Nature

IN EUROPE, THERE EXISTS A WORLD WHERE RARE, ELUSIVE ANIMALS MAKE THEIR HOME AMIDST PRISTINE LANDSCAPES. THIS IS THE BALKANS -- NOTORIOUS FOR THE WARS THAT DEVASTATED SO MUCH OF ITS LAND, YET VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN FOR THE WILDERNESS THAT THRIVES THROUGHOUT. HERE, SHEER CLIFF WALLS AND ANCIENT TREES HAVE STOOD GUARD FOR CENTURIES, PROTECTING TREASURES WITHIN... KEEPING THEM SECRET IN A LAND TRULY FORGOTTEN BY TIME. THE WILD BALKANS. THICK FORESTS... VAST WETLANDS... DEEP CHASMS... THIS IS A WILD, INACCESSIBLE LAND WHICH BELONGS AS MUCH TO MYTH AS TO REALITY. THE BALKAN PENINSULA, WHERE REMNANTS OF THE PAST STILL WALK THE EARTH. HERE, TOLKIEN MIGHT HAVE PLACED HIS MIDDLE EARTH. THE JAGGED CONTOURS OF THE LAND HAVE THROWN LONG, DARK SHADOWS OVER THE HISTORY OF THE PENINSULA, ALWAYS IN THE MIDDLE, BETWEEN THE FORCES OF THE EAST AND WEST. THIS REGION HAS BEEN ONE OF THE GREAT BATTLEGROUNDS OF HISTORY -- SUBJUGATED BY ROME, INVADED AND PLUNDERED BY BARBARIANS, CONQUERED BY THE OTTOMANS -- A NO-MAN'S LAND BETWEEN THE CROSS AND THE CRESCENT, PILLAGED AND SACKED BY BOTH CHRISTIAN CRUSADERS AND THE ARMIES OF ISLAM. INTO THE 20th CENTURY, WAR WAS THE ONLY LAW THAT RULED THE BALKANS. ONLY IN THE LAST FEW YEARS DOES IT SEEM THAT PEACE MAY HAVE FINALLY COME TO EUROPE'S POWDER KEG... WHERE, THROUGHOUT ITS LONG AND BLOODY HISTORY, THE SMOKE AND FIRE OF WAR CONSPIRED TO CONCEAL THE NATURAL WONDERS HERE. THE LANDSCAPE IS STILL UNTOUCHED, AND THOUGH THERE ARE NO ORCS OR ELVES HERE, THERE ARE WILD ANIMALS THAT HAVE ALL BUT VANISHED FROM THE REST OF EUROPE. THIS IS A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY DEEP INTO THE HEART OF THE BALKANS, DEEP INTO THE HEART OF MIDDLE EARTH... TO THE LAST STRONGHOLD OF EUROPE'S VULTURES, TIKVES, IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA. EAST TO THE COLORFUL FIELDS OF BULGARIA'S DOBRUDZA. NORTHWARDS TO ROMANIA AND THE GREAT DELTA OF THE DANUBE, GUARDED BY A SEA OF MOSQUITOES. THEN UPSTREAM, PAST THE CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS, INTO CROATIA'S KOPACKI RIT WETLANDS, SOUTHWARDS TO THE DEEPLY CARVED CHASMS OF MONTENEGRO'S DURMITOR MOUNTAINS, AND ON TO SKADARSKO JEZERO, THE "BIG LAKE." THE NAMES ALMOST SOUND LIKE THOSE OF TOLKIEN'S MIDDLE EARTH, BUT THIS IS A LAND VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN BUT FOR ITS WARS, A LAND STILL UNTAMED BY PEOPLE. THE WILD BALKANS. THE BALKAN PENINSULA IS NAMED AFTER A MOUNTAIN RANGE IN BULGARIA. IT WAS ONCE THOUGHT THAT THESE MOUNTAINS CROSSED THE ENTIRE REGION, BUT THEY ARE JUST ONE OF MANY SMALL MOUNTAIN RANGES IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE. IN WINTER, THE SNOW-CAPPED BALKAN MOUNTAINS RESEMBLE THE ALPS, BUT HERE THE HIGHEST PEAK IS NO MORE THAN 8,000 FEET. DESPITE THEIR DEEP WINTER SNOW, THESE LOW MOUNTAINS ARE A FAR CRY FROM THOSE IMAGINARY PEAKS THAT TOLKIEN WROTE OF. THE WILDERNESS OF THE DURMITOR MASSIF SEEMS FAR CLOSER TO MIDDLE EARTH. EVEN THE NAME CONJURES UP IMAGES OF "THE LORD OF THE RINGS." DURMITOR LIES IN THE NORTH OF MONTENEGRO. THICK PRIMEVAL FORESTS CLING TO ITS MOUNTAIN SLOPES ABOVE SHEER ROCK FACES AND GORGES. IT'S SUCH REMOTE AND WILD COUNTRY THAT IT STILL REMAINS ALMOST INACCESSIBLE. NATURE NOT ONLY SURVIVES HERE, IT THRIVES. THIS IS A TRULY ANCIENT FOREST, POPULATED BY BLACK PINES, 160 FEET TALL, THAT HAVE STOOD FOR HALF A MILLENNIUM AND ARE THE LAST OF THEIR KIND IN EUROPE. CLOSING RANKS, THE TREES HAVE GUARDED CREATURES HERE SINCE BEFORE RECORDS WERE KEPT.

WOLVES HOWLING

WOLVES STILL ROAM THROUGHOUT THE DURMITOR MOUNTAINS, THEIR HOWLS, A PRIMAL CALL OF THE WILD.

WOLVES HOWLING

A PAIR OF HONEY BUZZARDS NEST ABOVE THEM. THEY USUALLY FEED ON THE LARVAE IN WASPS' NESTS, BUT GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY, THEY'LL TAKE OTHER PREY TOO, LIKE THIS FROG. NEXT TO THE BUZZARDS, A BLACK WOODPECKER HAS HOLLOWED OUT ITS NEST.

CHICKS CRYING

THE HONEY BUZZARDS HAVE ONLY HATCHED A SINGLE CHICK, BUT IT'S RAPACIOUS!

CHICKS CRYING

THE WOODPECKERS HAVE A LARGER, FAR NOISIER FAMILY TO FEED. THESE MOUNTAINS ARE ALSO HOME TO THE BROWN BEAR. IT'S LATE AUTUMN AND THIS BEAR IS PUTTING ON AS MUCH FAT AS POSSIBLE BEFORE FINDING A CAVE TO HIBERNATE IN, DURING THE HARSH WINTER. THE LYNX. SHY AND WARY, IT SILENTLY MOVES AND HUNTS IN THESE FORESTS. IT IS THE LARGEST OF EUROPE'S WILD CATS, AND ONE OF THE RAREST. ONLY 100 ARE SAID TO REMAIN IN THE BALKANS. THE GREAT BEAR HAS A NICKNAME -- "MEDVED," THE HONEY EATER. AND IT FITS, FOR ITS FAT BELLY IS ALMOST ENTIRELY THE RESULT OF HONEY PLUNDERED FROM MANY BEE HIVES. THE BEAR'S FOREST CLINGS PRECARIOUSLY TO THE STEEP MOUNTAIN SLOPES. THE GORGES AND CHASMS THAT CUT INTO THE DURMITOR MOUNTAINS ARE THE DEEPEST IN THE BALKANS. THERE ARE NO NATURAL ACCESS ROUTES DOWN INTO THEM, EVEN FOR BEARS. THESE DEEP GORGES REMAIN PRISTINE. THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL IS THE CANYON OF THE TARA RIVER, A SPECTACULAR EXAMPLE OF THE RAW POWER OF NATURE. ALMOST 10,000 FEET DEEP AND 50 MILES LONG, THE TARA CANYON IS THE DEEPEST AND LONGEST IN ALL OF EUROPE. BECAUSE THE FLOWING WATER IS TURQUOISE BLUE AND CRYSTAL CLEAR LIKE TEARDROPS, LOCAL PEOPLE HAVE NAMED THIS "EUROPE'S TEAR." ONLY DEFT SWIMMERS LIKE THE EUROPEAN OTTER ARE ABLE TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CANYON. ELSEWHERE IN EUROPE, OTTERS HAVE TURNED NOCTURNAL TO AVOID ENCOUNTERING PEOPLE. AN OTTER IN BRIGHT DAYLIGHT IS A SIGN OF HOW REMOTE AND UNDISTURBED THIS STRETCH OF THE TARA IS. BUT HE STILL HAS TO SWIM FOR ALL HE'S WORTH. THE RIVER IS TIGHTLY CHANNELED BY THE CANYON AND RUSHES THROUGH THE GORGE AT HIGH SPEED. SO FAR, ITS SHEER WALLS HAVE BEEN A NATURAL FORTRESS FOR THE GORGE AND ITS INHABITANTS, TOO GREAT A CHALLENGE FOR ALL DESIGNERS OF DAMS FOR HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATIONS. AND DURMITOR'S STATUS AS A NATIONAL PARK HAS GIVEN THE CANYON ADDED PROTECTION. PEOPLE NOW COME TO THE PARK TO WITNESS ITS WONDERS. HIKING PATHS ARE BEING CUT INTO THE CANYON, AND HOSTELS ARE BEING BUILT TO MAKE THIS UNIQUE NATURAL HERITAGE ACCESSIBLE TO LIMITED TOURISM. THE EUROPEAN OTTER IS IN ITS ELEMENT, A MASTER FISHERMAN AFTER ITS CATCH -- TYPICALLY RIVER TROUT. THE CLEAR MOUNTAIN WATER IS NOT RICH IN NUTRIENTS. BUT IT SUPPORTS JUST ENOUGH FISH TO SUSTAIN A SMALL POPULATION OF THESE HIGH OCTANE HUNTERS. THE GOAL OF THIS NATIONAL PARK IS TO COMBINE WILDERNESS WITH RESPONSIBLE ECO-TOURISM, AND IT IS HOPED THE RESULTS WILL BENEFIT THE ENTIRE SURROUNDING REGION OF MONTENEGRO. MORE THAN 3,000 FEET ABOVE THE TARA CANYON LIES AN ALMOST BARREN LANDSCAPE, A PERFECT SETTING FOR THE WANDERING HEROES OF "THE LORD OF THE RINGS." THIS IS A DESOLATE PLATEAU. IT COULD BE THE END OF THE WORLD. BLEAK, LONELY, AND SEEMINGLY DESERTED -- YET PEOPLE STILL LIVE HERE. FORGOTTEN BY TIME AND ISOLATED BY THEIR ENVIRONMENT, THEY REMAIN VERY MUCH A PART OF IT. REMARKABLY, IT'S A WORLD OF HARD WORK DONE BY WOMEN. MOST OF THE MEN LEFT LONG AGO IN SEARCH OF MORE PROFITABLE LABOR. STANA CEROVIC IS ONE OF THE INDOMITABLE SOULS WHO HAVE REMAINED WITH THE FARM AND THE ANIMALS AND THE DAILY STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE. EACH SUMMER, SHE HEADS UP TO THE HIGHLANDS WITH HER FIVE COWS AND PREPARES TO DEFEND THEM AND HERSELF AGAINST HER GREATEST FEAR... CENTURIES OF STORIES HAVE FED HER IMAGINATION, TURNING WOLVES INTO NIGHTMARES. WOLVES DO TAKE A RARE CALF FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT DESPITE LOCAL LEGENDS, THEY HAVE YET TO ATTACK A SINGLE HUMAN HERE. TO THE NORTH OF DURMITOR'S JAGGED AND SOLITARY PEAKS LIES A DIFFERENT WORLD. CLOSE TO WHERE THE DANUBE AND DRAVA RIVERS MEET IS KOPACKI RIT, IN EASTERN CROATIA. IF THIS WERE MIDDLE EARTH, THE FOREST ELVES WOULD FEEL COMPLETELY AT HOME. STRETCHING OUT ACROSS THE FLOODPLAINS, THIS IS ONE OF EUROPE'S MOST EXTENSIVE AND IMPORTANT WETLANDS. ONE OF THE LARGEST AND OLDEST RIVER FORESTS TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE ALONG THE DANUBE GROWS HERE. OVER 260 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BIRDS ARE ALSO FOUND HERE, SOME IN HUGE COLONIES. FOR ABOUT THREE MONTHS EVERY YEAR, LARGE PARTS OF THE FOREST ARE FLOODED BY SEASONALLY RISING WATER. THIS IS A GREAT CRESTED GREBE, WITH ITS RECENTLY HATCHED CHICK. LIFE JUST COULDN'T GET ANY BETTER. WHILE SITTING COMFORTABLY AND SECURELY ON THE BACK OF ONE PARENT, IT ACCEPTS A SMALL FISH FROM THE OTHER. BUT AGAINST ITS WISHES, THE CHICK HAS TO TAKE A SWIM NOW AND AGAIN. ALTHOUGH THE CHICK IS ABLE TO SWIM AND DIVE AS SOON AS IT HATCHES, A RIDE ON A PARENT'S BACK IS ALWAYS PREFERRED. BUT WHEN BOTH PARENTS ARE BUSY, THE CHICK MUST MAKE IT ON ITS OWN. ANOTHER FRESHLY CAUGHT FISH KEEPS IT HAPPY FOR A WHILE. BUT THAT'S IT, ENOUGH SWIMMING FOR ONE DAY! AT LAST, THE CHICK'S PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF. FOR THE MOMENT, KOPACKI RIT SEEMS LIKE A PARADISE. YET DANGER STILL LURKS, FOR NOT LONG AGO, THIS WAS A WAR ZONE. THE FRONT LINE IN THE 1991 CROATIAN WAR WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH THIS AREA. LARGE TRACTS OF THESE WETLANDS WERE RIDDLED WITH LAND MINES. MOST OF THE MINES HAVE NOW BEEN CLEARED, BUT SOME WERE NEVER FOUND. AND FLOODWATERS CAN SHIFT THOSE THAT REMAIN FROM PLACE TO PLACE. A ZONE DECLARED SAFE TODAY COULD BE A DEATH TRAP TOMORROW. THE KOPACKI RIT FORESTS WERE ONCE A HUNTING GROUND FOR AUSTRIA'S HAPSBURG DYNASTY, AND LATER FOR HIGH-RANKING YUGOSLAVIAN POLITICIANS. BUT SINCE THE MINES WERE LAID, HUNTERS HAVE STAYED OUT. IT'S AN IRONY OF WAR -- THE DANGER TO PEOPLE KEEPS OTHER CREATURES SAFE. PROTECTED BY THE UNDISCOVERED MINES, LIFE FLOURISHES HERE. THERE ARE OVER 40 SPECIES OF FISH IN THESE WETLANDS. THEIR ABUNDANCE HELPS MAINTAIN THE DENSEST POPULATION OF WHITE-TAILED EAGLES ANYWHERE IN THE BALKANS. FEW ANIMALS WOULD DARE TRY TO STEAL A WHITE-TAILED EAGLE'S CATCH -- BUT A WILD BOAR IS NOT JUST ANY ANIMAL. IF ANYONE IS BRAVE ENOUGH, OR FOOLISH ENOUGH, TO WANDER INTO THE KOPACKI RIT DESPITE THE RISK OF MINES, THEY'D BE WISE TO FOLLOW THE BOARS. THEIR SENSE OF SMELL IS SO WELL-DEVELOPED, THEY CAN FIND EVEN THE SMALLEST OF BURIED TRUFFLES. STEERING CLEAR OF STRANGE-SMELLING MINES IS NO PROBLEM AT ALL, AND IN FACT THE TRAILS AND CLEARINGS USED BY THE WILD BOARS ARE RELIABLY MINE-FREE.

BOAR SNORTS

BABY BOARS SCREECH

THE BOARS ARE ADEPT AT FINDING FOOD, BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE WATERS OF KOPACKI RIT DO ALL THE WORK FOR THEM. EACH YEAR, WHEN THE RIVERS RISE WITH THE SPRING RAINS, FISH FOLLOW THE WATERS INTO THE FLOODED MEADOWS TO SPAWN. AS THE WATERS RECEDE, THE FISH BECOME TRAPPED IN SMALL POOLS AND CHANNELS, UNABLE TO MAKE THEIR WAY BACK TO THE RIVER. A BANQUET OF CARP NOW WAITS IN THE MUDDY MEADOWS. IT'S AN UNUSUAL FEAST FOR WILD BOARS. THEY TYPICALLY ROOT FOR INSECT LARVAE, NUTS AND TUBERS. THEY HAVE NO WAY TO CATCH FRESH FISH FOR THEMSELVES. IT'S A BOUNTY THEY FIND VERY HARD TO SHARE.

BOAR SNORTS

TO THE SOUTH OF THE WETLANDS OF KOPACKI RIT ARE THE BARREN, WINDSWEPT TABLELANDS OF TIKVES. IN A TALE OF MIDDLE EARTH, IT WOULDN'T BE TOO MUCH OF A SURPRISE TO SEE A DRAGON EMERGE FROM BEHIND THESE HILLS. BUT THIS IS MACEDONIA, AND TIKVES IS NOW THE BALKAN'S LAST STRONGHOLD OF VULTURES. SITUATED NEAR THE BORDER BETWEEN MACEDONIA AND GREECE, THESE MOUNTAINOUS TABLELANDS ARE INHOSPITABLE, DESOLATE AND ALMOST UNINHABITED. CLOUDS MOVE OMINOUSLY ABOVE A LANDSCAPE THAT SEEMS TO STRETCH TO INFINITY, BLURRING THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY. FEW ANIMALS FIT THE IMAGE OF THIS BLEAK LANDSCAPE BETTER THAN THESE. GRIFFON VULTURES LIKE TO LIVE IN THESE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, WHERE THERMAL UPDRAFTS CAN CARRY THEM HIGH WITH LITTLE EFFORT. THEY RISE IN SMALL GROUPS UNTIL THEY REACH ABOUT 3,000 FEET, AND THEN THEY CIRCLE, SCANNING AN AREA OF PERHAPS A HUNDRED SQUARE MILES UNTIL THEY SPOT A CARCASS. GRIFFON VULTURES TYPICALLY LIVE IN LARGE BREEDING COLONIES, BUILDING THEIR NESTS ON STEEP ROCK FACES. ONCE WIDESPREAD THROUGHOUT THE BALKANS, THEIR NUMBERS HAVE DWINDLED IN THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS, AND ALL THAT REMAINS ARE A FEW BREEDING PAIRS. TOXIC BAITS ARE PARTLY TO BLAME, BUT GRIFFON VULTURES HAVE BEEN HIT HARDER BY THE GRADUAL DISAPPEARANCE OF LIVESTOCK. VULTURES ARE CARRION EATERS AND EACH BIRD NEEDS ABOUT A POUND OF MEAT EACH DAY, BUT NOW THERE ARE FEWER CARCASSES OF SHEEP, GOATS AND COWS TO RELY UPON. AND THERE IS COMPETITION FOR THE DWINDLING MEAT SUPPLY. EVEN IN FLIGHT, VULTURES ARE CONSTANTLY HARASSED BY RAVENS. THESE CUNNING BIRDS LEARNT LONG AGO THAT WHERE THE VULTURES SETTLE, THERE WILL ALSO BE SOMETHING IN IT FOR THEM. THE VULTURES HAVE SPOTTED A DEAD COW, BUT A GANG OF RAVENS IS ALREADY THERE. AS SOON AS THE VULTURES GET TO WORK ON THE CARCASS, THE RAVENS START PULLING AT THEIR TAILS. THIS MAY BE BAD TABLE MANNERS, BUT IT'S AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY ALL THE SAME. THEN, TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, A WOLF TURNS UP. THE VULTURES GIVE UP, BUT THE RAVENS ARE RELENTLESS.

WOLF SNARLS

RAVENS CROAKING

EVEN THE WOLF HAS TROUBLE GETTING RID OF THEM.

RAVENS SQUAWKING

VULTURE NUMBERS HAVE DROPPED TO ABOUT 70 BIRDS. THE GOVERNMENT OF MACEDONIA NOW FEEDS THE BIRDS ON A REGULAR BASIS, IN THE HOPE THAT THE POPULATION MAY RECOVER. IT'S HARD TO SAY WHICH OF TOLKIEN'S MYTHICAL PEOPLES WOULD HAVE SETTLED IN TIKVES. PERHAPS THE ORCS. CERTAINLY NOT THE RIVER ELVES. THEY WOULD BE SEEKING WATER AND SOLITUDE -- PERHAPS IN THIS MAZE OF CHANNELS NEAR THE ADRIATIC SEA TO THE WEST. THIS IS SKADARSKO JEZERO, OR "SKADAR LAKE." THE LAKE IS A REMARKABLE LANDSCAPE OF PEAKS AND WATER. ITS MANY ISLANDS MAKE IT LOOK MORE LIKE A VAST RIVER SYSTEM, BUT IT IS ACTUALLY THE LARGEST LAKE IN THE BALKANS, MEASURING ABOUT 30 MILES LONG AND 9 MILES WIDE. DESPITE THERE BEING NO TIDES, WATER LEVELS CAN FLUCTUATE AS MUCH AS 16 FEET. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE SEASONS AND THE RAINS. RUINS OF MONASTERIES AND FORTRESSES STAND ON MANY OF THE ISLANDS, A REMINDER OF THE LAKE'S STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE THROUGHOUT A LONG HISTORY OF SETTLEMENT AND CONQUEST. SOME OF THE ISLANDS ARE NO MORE THAN HILLS WHICH ARE ACTUALLY CONNECTED TO THE MAINLAND DURING A VERY DRY SUMMER. IN THE NORTHWEST SECTION OF THE LAKE, ON ONE OF THESE HILLS, STANDS THE FORTIFIED MONASTERY OF KOM BUILT IN THE 15th CENTURY. A MONK OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH LIVES HERE ALONE, DEVOTING HIS LIFE TO HIS FAITH AND HIS BELIEF IN THE POWER OF PRAYER.

MAN SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE

HIS WORSHIP IS STRUCTURED ROUND AN ANCIENT RITUAL -- THE LITURGIES OF THE HOURS, EIGHT OF THEM EVERY DAY. HE BELIEVES THAT THE CEASELESS PRAYERS JOIN TOGETHER TO BECOME A FORCE FOR GOOD, HELPING TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD. IN EARLY SUMMER, THE SOUND OF PRAYER IS ACCOMPANIED BY THE CALLS OF THOUSANDS OF BIRDS. SKADAR LAKE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RESTING AND BREEDING GROUNDS FOR MIGRATORY BIRDS IN EUROPE. BIRDS ARE COSMOPOLITAN CREATURES. EVEN THEIR SUMMER LAKE BELONGS TO TWO COUNTRIES, MONTENEGRO AND ALBANIA, BOTH OF WHICH HAVE DECLARED THE LAKE A NATIONAL PARK. AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, WATER PLANTS SPREAD OUT THEIR LEAVES, AND DENSE REED BEDS GROW AROUND THE SHORES. THE FLOATING CARPET OF WATER LILIES PROVIDES A SAFE BREEDING GROUND FOR TERNS.

TERNS SQUAWKING

HUGE COLONIES BUILD THEIR NESTS IN THE MIDST OF A CACOPHONY OF CEASELESS CALLS. FROGS ARE BREEDING TOO, AND THEY JOIN IN THE CHORUS. THESE FLOATING ISLANDS ARE A SANCTUARY AGAINST PREDATORS. BUT IT CAN BE CONFUSING. NOT EVERY TERN CAN EASILY FIND ITS WAY BACK TO ITS OWN NEST ON THE FIRST TRY. THOUSANDS OF CORMORANTS USE DEAD TREES FOR THEIR NESTS. YOUNG CORMORANTS POKE THEIR HEADS FAR INTO THEIR PARENTS' GULLETS TO GET REGURGITATED FISH. IT'S A WONDER THEY DON'T PUNCTURE THEIR PARENTS' THROATS. OTHER SPECIES BREED IN MIXED COLONIES, LIKE THE ELEGANT LITTLE EGRET AND THE SPOONBILL. BENEATH THEM, A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON STALKS AMID THE REEDS, WHILE A SQUACCO HERON SETTLES DOWN TO BROOD. COLLECTIVE BREEDING IS A STRATEGY THAT GIVES A GREATER DEGREE OF SECURITY TO ALL, AS THERE ARE MANY VIGILANT EYES ON THE LOOKOUT FOR NEST ROBBERS. AND CHICKS ARE WELL HIDDEN BETWEEN THE REEDS. SKADAR LAKE, AT THE WEST OF THE BALKANS, IS A MAGICAL PLACE, EVEN IF THERE ARE NO ELVES. ON THE EASTERN BORDER, THERE IS A VASTLY DIFFERENT LAND, BLANKETED BY A MOSAIC OF COLORFUL FIELDS, SOME PLANTED, SOME NOT. THIS COULD BE THE SHIRE WHERE HOBBITS SET OUT ON THEIR QUEST. IN THE BALKANS, THE REGION IS CALLED DOBRUDZA. ITS VAST GRASSLANDS, CALLED STEPPES, LIE IN THE NORTHEASTERN TIP OF THE BALKAN PENINSULA. ONLY A FEW SUBSISTENCE FARMERS LIVE HERE. FERTILE FIELDS AND FALLOW GROUND LIE SIDE BY SIDE, MAKING THE COUNTRY RESEMBLE A PATCHWORK QUILT. IN MAY, WILD POPPIES AND CORNFLOWERS SPRINKLE THE CORNFIELDS WITH VIVID COLORS. THEY THRIVE BECAUSE FARMERS HERE USE LITTLE FERTILIZER AND NEVER SPRAY THEIR FIELDS WITH PESTICIDES. THE PLOW IS STILL HORSE-DRAWN, AS IT HAS BEEN FOR CENTURIES. IN DOBRUDZA, THE ENDLESS STEPPES PROVIDE SPACE FOR MANY ETHNIC GROUPS... BULGARIANS, ROMANIANS, RUSSIANS, TARTARS AND ARMENIANS -- PEASANT FARMERS AND NOMADIC SHEPHERDS. GRASSES GRAZED BY SHEEP MAKE THIS AN IDEAL HABITAT FOR SPECIALIZED STEPPE DWELLERS LIKE EUROPEAN GROUND SQUIRRELS. DURING THE DAY, THESE RODENTS LEAVE THEIR TUNNEL SYSTEMS AND COME ABOVE GROUND TO SEARCH FOR ROOTS, TUBERS AND INSECTS. STONE CURLEWS ARE RARE AND SELDOM SEEN. THEY PREFER DRY AND STONY AREAS, SO THE UNSEEDED FIELDS OF DOBRUDZA ARE IDEAL. BOTH THE STONE CURLEW AND THE GROUND SQUIRREL ARE WELL CAMOUFLAGED. IF THEY REMAIN STILL THEY ARE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SPOT IN THE GRASS. BUT THE EUROPEAN BEE EATER IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE. THESE GAUDY CAVE BREEDERS FLAUNT THEIR VIBRANT PLUMAGE. WHETHER FLAMBOYANT AND COLORFUL LIKE THE BEE EATER OR DRAB AND INCONSPICUOUS LIKE THE CURLEW AND SQUIRREL, THEY STILL SHARE SOMETHING IN COMMON. THEY ALL REQUIRE FALLOW, UNCULTIVATED LAND. BEE EATERS TYPICALLY DIG THEIR NESTS INTO VERTICAL CLIFF FACES, BUT SINCE SO MANY RIVERBANKS ARE NOW REINFORCED, THE BIRDS MUST USE GRAVEL PITS OR ABANDONED AGRICULTURAL LAND INSTEAD. BUT IT'S NO GREAT LOSS SINCE THE BEES AND WASPS THAT THE BIRDS CATCH IN FLIGHT CAN BE FOUND ALMOST ANYWHERE. THIS OLD QUARRY IN DOBRUDZA WILL BE SHUTTING DOWN SOON. BUT EVEN WHILE THE DREDGERS ARE STILL AT WORK, THE BIRDS TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE SITE. THIS YEAR THEY ARE JOINED BY THOUSANDS OF ROSY STARLINGS, WHICH SUDDENLY APPEARED AND MOVED INTO THE QUARRY. THIS IS SOMETHING UNUSUAL, FOR THE ROSY STARLINGS COME FROM INDIA. THEY SPEND THE WINTER ON THE SUBCONTINENT, AND IN SUMMER, THEY NORMALLY MIGRATE TO THE STEPPES OF MONGOLIA AND KAZAKH. BUT THIS YEAR, SOME HAVE TRAVELED WEST, PROBABLY FOLLOWING INSECT SWARMS, UNTIL THEY ENDED UP IN THE BALKANS -- IN THIS STONE QUARRY IN DOBRUDZA. THESE BIRDS NEED ROCK FACES TO NEST AND BREED, SO DESPITE THE HEAVY MACHINERY, THIS QUARRY IS AN IDEAL CHOICE. ROSY STARLINGS HAVE A SHORT BREEDING SEASON AND THEY'LL BE GONE BY AUGUST. NO ONE KNOWS IF THEY'LL RETURN NEXT YEAR. BUT THEIR PRESENCE THIS YEAR HAS CERTAINLY ADDED ANOTHER INTERESTING HUE TO DOBRUDZA'S ALREADY RICH PALETTE. IN "THE LORD OF THE RINGS," GANDALF RIDES ON THE BACK OF A GIANT EAGLE, BUT HERE IN THE BALKANS, WE MUST TAKE A RUSSIAN BI-PLANE. FROM THE COLORFUL MOSAIC OF DOBRUDZA'S FIELDS, WE FLY EAST TO THE SPREADING WATERS OF THE DELTA DUNARII -- TO THE "SEA OF MOSQUITOES." EUROPE'S MOST EXTENSIVE WETLAND, THE DANUBE FLOWS INTO THE BLACK SEA, ITS DELTA STRETCHING BETWEEN ROMANIA AND UKRAINE. THREE MAIN BRANCHES OF THE RIVER, ALONG WITH COUNTLESS TRIBUTARIES, MAKE THE DANUBE ESTUARY A MAZE OF ISLANDS, LAKES AND FORESTS. IT IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST REED HABITAT. THESE WETLANDS ARE HOME TO A THOUSAND DIFFERENT PLANTS AND OVER 4,000 ANIMAL SPECIES. THE BEST KNOWN OF THE BIRDS IS THE PELICAN. ITS HUGE POUCHED BILL MAKES IT INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. HIDDEN AMIDST THIS MAZE OF WATER CHANNELS, WITH THEIR FORESTS AND REED BEDS, ARE ENORMOUS BREEDING COLONIES OF PELICANS, SOME CONTAINING HUNDREDS OF PAIRS. TWO PELICAN SPECIES ARE FOUND IN THE DELTA -- THE DALMATIAN PELICAN AND THESE WHITE PELICANS. EVERY SUMMER, 4,000 BREEDING PAIRS FLY NORTH FROM AFRICA TO NEST IN THE DANUBE DELTA. PELICAN NESTS ARE UNTIDY, AND CHICKS DEPEND ON THEIR PARENTS FOR 14 WEEKS, A LONG TIME FOR A BIRD. THESE NESTING COLONIES IN THE CENTER OF THE DELTA ARE VIRTUALLY INACCESSIBLE AND STRICTLY PROTECTED. DURING THE BREEDING SEASON, NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO COME ANYWHERE NEAR WHAT IS THE LARGEST PELICAN COLONY OUTSIDE AFRICA. BUT NO HUMAN LAW COULD PROTECT THE PELICANS MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN MOSQUITOES. THERE ARE THOSE WHO WOULD SAY THAT AN ARMY OF ATTACKING ORCS WOULD BE PREFERABLE TO THE BITES OF THESE MILLIONS OF MOSQUITOES AND MIDGES. BUT THESE MOSQUITOES PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THE DELTA'S ECOSYSTEM. THEY ARE THE BASE OF THE FOOD CHAIN -- EVERYTHING ULTIMATELY DEPENDS ON THEM. THE BIOMASS OF MOSQUITOES IN THE DANUBE DELTA IS AWE-INSPIRING. IT'S GREATER THAN THAT OF ALL THE OTHER ANIMALS PUT TOGETHER. IT'S THE REASON MILLIONS OF BIRDS FLOCK HERE EVERY YEAR. BIOLOGIST ALES TOMAN HAS SPENT MORE THAN 12 YEARS IN WHAT MAY WELL BE EUROPE'S MOST FAMOUS BIRD PARADISE... BUT HE'S NOT LOOKING FOR BIRDS. HE'S BEEN UP AND DOWN THE RIVER SYSTEM COUNTLESS TIMES IN PURSUIT OF AN ANIMAL RARER THAN ALMOST ANY OTHER IN THIS HUGE, WATERLOGGED WILDERNESS. IT'S CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST ENDANGERED CARNIVORE IN EUROPE.

THUNDER

ALES TOMAN IS SEARCHING FOR THE EUROPEAN MINK -- A SHY, CRYPTIC ANIMAL BELONGING TO THE MARTEN FAMILY. THE SPECIES WAS PUSHED TO THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION WHEN SOME OF THE LARGER, IMPORTED AMERICAN MINKS ESCAPED FROM FUR FARMS AND ESTABLISHED WILD POPULATIONS TOO DOMINANT FOR THE NATIVE EUROPEAN MINKS. THE DANUBE DELTA MAY VERY WELL BE THEIR LAST REFUGE. IN THE SUMMER MONTHS WHEN FOOD IS READILY AVAILABLE, EUROPEAN MINKS OCCASIONALLY VENTURE OUT, BUT ONLY AT NIGHT. THIS ANIMAL COULD BE A MINK, CAPTURED BRIEFLY IN THE SPOTLIGHT. BUT IS IT A EUROPEAN MINK OR JUST A MARTEN? BEFORE ALES CAN FIND OUT, THE ANIMAL VANISHES INTO THE NIGHT. THIS HAPPENS SO FREQUENTLY, IT CALLS FOR A RADICAL CHANGE IN TACTICS. TO STUDY THE DELTA'S MINK POPULATION, ALES MUST FIRST CATCH SOME, BUT SUMMER IS NOT THE SEASON FOR CATCHING MINK. NOW, WINTER HAS SET IN. THE LAKES ARE FROZEN. LIFE SEEMS TO HAVE COME TO A STANDSTILL. BUT ONLY AT FIRST GLANCE. MIGRATORY BIRDS FROM THE ARCTIC HAVE ARRIVED TO SPEND THE WINTER HERE. THE COLD IS FAR LESS INTENSE THAN ABOVE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, AND THE BIRDS ARE ABLE TO FIND ENOUGH FOOD HERE. WHOOPER SWANS FROM NORTHERN EUROPE FLOCK TOGETHER IN HUGE NUMBERS. AND WHEN 60,000 RED-BREASTED GEESE TAKE OFF AS ONE, THE SKY TURNS DARK. EVERY YEAR, ALMOST ALL OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION OF RED-BREASTED GEESE MIGRATES TO THE DANUBE DELTA FROM SIBERIA. HUMAN BEINGS ARE THE RAREST SPECIES HERE. THIS IS THE LEAST DENSELY POPULATED REGION IN EUROPE. TOURISTS ONLY COME IN SPRING AND SUMMER, AND UNESCO HAS DECLARED THE ENTIRE AREA A BIOSPHERE RESERVE. FOR THE FEW PERMANENT HUMAN RESIDENTS, WINTER IS HARVEST TIME. FISH AND REEDS EARN THEM A MODEST INCOME. IN WINTER THE FISHERMEN ARE ALLOWED LARGE CATCHES. BUT FROM SPRING ONWARDS, A RIGOROUS QUOTA IS STRICTLY ENFORCED TO PROTECT BREEDING STOCKS.

SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE

HUMANS ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES TO DISCOVER THAT REEDS CAN BE USED IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. FOR THE HARVEST MOUSE, THE REEDS PROVIDE BOTH NESTING MATERIAL AND FOOD. THESE TINY RODENTS ARE ABOUT TWO INCHES LONG AND WEIGH LESS THAN HALF AN OUNCE, AN IDEAL SIZE WHEN YOU HAVE TO MOVE UP, DOWN AND ACROSS REED STALKS ALL DAY LONG. THEIR TAIL IS LONGER THAN THEIR BODY, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE. AS THE MICE MOVE BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE SHAKY AND UNSTABLE STALKS, THEY OFTEN NEED A SAFETY ROPE. SOMETIMES THE MOUSE EVEN GRABS THE STALK WITH ITS TAIL AND HANGS UPSIDE DOWN. CUTE AS THEY MAY BE, HARVEST MICE HAVE MANY PREDATORS -- BIRDS OF PREY, FOXES, SNAKES, EVEN FISH. AND THE RARE EUROPEAN MINK ALSO HAS THEM ON ITS MENU. ALES TOMAN'S SEARCH CONTINUES. IN WINTER MONTHS, THE MINKS MUST ALSO HUNT BY DAY, MAKING IT EASIER TO OBSERVE AND POSSIBLY CATCH ONE. THE BIOLOGISTS HAVE CHANGED THEIR TACTICS. THEY NOW SET TRAPS WHICH WON'T HARM THE ANIMALS WHEN THEY ARE CAUGHT. EVERY DAY THE MEN PUT OUT ABOUT 50, LEAVE THEM OVERNIGHT, THEN CHECK THEM THE NEXT MORNING. ONE TRAP'S GOT SOMETHING, BUT NOT WHAT THEY WANT. AH, IT'S A RAT ONLY. NEXT TIME, OKAY.

Narrator

THE MEN PROCEED TO THE NEXT TRAP. DAYS AND WEEKS PASS, WITHOUT SUCCESS. ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER TRY. THERE ARE NOT MANY TRAPS LEFT TO BE CHECKED NOW. HOPEFULLY, THERE'LL BE NO MORE RATS. AH, TITI, COME -- MINK. EXCELLENT. TITI, LOOK WE HAVE MINK. AND THEN AT LAST, A MINK. ALES TOMAN HAS A BROAD SMILE ON HIS FACE, BUT THE CAPTURED MINK PROBABLY ISN'T SO HAPPY. SINCE THE 1950s THE EUROPEAN MINK HAS BEEN LOSING THE BATTLE TO ITS FAR HARDIER AMERICAN NAMESAKE. ADDED PRESSURE FROM HUNTING AND HABITAT DESTRUCTION HAVE PUSHED THE EUROPEAN MINK TO THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION. NOW THE LAST REMAINING POPULATIONS LIVE IN SPAIN AND THE BALTIC. AND HERE. THE AMERICANS HAVEN'T CONQUERED THE DANUBE DELTA YET! THE MINK IS CHECKED FOR HEALTH AND CONDITION, AND LOSES A FEW HAIRS FOR GENETIC TESTING, ALL THE WHILE DECLARING ITS DISPLEASURE. ALES TOMAN IS CONVINCED THE DATA HE IS GATHERING WILL PROVE THAT THE ONLY SURVIVING, HEALTHY AND STABLE POPULATION OF THE EUROPEAN MINK IS HERE IN THE DELTA OF THE DANUBE.

MINK SCREECHING

Narrator

ALL IN ALL, IT WAS A GOOD DAY. ALES FOUND MINKS IN ANOTHER THREE TRAPS. THE SUN IS ALREADY LOW WHEN THE TWO RESEARCHERS START THEIR JOURNEY HOME. BUT THE DAY IS NOT QUITE FINISHED YET. THE DELTA TURNS ON AN AMAZING NATURAL DISPLAY. MILLIONS OF EUROPEAN STARLINGS GATHER IN HUGE FLOCKS, FORMING EVER CHANGING PATTERNS IN THE EVENING SKY. THE FLOCK HANGS IN THE AIR, THEN SHIFTS AND CHANGES. FOR THE BIRDS, IT'S TIME TO FIND A ROOSTING SITE FOR THE LONG, COLD NIGHT. STARLINGS ARE MASTERS OF COORDINATION IN THE AIR. NO MATTER HOW MANY OR HOW SMALL THE SPACE BETWEEN, THE BIRDS NEVER COLLIDE. ONE MINUTE THEY LOOK LIKE SMOKE, THEN WITHOUT ANY EFFORT THEY CHANGE INTO SOME PULSATING SUPER-ORGANISM SEEMINGLY FROM ANOTHER WORLD. IN TOLKIEN'S NOVEL "THE LORD OF THE RINGS," MIDDLE EARTH IS THE LAND WHERE THE ULTIMATE STRUGGLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL IS FOUGHT. AND THE BALKANS MAY STILL BE COMING TO TERMS WITH ITS VIOLENT HISTORY. BUT DESPITE ITS REPUTATION, THIS IS NOT MORDOR, THE LAND OF DOOM AND SHADOW. THERE IS BEAUTIFUL MAGIC HERE. SOMEHOW, THE BALKANS HAS MANAGED TO REMAIN WILD, UNSPOILED, A WELL-KEPT SECRET AT THE HEART OF A CHANGING WORLD. THIS "NATURE" PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE ON DVD FOR $19.99 PLUS SHIPPING. TO ORDER, CALL 1-800-336-1917. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE SEEN ON THIS "NATURE" PROGRAM, VISIT pbs.org.