Rila National Park Vocational High School of Veterinary

Rila National Park Vocational High School of Veterinary Medicine “Prof. d-r George Pavlov”, Dobrich, Bulgaria

Rila National Park Ø Rila National Park ranks among the most significant of protected areas in Bulgaria and Europe. Its territory is an extremely diverse network of habitats, most of which have remained practically untouched by human activity and preserve diverse and wholly natural animal communities.

Rila National Park Flora and Fauna There are four plant zones in National park of "Rila" : beech, forest, prickly, sub -alpine. Wood, bush and grass vegetation participate in its composition. The forest vegetation is present mainly by the coniferous

Rila National Park Ø Rila National Park’s fauna is extremely rich, comprising 2, 934 species of invertebrate organisms and 178 species of vertebrates, most of which form numerous, healthy, and viable populations.

Rila National Park List of mammals in National park Rila There are 48 mammal species in National park Rila Ø Insectivores: Eastern European hedgehog Shrew Ø Bats: Bats Ø Lagomorphs: European rabbit Ø Rodents: Wild mice, Vole Water vole, Spermophilus citellus Ø Even-toed ungulates: Wild boar Roe deer, Red deer, Alpine ibex, Wild goat ØCarnivores Grey wolf Red fox Marten European pine marten Eurasian badger Least weasel European otter Brown bear Wild cat

wild boar grey wolf red fox alpine ibex hedgehog shrew pine martin Balkan chamois least weasel Five species of fish, 20 species of amphibians and reptiles, 48 species of mammals, and 99 species of birds represent the vertebrate fauna. Twentyfour of these vertebrate species are listed

alpine accentor imperial eagle small eagle cock of the woodhazel hens rock partridges Ø Rila National Park has some of the healthiest and most viable populations of predatory birds in Europe. The Park is also home to a group of birds characteristic of the high mountain zone: wall creeper, alpine chough, and alpine accentor, globally representing this region for the ornithofauna of the alpine biome.

Ø ‘This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. ’