Flora and fauna

Unlike other nature parks, the flora of the Brijuni park is not left to itself and to nature. An ingenious concept of controlled clearing, cultivation of plants typical of the country and large-scale landscape design has created a unique setting that keeps itself in balance. Thus the park captivates lovers of Mediterranean plant life in particular through generous plantings of typical vegetation: 261 hectares of macchia, 118 hectares of parkland, over 100 hectares of oak forest and 124 hectares of pasture offer the right landscape for every taste and above all one thing: variety! Beyond that, plants thrive here that are otherwise found only in Istria, such as wild cucumbers, various grasses and certain kinds of poppy.

Besides many species of bird, insect, fish, farm and other animals in the park and its surroundings, the Brijuni park is famous above all for a species highly untypical of Croatia: in 2001 President Masic founded a foundation to make the life of the African elephants Sony and Lanka, resident here, even more agreeable. An extensive territory and daily meals consisting of 100 kg of hay, 3 kg of rice, 20 kg of bread, 30 kg of fruit and vegetables and 20 kg of straw are financed from this fund. The unsponsored animals benefit from the attention the pachyderms attract as well, since this measure puts a species-appropriate environment at the centre of interest in general and in this way makes a natural life in clean surroundings easier for the wild animals too