Poland

Poland

Preserved nature, immense forests and wetlands are the hidden treasure of Poland. Poland can be proud of its ecological corridor system – green belts that guarantee connectivity between animal habitats. This allows wild animals to migrate.
The Bialowieza Primeval Forest is home to the largest herds of European Bisons in Europe with a free-ranging population of 522 Wisents. The easiest way to find them is during winter, when they leave there tracks in the snow and gather in larger herds. The Białowieza National Park protects the last remaining fragment of Europe’s primeval forest and is therefore an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Red deer are widespread and common in Poland, but are most easily observed in the Borecka Forest and Bialowieza Primeval Forest. They are most exciting to watch in autumn, when the rut begins.
The Biebrza National Park is home to around 400 moose, which can be easily spotted in the Red Bog nature reserve. The marshes in the north-east of Poland are a real rarity in Europe, given its pristine wetlands, wilderness, and few or no human settlements. In addition, the Biebrza Marshes offer shelter to 700 butterfly species, 500 beetle species and 450 spider species. Once the Eurasian lynx was quite common in all of Europe. The most significant population of about 100 lynxes remained in the Carpathian Mountains. Although it is very hard to track wolves, you could be lucky to find some in Poland. It is estimated that around a thousand wolves live in Poland. The largest group of Polish wolves still inhabit the Carpathian Mountains.
Due to its picturesque landscapes the Narew Valley is often called ‘the Polish Amazon’. It is one of the few river valleys that allows floodplains. Valuable habitats are: oxbow lakes, bogs and swamp forests (marshes, swamps and peat bogs). Each year in spring when the Narew river overflows, the area is inaccessible to humans. This provides favorable conditions for bird nesting. There are over 200 species of birds here, including endangered ones. You can easily spot beavers and otters.
Poland offers a unique mixture of Middle and Northern European butterfly species and here occur healthy populations of some very rare and decreasing species like False Ringlet, Woodland Brown and Danube Clouded Yellow, Northern Chequered Skipper, Large Chequered Skipper, Violet Copper, Purple-edged Copper, Large Copper, Alcon Blue, Large Blue, Dusky Large Blue, Scarce Large Blue, Cranberry Blue, Pallas' Fritillary, Cranberry Fritillary, Bog Fritillary, Scarce Heath, Large Heath, Scarce Fritillary, Marsh Fritillary, Baltic Grayling, Rock Grayling, Poplar Admiral, Purple Emperor, Hungarian Glider, Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell, Camberwell Beauty, Moorland Clouded Yellow, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Pale Clouded Yellow, Mountain Green-veined White.