more information on birdlife in Croatia see www.croatiabirding.com.
Invertebrates
Croatia has a vast number of invertebrates – over 15,000 land-dwelling invertebrates have been recorded, plus another 1800 or so freshwater invertebrates and over 5600 seawater invertebrates. Over 600 of them are endemic, with underground karst habitats being particularly rich in endemic species. Invertebrates are also the least studied group of Croatian animals, and several new species have been discovered in recent years – which suggests that there are many species which are as yet undiscovered.
The large and exotic Two-tailed pasha on the summit of Kom, Korčula (Walk 27)
Croatia has over 180 species of butterfly (compared to 56 in the UK), and many of them can be seen on the islands – including such exotic, localised species as the Scarce swallowtail (easily recognisable by the distinctive, very long protruding ‘tail’ at the back of each wing), Southern swallowtail (with shorter ‘tails’), Two-tailed pasha (a large, fast-flying dark butterfly with orange wingtips and two prongs or tails at the back of its wings, which can be spotted on some island hilltops) and endemic Dalmatian ringlet. Croatia also has 71 species of dragonfly and damselfly (compared to 38 species of dragonfly in the UK), and those on the islands include Small spreadwing, Small red damsel, Winter damselfly and several classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, such as Bladetail and Black pennant.
Winter damselfly on Dragodid, the headland north of Komiža, on the island of Vis (Walk 24)
The European garden spider (also known as Cross-web spider) is common, its web (as the name implies) frequently slung between trees and branches across hiking trails, although it is completely harmless (and, thankfully, larger individuals tend to have their webs above head height). The European black widow spider (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus), the bite of which can be extremely dangerous, is also found in Dalmatia, albeit highly localised and in very small numbers (for example, in some areas around Zadar). There are also numerous species of ant – some 35 species on the Kornati islands alone.
For more information on butterflies, including photos for identifying different species, see www.eurobutterflies.com (and the Lepidapp app www.lepidapp.co.uk), www.lepidoptera.pl and www.leps.it.
Fish and other marine life
The waters of the Croatian Adriatic are abundant in fish and other marine life, including several species found only in the eastern Adriatic. Nevertheless, overfishing has resulted in several of these species becoming quite rare or even threatened – including some, such as John Dory and monkfish, that appear on menus at most seafood restaurants. (The Marine Conservation Society publishes a handy booklet on which fish you might want to consider avoiding eating, which can be downloaded for free at www.fishonline.org.)
Bottlenose dolphins are a not uncommon sight on the Croatian Adriatic, which is also home to the critically endangered Green turtle, as well as the Loggerhead turtle, and there have been sightings of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal in Croatian waters.
The Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation (www.blue-world.org) runs several scientific, educational and conservation projects from the islands of Lošinj and Vis, including the Adriatic Dolphin Project. The Marine Education Centre at Veli Lošinj (opened in 2003) was the first marine education centre on the eastern Adriatic coast, and the Cres-Lošinj Marine Protected Area was the first such area for dolphins in the entire Mediterranean. They also run an ‘adopt a dolphin’ programme.
Plants
Croatia has over 8800 recorded plant species and some 4500 recorded species of fungi (the actual number in both cases is likely to be significantly higher), making it one of the richest areas of plant life in Europe in terms of species in relation to land area. The number of species on the Adriatic islands is particularly high (for example, there are 810 species of plant on the small island of Lastovo alone, between 700 and 800 on the Kornati islands, and around 1300 on the island of Cres), and the islands also have one of the highest proportions of endemic species in the country.
Wild sage on the trail to Kom, with Lastovo in the distance, Korčula (Walk 27)
Much of the vegetation on the islands consists of maquis – dense hardy shrubs and bushes, including the Strawberry tree (easily recognisable by its distinctive red, strawberry-like berries), Myrtle, and Prickly and Phoenecian juniper – and low evergreen trees, most characteristically Holm oak (also known as Holly oak) and Downy oak, interspersed with Oriental hornbeam, Manna ash and stands of Aleppo pine. Wild herbs such as rosemary, lavender, bay, sage and thyme grow in profusion, along with fennel and wild asparagus, augmented by olive trees (there are several different varieties), carob and fig.
Some of the islands have more extensive areas of forest – the most heavily forested islands on the Croatian Adriatic are Mljet, the western half of Rab, and Korčula. At the opposite extreme are islands such as the appropriately named Goli otok (meaning ‘naked island’) and Pag, where vegetation is extremely sparse. Rab is a good illustration of these extreme contrasts – the lower western half of the island, and in particular the Kalifron peninsula, is incredibly lush and green, while the higher eastern side of the island, and in particular the steep slopes above the east coast, is rocky and largely bare. The little that does grow there is bent double by the harsh northeast wind, the bura.
Alpine sea holly, near the summit of Obzova, Krk (Walk 1)
Plants on the islands include Alpine sea holly, Dubrovnik knapweed (also known as Star thistle, endemic to Croatia), Illyrian cottonthistle, Immortelle, Spanish broom, Spiny spurge, the so-called ‘Curry plant’, several species of bellflower and numerous species of orchid.
National parks and nature parks
Croatia has eight national parks (nacionalni park, usually abbreviated to the prefix NP) and 11 nature parks (park prirode, or PP). The islands are home to five of these:
Kornati Islands National Park (NP Kornati, www.kornati.hr)
Mljet National Park (NP Mljet, www.np-mljet.hr)
Brijuni Islands National Park (NP Brijuni, www.brijuni.hr)
Telašćica Nature Park (PP Telašćica, www.telascica.hr)
Lastovo Islands Nature Park (PP Lastovsko otočje, www.pp-lastovo.hr)
There are also many reserves and specially protected areas, including Dundo Forest Reserve (Kalifron
