Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wildlife
Many species of animal and bird have managed to find solace in Montenegro's hidden
nooks. Precisely because those nooks are so hidden you're unlikely to see any of the more
dramatic mammals.
Birdwatchers are more likely to have their tendencies gratified with plenty of rare wet-
land birds congregating around Lake Skadar and flashy birds of prey swooping over the
mountains. King of them all is the golden eagle. It has a wingspan of up to 240cm and can
sometimes supplement its rodent diet with lambs and small goats.
The big mammals (brown bear, grey wolves, Eurasian lynx) tend to keep their heads
down so as not to have them blown off. Brown bears like to hang out in the forests at alti-
tudes of 900m and higher. In 2000 there were estimated to be less than 130 remaining in
Montenegro, concentrated in the northern and eastern mountains. Despite the male bears
weighing up to 200kg, they pose little threat to humans unless they're protecting a cub or
are startled.
Likewise grey wolves don't pose much of a threat unless they're rabid or starving. They
too fancy forest living but may venture out into the meadows to make closer acquaintance
with the odd bit of livestock. For this reason there's still a price on their head in some
areas.
Look out for European otters going about their unspeakably cute business around Lake
Skadar and the Tara River. Badgers hang out in Durmitor and Biogradska Gora National
Parks. Balkan chamois join roe deer in Durmitor, while the latter also wander the Lovćen
and Bjelasica Mountains. Golden jackals are known to live around Bar and Ulcinj with
three packs spotted on Ada Bojana. Foxes, weasels, moles, groundhogs, hares, shrews,
bats, wild boar, red squirrels and dormice complete the diverse mammalian picture.
If you're wandering the remote trails you'll often catch sight of something reptilian
scurrying off the path. Montenegro has an impressive collection of lizards, newts, frogs,
turtles and snakes. The isolated glacial lakes of the karstic mountain ranges harbour spe-
cies such as the serdarski triton, a type of alpine newt that only exists in one small lake in
Durmitor. The European pond turtle is listed as near-threatened but can still be spotted in
both Lovćen and Lake Skadar National Parks.
Of more interest or concern to most visitors are the snakes. Commonly spotted and of-
ten mistaken for a snake is the harmless slow-worm (sometimes called blindworm), a
50cm-long brown legless lizard. Rather less harmless is the horned viper. Reaching up to
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