Responsible Wildlife Watching

The chance of seeing wildlife is one of the most exciting things about visiting the pristine natural environments. Hardly anything can come close to that breathtaking feeling of observing a wild animal - a moment we will never forget.

Our destination, enriched with 2Parks, offers a great way to get back to nature and escape from modern-day hustle and bustle. Waiting to watch wildlife, patiently and quietly, gives us a perfect chance to clear our minds from all the 'noise' and stop the constant chatter and mental tapes that rule us.
Ego fills the natural silence in the mind with its constant chatter because the ego can not understand the depth and peace of silence - let's silence it!!

With hunting being such a long-standing tradition in our region, and with us bringing about a change, we would like to give our hunters a different perspective on wildlife, because wildlife viewing brings in so much more revenue to local communities than hunting.

For example, more people in the U.S. would rather watch wild animals than kill them. Preliminary findings of the 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation indicate wildlife watching was the most popular activity (86 million), followed by fishing (35.8 million) and hunting (11.5 million). This translates into 35 percent of Americans participating in wildlife watching, 14 percent fishing and 5 percent hunting. Link: National Survey 2016.pdf

The greatest threat to all wildlife on our planet is habitat loss, but with hunting humans have wiped out many animal predators and have provoked a systematic imbalance in nature. Let’s bring about change through knowledge!

Arrange your wildlife experience several days before:
Mr. Slavko Crnković, Željava, Republic of Croatia
Mr. Slavko is an experienced member of the local hunting club and a "connoisseur" of the area on the Croiatian side of the border.
tel: +385(0)99 452-7526;
e-mail: zoranccc@gmail.com

Some useful tips:
Treat the landscape and its inhabitants with respect! Approaching too closely threatens their survival, and causes increase in stress levels and consequently an unpredictable wildlife behavior. Watch for defensive warning signals and react accordingly by pulling back or leaving the area entirely. The best way to safely photograph wildlife is from observation area (hunting lookout tower) or a vehicle.

- stay on established trails;
- do not surround, crowd or follow an animal;
- do not stalk or pursue wildlife;
- never follow an animal into the bush;
- do not feed wildlife or simulate animal calls.

The following distances are good to know:
100 metres from bears;
30 metres from all other large species;
200 metres from fox or wolf dens.

Be patient, early, and quiet! Embrace your new wildlife experience!

Support responsible entrepreneurs and owners of local small tourism businesses that promote sustainable economic growth in the villages suffering depopulation and brain drain at worrying levels. Support the ones that work hard for the community to keep young people in the villages - accommodation providers, leisure activity providers, food service providers, sightseeing/tours providers, or adventure sports providers. Thank you!