The natural grazing of the Lika Plains in Croatia got a boost last week with the arrival of a herd of Konik horses from Latvia. 45 horses, well adapted to harsh winter conditions and the presence of large predators, are already exploring their new habitat in one of Europe’s most spectacular landscapes.
Linden Tree Retreat & Ranch is the only genuine working guest ranch in Croatia, surrounded by 200,000 hectares of the UNESCO Velebit Nature Park. The ranch, located within the Velebit rewilding area, offers a range of equestrian adventures through the picturesque mountains, valleys and coastal landscapes of Velebit. In 2013, Rewilding Europe supported the expansion of Linden Tree through Rewilding Europe Capital. Now, two years later, Linden Tree received an Excellence Award by TripAdvisor and recognition from the world travel market. Find out more in this blog by Megi Yerkovich, one of the Linden Tree owners.
One year has passed since our family bee-keeping business, Guslice & Melnice honey, received a Rewilding Europe Capital (REC) loan. This loan was used to purchase new equipment, beekeeping containers, a device for collecting bee venom and for increasing our number of beehives. Continuing the family business with the support of Rewilding Europe turned out to be very important for us. We are both proud to be connected with this initiative and enthusiastic about the future and further development of our business.
Rewilding Europe is delighted to receive financial support from the Toyota Fund for Europe for working in the Southern Carpathians and Velebit rewilding areas.
On Tuesday 19th May, the release of a herd counting 23 Bosnian mountain horses marked the start of an exciting natural grazing pilot in 500 hectares of the spectacular Lika Plains in the Velebit rewilding area. Guests from Adessium Foundation, Rogier van der Weerd and Floris van Hest together with Frans Schepers, Managing Director of Rewilding Europe, jointly cut the Croatian coloured ribbon, symbolising the opening of the site and releasing the animals.
This May, a small team from the Croatian adventure travel company Adria Velebitica, a guest couple and Dutch bushcraft specialists from Extra Survival, joined Rewilding Europe for a Rewilding Tented Camp training programme in Velebit, Croatia.
More than 300 people living in the Velebit Mountains and coastal area were interviewed in November 2014, in order to obtain a clearer image of the local opinion on nature conservation, wildlife protection and development of nature-based tourism.
Only six days after the signature of a herd contract with two Croatian family farms, Rewilding Velebit brought in 22 Sayaguesa cattle from Spain to the vast abandoned plains in front of the Velebit Mountains. This means yet another breeding station for the Tauros Programme, which will greatly strengthen its effect.
Two bulls of the Spanish breed Sayaguesa were transported from The Netherlands in mid October, to become a part of the Tauros Breeding Program in the Velebit mountains, Croatia.
On the morning of September 29, a horse transport was made in cooperation with the International Association of Bosnian Mountain Horse breeders, for release in Malo Libinje, at Petar Knežević’s farm in the Velebit rewilding area. I accompanied the truck carrying this first group of five new Bosnian mountain horses.