Camera traps reveal Romania's incredible wildlife

JULY 8, 2019

by Olivia Bailey, Fauna & Flora International

Grey wolves, brown bears and Eurasian lynx have all been captured on film by camera traps in Romania. The camera traps were carefully positioned to monitor the distribution of bears and wolves, but Fauna & Flora International's (FFI) team in Romania was delighted by the diversity of species recorded in the area, which also included European wildcat, wild boar and red deer.

The presence of so many different animals highlights the importance of protecting the Zarand Landscape Corridor in Transylvania, which allows large carnivores to move between the Western and Southern Carpathian Mountains.

Sadly, this vital corridor is threatened by large-scale infrastructure development, intensified forestry practices and loss of traditional agriculture practices. For this reason, FFI and partner Zarand Association have been working together to improve connectivity between the two areas to protect the region's diverse and distinctive landscape and its wildlife.

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New species of insect discovered in Romania

Tuesday, September  4, 2018

                                                                                                                                                                       New 

Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-31 00:17:00|Editor: yan

BUCHAREST, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Romania has discovered a new insect species for the country's fauna -- the steppe weevil, the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR) announced on Thursday in a release.

According to SOR, the discovery was made in July, in a fauna monitoring activity in the Delta of Moldova by a biologist team of the bird conservation organization.

The new species, Leucomigus candidatus, is a species of beetle and was found and identified by biologist Alexandru Pintilioaie, who works as an entomologist in the European project implemented by SOR in the northeastern area.

Pintilioaie explained that it is a specie of beetle that does not stand out for ordinary people, since its maximum length is only 16 mm. However, it is a giant compared to other species of weevil that reach only two to three millimetres in length.

According to the SOR, the species lives in North Africa, Asia and Europe, where it can be found only in the steppe regions of the European part of Russia and Ukraine.

In Ukraine, it is a protected species included on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Since 2018, the species is part of Romania's fauna and the species is expected to be present in other similar habitats in the eastern, southeastern and southern parts of the country.

Source  

Wolves and bears to be slaughtered in Romania once again

14 September 2017

By Andy Coghlan

The hunting of bears and wolves is back on the agenda in Romania, less than a year after the government banned trophy hunting. Conservation groups have condemned the U-turn and are calling on the government to rescind the decision.

The move was announced on 5 September by Romania’s environment minister Graţiela Gavrilescu. It will allow up to 140 bears and 97 wolves to be killed “under supervision” by the end of 2017, if they’re deemed to be “nuisance animals” that threaten livestock on farms or frighten people by encroaching into inhabited areas.

But the conservation groups fear that the quotas will be used as an excuse to allow trophy hunting to resume. The government banned that in October 2016.

“It’s unclear if hunters will be allowed to keep the bodies, or sell body parts,” says Masha Kalinina of Humane Society International (HSI). She says the government has caved in to pressure from hunters, farmers and communities that feel threatened.

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Romania bans trophy hunting of brown bears, wolves, lynx and wild cats

Unexpected move reverses a trend that has seen increasing numbers of large carnivores shot by hunters each year since Romania’s accession to the European Union

 

Luke Dale-Harris

Wednesday 5 October 2016 16.08 BST Last modified on Thursday 6 October 2016 10.14 BST

Romania has banned all trophy hunting of brown bears, wolves, lynx and wild cats in a surprise decision that gives Europe’s largest population of large carnivores a reprieve from its most severe and immediate threat.

The move on Tuesday reverses a trend which has seen the number of large carnivores being shot by hunters grow year on year since Romania’s accession into the European Union in 2007. In 2016, the largest hunting quotas yet gave hunters the mandate to shoot 550 bears, 600 wolves and 500 big cats over 12 months. 

Over the last decade, hunting has grown into a multimillion-euro industry in Romania, with hunters from all over the world paying up to €10,000 (£8,800) to claim a ‘trophy’ – hunting parlance for the carcass of a hunted animal – from the Carpathian mountains. 

The government has claimed that in order to exist, the industry relies on a loophole in European law which allows for the culling of wild animals that have been proven to be a danger to humans. Under the habitats directive, all large carnivores are protected in European Union member states, yet the state can order the killing of specific animals if shown to have attacked a person or damaged private property.

“Hunting for money was already illegal, but it was given a green light anyway,” environment minster, Cristiana Pasca-Palmer, told the Guardian. ‘The damages [clause in the habitats directive] acted as a cover for trophy hunting.”

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Tiny baby bears rescued from forest in Romania

Head of UK Campaigns at World Animal Protection, Alyx Elliott, said: ‘Forest Rangers had found a bear den with the cubs which seemed to have been abandoned. They monitored the den for a few days and when there was no sign of the mother bear returning they knew they needed urgent care and decided to bring them to the AMP sanctuary. It is sadly probable that the mother bear had been shot and killed.

In the wild, mother bears can nurse their cubs for up to two years. Without her, these two babies will require special support and diligent monitoring if they are to survive. Luckily they’re now in the right place, which is why World Animal Protection has been funding the sanctuary for many years.

Many of the rescued bears at the Romanian sanctuary have been freed from zoos or other captive environments and they simply can’t be released into the wild. But, it is hoped that these beautiful cubs can one day return to their natural habitat.’

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Politician calls for military to help with Romanian bear population

Csaba Borboly, a senior politician from Transylvania, has called upon the military to help control Romania’s bear population, which he says is out of hand. He has also requested that culling quotas be raised following a series of incidents in which Brown Bears damaged property. 

Borboly has said that bears need to be considered as a natural disaster, comparing the problems they cause to floods and forest fires, and has called for the intervention of the police, paramilitary, and the army. 

His request comes shortly after a decision made in late September by the Romanian Government to raise the bear hunting quota to 550, which is up by two-thirds since the 2012 quota. 

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European Bison to Be Released into Wild

By Megan Gannon, News Editor | April 28, 2014 10:12am ET

Bison went extinct in Europe nearly 100 years ago, but conservationists are taking small steps to bring the animals back into the wild.

Seven female bison raised in captivity in the British Isles will be reintroduced to a forest in Romania, officials with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) announced.

The creatures arrived at Vanatori Neamt Nature Park, Romania, on April 25. They will spend the next several weeks in a large enclosure to get used to their new home before being released.

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Saving Romania's virgin forests

WWF seeks protection for remaining untouched woodland
November 2011: 250,000 hectares of virgin forests in Romania are in urgent need of protection, according to a new campaign launched by WWF. The campaign is seeking protection for more than 80 per cent of Romania 's virgin forests, which are currently under threat.

The Carpathian Mountains are home to a total of 322,000 hectares of virgin forests, with the vast majority being in Romania. Today virgin forests make up less than three per cent of total forest area in Romania .

Once lost they are lost for ever‘Saving all our forests and their unrivalled biodiversity is our mission, but the pinnacle of this mission is the protection of our virgin forests,' said Magor Csibi, country manager of WWF's Danube-Carpathian Programme in Romania. ‘We will never be able to rebuild this part of nature.

'Once lost, it is lost for ever. Considering that we are among the last European nations fortunate enough to have such a treasure, it is our moral obligation to preserve this piece of nature intact and to leave a small piece of wilderness to our children.'

Nature survives here in its purest stateVirgin or old growth forests are untouched by humans, the last places where nature survives in its purest state. Their scientific, educational and ecological value is undisputed. They are wonderful, complex systems where seedlings, young, mature and old trees are interspersed. Dead trees and decaying logs are just as important as the living trees, building up together an environment that is home for many different plants and animals. Romania 's virgin forests are home to up to 13,000 species.

Romania's virgin forests represent up to 65 per cent of the virgin forests still remaining in Europe, outside Russia. These forests have survived because of their inaccessibility and the low economic value of the wood coming from the old trees. However, today virgin forests are more vulnerable than ever because of socio-economic pressures in Romania .

Urgent action is neededThese include the ever-increasing demand for wood and the need to manage small patches of forests in a way that makes good business sense. To save virgin forests, total protection is needed. In a letter to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in Romania, WWF is asking for urgent measures for the effective protection of the country's remaining virgin forests.

‘We expect our initiative to be supported not only by people who wish for a sustainable future, but especially by the authorities who can decide whether to solve this problem or not. I believe that we can obtain 100 per cent protection of our virgin forests,' said Csibi.

FOSSIL DRAGON IN ROMANIA

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/aug/30/dragon-dinosaur-fossil-found-romania

Frightening new predator found in the homeland of the dragon
Fossil of balaur bondoc in Romania shows how the dinosaur would have terrorised other animals
• Caroline Davies
• guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 August 2010 20.00 BST

There's no evidence of wings or fire-breathing capability. But the powerfully built, meat-eating predator that terrorised Romania some 80m years ago is close to the mythological dragon.

Fossils found near the city of Sebes in central Romania have revealed a dinosaur with scythe-like claws for ripping apart prey which scientists have named balaur bondoc – "stocky dragon" in ancient Romanian.

Related to the velociraptor, which was brought to terrifying life in the film Jurassic Park, the dinosaur roamed the area when it was an island during the late Cretaceous period. At just 2.1 metres (7ft) long, it might have made a disappointing opponent for St George but would have preyed on small animals.

A partial skeleton of balaur bondoc, including leg, hip, vertebrae, arms, ribs and tail bones, has been unearthed from a former flood plain near Sebes.

Balaur had a stockier build than the velociraptor, its short legs and powerful muscles suggesting it was built for strength rather than speed. Its most unusual feature was having two oversized toe claws to the velociraptor's one.

"Balaur is a new breed of predatory dinosaur, very different from anything we have ever known," said Stephen Brusatte of Columbia University in New York, co-author of the research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Its anatomy shows it probably hunted in a different way than its less stocky relatives. Compared to the velociraptor, balaur was probably more of a kickboxer than a sprinter, and it might have been able to take down larger animals than itself, as many carnivores do today."

Scientists believe the lower limbs were used to grasp and disembowel prey.

Unlike the vampire, which entered the mythology of eastern Europe in the early 18th century, the dragon has been part of Romanian legend for many centuries. Its ubiquity in fairytales worldwide has been interpreted as evidence that it could have existed. Balaur the evil hydra, a popular creature in Romanian mythology, is similar to a dragon but differs from its newly discovered namesake in that it was large and had fins, feet and multiple serpent heads.

The Romanian link with dragons was perpetuated in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. The character Ron Weasley's brother Charlie worked at the world's largest dragon reservation in Romania.

As to the comparatively modest balaur bondoc, Josh Chamot of the National Science Foundation in Virginia said: "It's as large as anything you'd expect to find on one of the larger continents. Animals which were isolated from others on these islands were usually a lot smaller than their continental counterparts. This dino's size advantage, combined with the two claws it had on each foot to slice prey with, would have made it a very successful hunter."

Mark Norell, co-author of the study, called the discovery "thrilling". He said: "While we would expect that there were carnivorous animals in these faunas, finding one as unusual as balaur is thrilling and is testament to the unusual animals found on islands today and in the past.

"The finding indicates that this area of the world, despite its archipelago geography, had at least intermittent connections with the mainland up to the end of the cretaceous."