Velebit mountain chain, right on the Adriatic coast in Croatia, is one of the wildest areas of the whole Mediterranean. A region where wild nature is really coming back. It hosts two national parks, a biosphere reserve and several wonderful old-growth forests, deep canyons, ancient open lands and exciting wildlife like Balkan chamois, red deer, brown bear, wolf and lynx. Over the last decades, many local inhabitants have moved out of the area towards the coast. As a result, many areas of this beautiful region are now characterised by land abandonment, rural exodus and fading cultural tradition. Rewilding Europe is working with local partners to transform the challenges of rural abandonment into opportunities.

Thanks to ongoing rewilding efforts, the diverse wildlife of the Velebit Mountains in Croatia is making a gradual resurgence. With four hunting concessions, Rewilding Velebit controls wildlife management in an area of 22,500 hectares, forming a vital linkage for wildlife moving between the North Velebit and Paklenica National Parks. Here rewilding is offering a fresh approach to wildlife management and underpinning the development of a local nature-based economy. It promotes a more progressive vision for the region – one that works on a transition from traditional hunting practices to developing a wildlife-based economy where wildlife watching, photography and guiding become new drivers.

On the Lika Plains, a scenic grassland located in the foothills of Velebit Mountains, Rewilding Europe is working with local partner Rewilding Velebit to reintroduce wild and semi-wild grazers; the animals live in social herds without direct human management and are steadily moving toward self-sufficiency. The restoration of grazing on the Lika Plains is already changing the landscape, with the first signs of dynamic mosaic habitats now visible. The comeback of wild herbivores is also supporting the restoration of trophic cascades, as carnivores such as wolves, bears and lynx prey on them. The Lika Plains showcase the benefits of allowing natural processes to create wild, unmanaged landscapes. With part of the site visible from the highway connecting Zagreb with Croatia’s southern coast, the presence of large herbivores a positive synergy between ecological, business and tourism interests.