Press Digest 24th April 2007

NO NAPPING IN BEAR TERRITORY
EARLY BEAR ACTIVITY REPORTED IN ROMANIA

There have been many indications to suggest spring has arrived early this year, especially in Europe’s Brown Bear community, where some bears have stopped hibernating altogether, or at the very least cut short their winter slumbers. In Romania, home to Europe’s largest concentration, bears have been particularly active, much earlier than usual, making them far easier to spot. See for yourself by joining natural history specialist Wildlife Worldwide’s 4-day tour, tracking Brown Bears and Wolves in and around Piatra Craiului National Park in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains. Tours depart London daily now until September.

From Bucharest, travellers are met by their guide and cross the Carpathian Mountains to the tranquil small town of Zarnesti, close to the national park boundary. From a base at a comfortable family-run guesthouse, expertly guided forays are made into the wilds of Piatra Craiului National Park in search of the rich resident populations of large carnivores – estimates suggest 5,000 Brown Bears, 3,000 Wolves and around 1,500 Lynx. Piatra Craiului was the focus for the ‘Carpathian Large Carnivore Project’, an initiative to develop and implement a comprehensive conservation programme for large carnivores in Romania. Guided forest walks lead to specially-designed platform hides, purpose-built for Brown Bear viewing. Though wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed, statistically Piatra Craiului offers one of Europe’s best chances to view Brown Bears in the wild. Later, forest treks follow Wolf tracks, hoping for a glimpse of these wily and elusive canines, a combination of good luck, patience and expert guiding should provide sightings. Returning to Bucharest through the Transylvanian Carpathian’s, travellers call in for a quick bite at Castle Bran, a former country residence of Vlad the Impaler, AKA Count Dracula.

Tours cost from £895 p/p including scheduled flights, guesthouse accommodation, all meals, transfers and expertly guided wildlife viewing activities.