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Wildlife
in Krakow
Closest thing to a wild animal most visitors approach
outside the Krakow
zoo are pigeons
the central Rynek
Glowny grand square
teems with. The pigeons live on
grain tourists feed them, the same
vendors selling the fodder
opposite the majestic basilica of the Virgin Mary’s.
Whereas residents of Krakow rather take care of white swans that
float alongside wild ducks on the Wisla (Vistula river) by embankment
near the Royal Castle
and the grateful birds
have even stopped migrating to warmer climes in
winter.
Beside
pigeons other birds common in Krakow are sparrows, crows,
jackdaws, tits, and magpies.
Wild
animals in Krakow
Open
fields, groves of trees, forests, and landscape parks
interlace in Krakow and its environs. Small wonder stray deer or
roe deer or even a wild boar - to say nothing of fox or weasel
- can be seen anywhere
on outskirts of the city. And martens often colonize attics of
old buildings even in the downtown.
Large
woodlands, the 27,000-acre Puszcza Niepolomicka,
stretch some 25 km east from the central Krakow. The
forest bison, zubr, reintroduced to the area in
1936, roam that remnant of Poland’s primeval
forests rich in fauna.
In
early November 2009 two wild boars roamed Krakow's central Old
Town and Kazimierz historical districts in broad daylight and
next they took refuge in an empty building undergoing
renovation. The tuskers were captured and transferred to the
woods when local residents alerted the police.
Nature
reserves of Krakow
At the same time there is a number
of wildlife preserves within the city limits,
though they have been established mostly for the
protection of endangered flora species. The best
known are the 6.5-hectares Skalki Panienskie, the 1.7-hectare Skalki Bielanskie, and the 1.4-hectare Skalki
Przegorzalskie reserves in the large, 1,020-acre
Las Wolski forest park adjoining Krakow’s
downtown from the west. Other Krakow's nature preserves
include the 37-hectares Skolczanka, the 34-hectares Skaly
Twardowskiego, the 19-hectares Skala Kmity, the 5-hectares
Podgorki, and the 2.3-hectares Bonarka.
There
are six Polish national parks within a
150-kilometers radius around Krakow. The nearest one, 21-square-kilometer
Ojcow National Park, stretches just 24 km
– or a 15 minutes’ drive – northwest from the center of
Krakow. The remaining five national parks of the Malopolska
province
are situated in the Carpathian Mountains south of
Krakow.
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Ojcow
National Park
With its mere 21.5 sq. km it may be the
smallest of Poland’s twenty national parks, but
the Ojcow National Park ranks among the most
attractive recreational areas in Europe, and it
is just a 15 minutes’ drive–i.e. 24
km–northwest of Krakow.
Polish national parks in
the Krakow region
Krakow's Parks
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