Animals of the Republic of Belarus

Белорусские земли называют “синеокой” Беларусью, краем лесов и голубых озер. В республике насчитывается около 10 тыс. озер. А леса раскинулись здесь почти на 7 млн га.

Both forests and lakes abound in the unique world of flora and fauna. The forest is home to a variety of animals, including rare ones. Nature and animals of the Republic of Belarus is its brand and national treasure.

Nature of Belarus

In most cases, species disappear due to the destruction of their usual habitats. The more resources are developed, the more important protected areas become.

In Belarus there are about 30% lands under different forms of protection. Besides the oldest in the country Berezinskiy biosphere reserve, 4 national parks, 85 biological reserves of state importance, several hundreds of republican and local nature monuments are organized. It is on these lands that the rarest species requiring close attention are preserved.

Berezinskiy Biosphere Reserve

Special conservation value have a special nature conservation value. This is the most numerous type of protected areas in the country. Each of them performs its specialized function.

Biological reserves preserve rare species, landscape reserves preserve natural complexes and ecosystems, hydrological reserves preserve lakes, swamps, unique river floodplains

The Berezina River's Upper Berezina: Saving Beavers

The Berezinsk biosphere reserve was organized in 1925. This is a native home for 80% animals included in the Red Book of Belarus. The total number of biological species living here exceeds 6 thousand. And this is far from being a complete list.

The park owes its birth to the beaver, which was on the verge of extinction a hundred years ago. The main task of the park in the first years of its creation was the preservation and breeding of game species, in particular river beavers.

Beavers of Belarus

Now there are tens of thousands of them in Belarus. And just 100 km from the capital you can observe the behavior of the rarest animals of Europe.

Here, as in no other national park, you can plunge into nature as soon as you set foot on the ground. The distinctive feature of these places is the aviaries where animals in a difficult situation are kept.

They are kept, fed and, if possible, released into the wild. Here you can meet a fox that was not accepted by the pack, a trapped recluse wolf, a wounded lynx, wild boars, roe deer. In the greenhouses pine seedlings are grown, which are then planted on the cut areas.

Berezinskiy Reserve

Pripyat and Polesye

In Belarus there are about 20 thousand rivers with the total length of more than 50 thousand km. But the Pripyat River deserves special attention, as it is the main waterway of the Polesie lowland. Its water gives strength to everything living in Polesie.

Pripyat National Park is located in the valley of the Pripyat River. It was created in 1996 on the basis of the reserve of the same name. The park has the status of a key ornithological station. Its floodplain forests were formed in conditions of constant flooding by floodwaters. In spring up to 70% of the area is under water. In total, there are more than 300 floodplain lakes.

Pripyat River

All the ecosystems typical of Polesie and rare in Europe are concentrated in the zone of the reserve: floodplain oak forests and meadows, swampy lowlands, numerous oxbows, lakes and rivers.

This is one of the most important migratory points of waterfowl. The Pripyat floodplain gives shelter to hundreds of thousands of feathered migrants - geese, ducks, sandpipers, swans. The great eagle owl and tiny pygmy owl, several species of woodpeckers, and the largest raptor, the white-tailed eagle, peacefully coexist here.

The preserve is very important for rare and endangered birds in Europe. White-eyed duck, sandpiper, black stork, Bean Goose and White-fronted Goose, Short-eared Owl. Among the waterlogged oak forests is one of Europe's largest colonies of shovelnose and lop-sided birds, as well as herons and cormorants nest there.

White-eyed duck dive

Poozerie and Yelnya

Each of the zakazniks has its own unique face. The differences between the northern and southern territories are particularly noticeable.

Northern Belarus - Poozero is a world of taiga dark-coniferous forests and glacial lakes, impassable bogs and rushing forest rivers. Upstream and downstream swamps, as well as floodplains, are the country's calling card.

Lakeland

In terms of diversity and degree of conservation, Belarusian bogs are a unique phenomenon for the whole of Europe. The area of individual bogs reaches 200 square kilometers. It is in the low-lying bogs that the amazing fidgety reed warbler lives.

The fidgety reed warbler

It is the only bird of the passerine family that is listed in the Red Book. It is in danger of global extinction. More than half of the world's population lives inside the country. In the Sporovsky Nature Preserve, records of singing male reed warblers are kept.

Yelnya hydrological landscape reserve is the largest raised bog. This piece of tundra landscape with dwarf birches is home to the northern inhabitants, listed in the Red Book. Among them are the Eurasian Golden Plover, Eurasian Curlew, and Falcon Falcon. On the outskirts of the reserve lives serpent eagle, predatory fisherman osprey.

Yelnya sanctuary

A reserved tune, a reserved distance...

Belovezhskaya Pushcha, one of the first protected areas on the planet, has already celebrated its 600th anniversary. The ancient forest of 1,500 square kilometers is truly limitless, hard to reach, and majestic.

This is an exceptional site for the richness of flora and fauna, which is home to 59 species of mammals, 258 families of birds, many fish, amphibians and reptiles. More than 15 thousand invertebrates have already been classified.

There are more than 3 thousand mushrooms, hundreds of mosses, lichens, thousands of varieties of higher plants. There are 26 species of trees alone.

The Republic has managed to preserve the wildlife of Belarus and its unique natural environment. Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the only natural massif with more than 1,000 centuries-old giants.

In 1992, the territory was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Although it received its status much earlier - in the 14th century. Now this forest area is a biosphere national park, a reference national park in Europe.

The forest has allowed many species to survive that have almost disappeared in other regions of the planet. For example, the Greater and Lesser Spotted Eagles, as well as the largest mammal, the European Bison.

The Greater Spotted Eagle is a raptor rapidly disappearing from the face of the Earth. It hunts in the swamps, and builds its nests in the virgin forest, in the crowns of very tall trees. It can live only away from civilization, so the forest is an ideal place for its existence. Half of all birds living in Europe are concentrated there.

1. Wolves

Another population found refuge in the Pushcha - the common wolves. Unrestrained hunting has led to their virtual extinction in Europe. There is currently a moratorium on shooting wolves in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. According to the winter registration, there are 5 families of wolves (not more than 30-40 individuals).

Since 2014, a project has been underway in the national park to study the ecology and behavior of the wolf under natural conditions. Based on the results of scientific research, scientists are trying to change the negative view of the predator that has been established for centuries.

2. Hoofed

The objects of study are also ungulates, because they are the most numerous large animals in the Pushcha. These include graceful roe deer, noble deer, wild boars, and long-legged elks. Deer inhabit almost everywhere. European roe deer are not numerous.

The European red deer has been on the extermination list since the 18th century. It was reintroduced from Germany in the mid-19th century. The barbaric extermination during wartime resulted in only a few dozen survivors.

Boars are the original inhabitants of these areas. They are unpretentious, omnivorous - they eat roots, nuts, acorns, berries, worms and beetle larvae. By loosening the soil, they destroy pests and thus perform a protective function for the vegetation cover.

Elk are large dwellers that require a significant amount of food. At the end of the nineteenth century, they migrated from Pushcha to the Pinsk marshes. Now they have returned and live mostly in the northern zone. In total, there are no more than 150 individuals.

3. Bobcats and Bears

This representative of the feline family lives in old spruce stands, remote lowland areas, and reedbeds. The species is included in the national Red Book. Not more than 30 of its representatives live on the vast area. Moorhen hares on the forest edges are the main food of the lynx.

The bears are more like occasional aliens in the Forest. Although there is hope that someday they will once again take up its land for their permanent residence.

4. Bisons

The bison are a true giant of European forest areas. Hunting during World War I led to their complete extinction. Fortunately, a few purebreds have survived in the zoos of Europe. Five bison were imported from Germany, Poland, and Sweden.

By the beginning of World War II, their number had been brought to two dozen. There are now about 460 of them. The forest cover provides protection and creates favorable living conditions for these cautious giants. The part of the forest where they live is strictly protected. Only scientists have access to it.

5. Other inhabitants

The broad-leaved forests of Pushcha are the richest in fauna. The marten, polecat, wood dormouse, woodpeckers, gray owl, finch, oriole, wood lark, blackbird, blackbird, ash bunting, spindlecock, woodpecker and many others have found their home here. The pride of Pushcha is the wood grouse. Its age as a species is about 100 thousand years. Another striking representative of the family is the black grouse.

Common Grouse

The raccoon dog appeared in the mid-1940s. It prefers deciduous and mixed undergrowth on the edges of bogs and rivers. The forest polecat and marten are also common, and weasels, ermines, and otters are found occasionally.

The amazing paradise has become home to the tiny yellow-headed kingfisher and graceful mute swans. Eagles, falcons, and hawks also feel great. The lakes also attract terns, snipe, siskins, and great spindles.

The Yellow-headed Kingfisher

There are many mallards, Teals, Tufted Blackbirds, and red-headed dives. Cautious whooper swans have also appeared not so long ago. Passerines are numerous and diverse, which settle in the country everywhere.

Wedge Swans

The list, which includes animals included in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus, includes more than 200 genera of animals, birds, fish, insects and mollusks. Among the endangered and rare are:

• the white grouse, the great bittern;
• golden eagle, peregrine falcon, gray crane;
• beetles, reed toad;
• mottled gopher, etc.

The wide-bellied crayfish, marsh turtle, bluegill, brook trout, and coho salmon are threatened with complete extinction.

Wide-bellied crayfish

The world of wildlife in Belarus lives a vibrant and diverse life. Thousands of living creatures deserve attention, careful attitude, study and protection. Dozens of international environmental projects have been implemented in Belarus in the last few years alone.

They are unique in their content and the amount of conservation of pristine areas. The forest not only preserves endangered species for future generations. It restores the delicate balance of our planet's unique world - its ecosystem.