Photo 1. Mr. Slaven Reljić of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine presents
the methods of tracking large carnivores in field conditions (Photo by
M. Randić)

“OPEN HOUSE DAY – ON THE LARGE CARNIVORES AND THE NATURAL ASSETS OF PRIMORSKO-GORANSKA COUNTY”

On 12 May 2010, Open House Day – On the Large Carnivores
and the Natural Assets of Primorsko-Goranska County” was held in
the Forest Park “Golubinjak” at Lokve under the organisation
of the State Institute for Nature Protection and the Public Institution
“Priroda”. Mr. Robert Abramović, head of the Forest Administration
Delnice and host of this year’s “Open House Day”, opened the
event with a welcome address, and he underlined the importance of such
projects in reinforcing cooperation among a variety of professions in
conserving natural assets, an activity in which foresters traditionally
are eager to participate.

Mrs. Sonja Šišić, head of the Public Institution “Priroda”,
reflected on the natural assets, protected areas and Ecological Network
areas in Primorsko-Goranska County, which the Institution manages. She
went on to point out the importance that the Information Point Kiosks
(set up in busy tourist locations in Primorsko-Goranska County) have in
providing better information to visitors and enhancing the co-existence
of residents and carnivores.

Mrs. Ana Štrebanac of the State Institute for Nature
Protection gave an interesting lecture on work carried out up to date
on the project of the conservation of large carnivores in Croatia. This
project will result in the elaboration of a Plan for managing the potential
NATURA 2000 area of Gorski Kotar, Lika, the Littoral and Northern Lika.
The aim of the Plan is to preserve the populations of large carnivores
that are important on a European scale.

The new Information Point Kiosks, providing information
on large carnivores, have been set up at four busy locations: the Forest
Park Golubinjak, the Important Landscape Kamičnik, the Mrkopalj Municipality
building and the Rupa Tourist Information Centre next to the border crossing
with Slovenia. Mr. Luka Katušić of the State Institute for Nature Protection
presented the educational contents of these kiosks on the example of the
kiosk in the Forest Park Golubinjak.

Mr. Slaven Reljić of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
ended “Open House Day” with a presentation of the methods of
tracking large carnivores in field conditions. He also demonstrated the
various aids used in capturing, marking and tracking live specimens in
the wild.