorting offices in Qormi, Birkirkara, Naxxar, Mosta, and St Paul's Bay. These sorting offices handle mail and packages specific to their respective areas and their adjoining villages/towns.
In Gozo, MaltaPost only has 1 main sorting office which is located in Xewkija, (pronounced Show Kia), which is a village in the central part of the island.
Unlike the UK which has a separate company for this, MaltaPost operates a network of post offices throughout Malta and Gozo. The post offices serve as collection points, retail outlets, and customer service centres, but are usually only open from 7.30am to 1pm Monday to Saturday. Unlike in the UK, if you have a package to pick up because you were out at the time of delivery, you have to go to the local Post Office to pick it up, rather than the sorting office.
MaltaPost handles international mail through its membership of the Universal Postal Union and partnerships with other postal operators worldwide.
The Malta Communications Authority is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing the postal sector in Malta. It ensures that MaltaPost adheres to relevant regulations and standards while providing postal services.
Some facts about the postal service in Malta
The cost of sending a letter to anywhere in Malta or Gozo is 0.37 cents (32p), and to the UK, €1.25 (£1.07p).
By law, Maltapost has a strict service obligation, which means that the company must provide an affordable service to each person in the country, no matter where they live or where they wish to send their mail.
To fulfil this obligation, Maltapost deploys nearly 800 personnel six days a week to collect mail from about 600 letter boxes around the country. The EU Postal Services Directive determines postal affordability by calculating how long a worker must work to earn enough cash to afford to post a letter.
On average, a worker in Europe has to work 4.24 minutes to be able to afford a letter, but a worker in Malta only has to work for 1.38 minutes before they are able to afford it.
For overseas mail, Maltapost must not only collect letters from local post boxes, process them, screen them for security purposes and send them to the airport, but it must also pay the bulk of the tariff to the postal company in the other country, to deliver the mail.
Malta International Airport
Situated in Luqa, the airport has one terminal consisting of three floors. The check-in desks and Arrivals hall are located on the ground floor. The Departures hall which has a total of 18 boarding gates is on the first floor. There is also a free observation deck on the third floor (non airside), so if they wish, people can spend time watching aircraft landing and taking off.
Observation Deck
Like most airports, the terminal offers a range of facilities, including shops, duty-free outlets, restaurants, cafes, car rental services, currency exchange, ATMs, and free Wi-Fi access. There is also a pharmacy in the airport.
The airport has two runways. The main runway is 11,627 feet (2.2 miles) long, and the secondary runway is 7,798 feet (1.47 miles) long. In the picture, the main runway runs towards the top of the picture, (with the terminal building on the left centre), and the secondary runway intersects the main runway.
There are 28 aircraft parking stands and the airport flies to over 80 destinations. Some of the popular airlines flying to and from Malta include Air Malta, Ryanair, EasyJet, British Airways, Lufthansa, and Emirates.
Prior to the Covid 19 pandemic, the airport handled over 7 million passengers annually, and by the end of 2022, figures had begun to rise again and had reached 5.8 million.
Malta is now starting to get very busy with the arrival of tourists. The airport is currently handling 90 flights a day which is the equivalent of one aircraft landing or taking off roughly every 15 minutes.
If you have an interest in aircraft, the regular visitors to the airport are the Boeing 737 and the Airbus 220, 320 and 321, along with various private jets and chartered aircraft. Less regular visitors are Boeing 747’s (freight) and Boeing 777’s.
Coming Soon……
A new feature which I am calling ‘The A to Z of Malta’, which will give details of the major towns and villages on the islands of Malta and Gozo.