Wolves and bears in the mountains, the stuff of fairy tales? No, it's everyday life in Romania, which has over 40 per cent of all Europe's bears, 30 per cent of its wolves, and a significant proportion of its lynxes. A visit to the Carpathian Large Carnivore Project was included in the itinerary of a Romanian mountain walking trip organised by Roving Romania and undertaken by Richard Tyler.

One of the aims of the project is the promotion of eco-tourism, to look for bears and wolves, to boost the Romanian tourist industry. Visits to the project allow visitors to learn more about wolves, bears and lynxes and help them appreciate the important place they have in the ecology of the Romanian mountains.

Wolves and bears in Romania

Richard Tyler recently enjoyed the striking beauty of the Romanian mountains as he travelled with Roving Romania who have set up hiking and walking holidays there. Here Richard, former Assistant Director at Hampshire Wildlife Trust, describes some of the most memorable moments of his trip.

Mountains loom out of the heavily wooded valleys as the horse and cart lumbers by. I am in the foothills of the Bucegi Mountains in the south east corner of the Carpathians. They lie 200km north of Bucharest and just around the corner from Bran Castle – dracula's supposed haunt. It is a remarkable, undiscovered area full of stunning views, brilliant mountain walking, and a reservoir for wildlife of international significance. As well as enjoying the scenery, I was in Romania to do some challenging mountain walking and meet some imaginative conservationists.

My struggles against the Romanian weather were nothing compared with the difficulties faced by environmental workers who are struggling to get conservation accepted in this poverty stricken country.

Mihai and Natalie, for instance, run the Centrul Ecologie de Montana at Moeciu de Sus. This is a hostel and field study centre, and one of the first Romanian facilities to receive a LIFE Nature grant from the EU. The grant means the team can carry out practical conservation work in the mountains – erosion control, mountain pine regeneration and meadow restoration.

The hills and mountains are remote and largely undisturbed – an ideal place for wolves and bears. In fact Romania has Europe's largest bear population – 5,5000 of them. A group of local people, German conservationists and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have jointly set up The Carpathian Large Carnivore Project near Zarnesti, to find out more about these animals and to protect them.

The Project has been doing some valuable work on eco-tourism – looking at how you can combine conservation work with visitor attractions, jobs and money for the local economy. It's an imaginative response to an environmental problem and one we might use here in the UK, even if we don't have any wolves or bears to attract our tourists.

Richard Tyler

"The overall goal of the programme (Carpathian Large Carnivore Project) is to establish a community-based conservation of large carnivores and their habitat in a model region in the southern Carpathians through an integrated management approach." [quote from the Carpathian Large Carnivore Project website]

Roving Romania walking and other tours in Romania

Romanian walking and hiking holidays for all abilities are organised by Roving Romania. Centre based holidays allow for the development of fitness during the holiday, and offer opportunities for more strenuous hikes and nights away trekking later on in the holiday. Other holidays challenge your fitness and include mountain ridge hikes in stunning scenery. Roving Romania also run 'Off the beaten Track Tours', mixing beautiful scenery with introductions to Romania culture and history in all its guises. Specialists at tailor made itineraries, Roving Romania can organise most things, and are committed to ecological and socially responsible tourism. Their UK contact and booking agent is Footloose Adventure Travel.

© travel-quest.co.uk

Links:
Roving Romania: http://www.roving-romania.co.uk
Footloose Adventure Travel: http://www.footlooseadventure.co.uk

For more information about the Carpathian Large Carnivore Project and ecology in Romania:
Carpathian Large Carnivore Project: http://www.clcp.ro
World Wildlife Fund, Carpathian Large Carnivore Project:
http://www.wwf.org.uk/researcher/focalregions/0000000060.asp
Centrul Ecologie de Montana: http://www.cem.ro