Croatia

Bioterra

Elusive lynx, foraging bears and wandering wolf packs...

Bioterra are studying wildlife in Croatia's beautiful, immersive wilderness.

Bioterra is an NGO run by a group of researchers who monitor and study grey wolves, eurasian lynx, brown bears, European wildcats and other mammals that live in Croatia’s rugged Velebit Mountains and stunning Biokovo Nature Park.

A major part of Bioterra’s work involves the use of trail cameras in Croatia’s remote wilderness. Trail cameras have enabled the team to run a range of studies; their work to date includes assessing and tracking wolf packs, revealing the range expansion of golden jackals and studying the effectiveness of wildlife crossings for European wildcats.

Who's involved

Assessing the Status of Keystone Carnivores

Working in partnership with Northern Velebit National Park and Nature Park Biokovo, Bioterra are able to combine expertise to run monitoring and research projects that inform the conservation of Croatian wildlife. 

Wolves and lynx have been a primary focus of the teams’ work due to limited information on the status of these important carnivores for Croatia’s ecosystems. Research conducted by the team supports conservation policies and strategies with robust data.

Pack or packs?

When we started working with Bioterra and Northern Velebit National Park, they knew they had wolves - but they didn't know if it was one pack, or more.

The trail cameras provided by NatureSpy meant they could see from the timestamps on images that there was a pack in one area, then at a similar time on a camera many kilometres away, another pack - so two packs, conclusively.

How NatureSpy Are Supporting

Trail cameras enable the Bioterra team to monitor wildlife across vast landscapes, from key locations on wildlife crossings, to the peaks of the Velebit mountain range.

NatureSpy has donated over 40 trail cameras to support Bioterra’s work, including wireless trail cameras that transmit footage in real time. Our staff have spent time in the field with the Bioterra team, assisting with trail camera setups, as well as providing ongoing technical and maintenance support.

THE KIT WE USE

Browning Trail Cameras

Due to the weather, many places in the project areas don't have trees big enough to strap cameras to - so they need to be strategically hidden in rock piles, like this Browning camera!

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Bushnell Trail Cameras

Along with Browning, we've used Bushnell cameras in a variety of circumstances. Including one where a large brown bear decided to eat it...

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Wireless Cameras

The rugged terrain means that wireless cameras are especially useful - sending images back to rangers, researchers and NatureSpy in real-time, without having to go into the mountains.

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