More than a hundred people celebrated this Saturday (March 23rd) World Rewilding Day. The participants took part in a one-day hiking and wildlife watching event specially organized for the nature holiday.
This year for the venue of the event the team chose one of key rewilding areas Studen Kladenets. The visitors had the opportunity to learn more about the activities and work related to the wildlife restoration and comeback in the territory of the Eastern Rhodopes and about the extremely rich and diverse flora and fauna in the area.
Around the world, World Rewilding Day is celebrated on March 20, with participants from six continents engaging in multiple initiatives around the world to raise public awareness of the benefits of nature restoration. This year’s World Rewilding Day is ‘From Hope to Action’. The conservation holiday celebrates the restoration of wildlife and aims to demonstrate the positive influence and impact on the рest of the world.
This year, the rewilding celebration was attended by more than 50 youngsters from local eco-club “Our Earth is our Home, Photo Club “From Black to White” from Kardzhali, students and teachers from Veterinary Medicine and Faculty of Agriculture at Thrace University Stara Zagora, as well as wildlife lovers from all over the country especially for the event. The wildlife enthusiasts learned more about the unique flora and fauna in the area, the role of key and large herbivorous species that are making their comeback and their huge impact on the rewilding landscape and the biodiversity in the Eastern Rhodopes. Visitors saw some of the wild inhabitants of the area, among them a group of fallow deer, and learned a lot of interesting and detailed information about the wild inhabitants of the Studen Kladenets State University – bison, wild horses, vultures, red and fallow deer. Unfortunately, the group did not get to see one of the wild nature emblems of the area, the European bison, but they did find and see footprints, which is the largest mammal in Europe. The group had the opportunity to observe over 80 griffon vultures during feeding. The team expressed hope that visitors will become ambassadors of wildlife and still show interest and curiosity about the extremely rich biodiversity in the area and the mission of the Wilder Rhodope Foundation.
During the event, the team also presented the new tourism infrastructure, which will allow tourists and visitors to the Studen Kladenets area to learn more about the species restored in the last ten years in the area and some key animals and plants while enjoying the magnificent and impressive natural scenery.