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Return To ShopThe Wildlife of Bulgaria
Everywhere on Earth, nature is in danger mostly because of the actions or inaction of all of us. In the course of centuries different kind of wildlife species become extinct entirely and this is a great loss for all of us which cannot be compensated. In an effort to reduce the extinction of the threatened and rare representatives of the wildlife, every country defines protected areas, like the reserves or natural parks. The natural treasure of Bulgaria is preserved in 3 national parks, around 90 nature reserves, more than 500 protected areas and 11 nature parks. The relief and the excellent locality, make this country home for a great number of animals and plants. Here live nearly 110 species of mammals, more than 400 species of birds, 37 species of reptiles, around 30 species of amphibians, 214 species of butterflies and many more – which is pretty amazing, considering the small territory of Bulgaria.
There is a popular proverb in Bulgarian, which says that “If you are afraid of bears you shouldn’t go in the forest”. We can consider this proverb as advice because Bulgaria along with Sweden, Finland, Russia and Romania is one of few countries in Europe with substantial and stable population of brown bears.
According to unofficial data the Rilo – Rhodope massif and the Balkan Mountains are inhabited by nearly 700 specimen. The brown bear lives in woodlands. Although it looks clumsy, over short distances it can run at a speed of 45 km/h. It lives alone and very rarely in pairs. On the outside it looks kind, but it can very quickly fall into a rage. The mass of the adult bear is between 100 and 350 kg. Body length is 1.50 to 2.50 m. Their main food is vegetarian – berries and fruits – and collecting food takes a good amount of time in their everyday life – something between 6-7 hours a day. In Bulgaria, the brown bear is an endangered species and is placed under protection.
Photo: a Brown Bear in Rhodope Mountains, photo by http://balkani.org
If you are hiking in the highest parts of Central Balkan or Rila National Parks, it is possible to meet traces of the largest terrestrial predator in Bulgaria. Bears will usually find you before you find them and will do everything to avoid an unexpected collision as generally they are afraid of people. Despite that, some safety measures are not unnecessary: Take into consideration that when you move into a “bear” area, you need to talk, sing, whistle or tapped so the bear could hear you from at least 30 meters. If you move quietly, you may find yourself in the private space of the bear and startle it. If the animal feels increasingly threatened, it can go to you. Usually the largest damage is bruising, some scratches and of course the intense fear. The Bears do not like to feel “trapped.” If you’re blocking the only escape route, it might go towards you. Quickly hide behind a rock or a tree trunk and give it free space to pass. Make sure you make no reaction or movement, causing the bear to believe that the threat is over. So if you are in such a situation, just lie on your belly or into a ball, cover your neck with your hands and do not move until the animal withdraws!
As we speak about giant animals, we cannot omit the largest mammal in the Black Sea – the Mediterranean monk seal. The seal looks like a big and clumsy animal (with its length of 230 to 430 cm and weighing up to 400 kg) and it hardly moves on land, but the water is its kingdom. It is called “monk” because of the secretive and secluded way of life, today it is not only one of the rarest species on Earth, but also one of the most endangered. Most of its population disappears from the Bulgarian coast in the 80’s and as a whole from the Black Sea – in the mid-90’s. Since then individual animals are infrequently encountered on Bulgarian coasts and the last observation was around the Maslen Cape, near the town of Primorsko. The late sexual maturity, low numbers, the disappearance of habitats and man with his actions led this kind to disappear from the face of the Earth.
If you are a fan of ornithology, you’re in the right place. Located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Bulgaria is one of the best European destinations for bird watching, with its 114 IBAs. The country is crossed by two of the major migratory routes in Europe – Via Pontica and Via Aristotelis. Bulgaria has more than 400 bird species and that makes it one of the best places on the continent for bird watching. Here you can see more than half of the bird species typical for Europe as a whole – even species that can be found mostly in the desert and others which live too far up north. In order to protect the rare and unique birds, in Bulgaria are founded many different natural reserves, which makes a perfect environment for living and nesting. Around 14 of the globally threatened birds can be seen here, like the Egyptian Vulture (the fastest declining bird of prey in Europe, it lives mainly in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains), the Imperial Eagle (only 26 pairs remained from the most numerous birds of prey, nesting even in the Sofia plane, and now occurs almost exclusively in Sakar Mountains and Western Strandja Mountains), Dalmatian Pelican (nests only in the Srebarna Nature Reserve, wintering in the Burgas lakes and some dams in South Bulgaria) and many more.
The small territory of Bulgaria gives shelter to many more representatives of the wild flora and fauna. The rarest and unique ones are included in the Bulgarian Red Book of endangered species defining those, which need to be urgently protected. No matter what restrictions and measures are taken, the greatest responsibility lies upon the shoulders of all of us and we need to protect Nature and keep it intact for future generations.