Editing Tara (mountain)

{{Short description|Mountain in western Serbia}}

| elevation_ref =

| area_km2 = 249.92

Initial attempts at protecting parts of the mountain occurred in the 19th century. Soon after Serbia's Institute for the Nature Protection was founded in 1948, six reserves were declared on the mountain in 1950. They were followed by the additional three in the 1960s and the 1970s. Tara National Park <ref>[http://www.discovertara.jimdofree.com/ Tara National Park].</ref> was established in July 1981.<ref name=cetiri>{{cite news | author = Branko Pejović | script-title=sr: Четири деценије Националног парка "Тара" | trans-title = Four decades of the Tara National Park | newspaper = Politika | page = 12 | language = sr | date = 24 July 2021}}</ref> It encompasses Tara and part of the [[Zvijezda (Drina)|Zvijezda]] mountain, in a large bend of the [[Drina]] River. The area of the park originally was {{convert|191.75|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name="Politika">{{cite web|url= http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/48460/Drustvo/Pluca-Srbije-sve-jaca |author=Branko Pejović |title= "Pluća Srbije" sve jača |date=13 July 2008 |publisher=[[Politika]]|language=sr}}</ref><ref name="nptara">{{cite web|url= http://www.nptara.rs/ |title= About Tara NP |date=2013 |publisher=National Park Tara}}</ref><ref name="geo">{{cite web|url= http://www.geografija.rs/zasticena-podrucja/zasticena-podrucja-zasticena-podrucja/nacionalni-parkovi/tara/nacionalni-park-tara-proglasenje-i-zone-zastite/ |title= Nacionalni park Tara – položaj, proglašenje nacionalnog parka i zone zaštite |date=25 February 2014|publisher=Geografija.rs |language=sr}}</ref> with altitudes varying from {{convert|250|to|1,591|m|abbr=on}} above sea level. On 5 October 2015, the [[National Assembly of Serbia]] adopted the new law of national parks which enlarged the Tara National Park to {{convert|249.92|km2|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.paragrafco.co.rs/dnevne-vesti/081015/081015-vest10.html |title= Zakon o nacionalnim parkovima (National parks law)|date=5 October 2015 |language=sr}}</ref><ref name="Politika1">{{Citation | author = Aleksandra Mijalković | title = O očuvanju naše prirodne baštine: najbolja zaštita u naconalnim parkovima | newspaper = [[Politika]]-Magazin | pages = 3–6 | language = sr | date =18 June 2017 }}</ref> by adding to it the protected area of "[[Zaovine]] Landscape of Outstanding Features".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.zzps.rs/novo/index.php?jezik=_la&strana=vest&n=322 |title= Usvojen Zakon o nacionalnim parkovima |date=October 2015| publisher= Institute for nature conservation of Serbia |language=sr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://tumagazin.rs/prosiren-nacionalni-park-tara/ |title= Proširen Nacionalni park "Tara" |date=13 October 2015| publisher= Turizam & Ugostiteljstvo |language=sr}}</ref> The park's management office is located in nearby [[Bajina Bašta]]. The protective zone of the park, which encircles it, is much larger and spreads over the area of {{convert|376|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="geo"/>

The national park consists of a group of mountain peaks with deep picturesque gorges between them. The highest point of the park is the ''Kozji Rid'' peak on the Zvijezda mountain, with {{convert|1,591|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name="nptara"/> The most striking of these gorges is the Drina Gorge, with its sheer drops from {{convert|1,000|to|250|m|abbr=on}} and extensive views of western Serbia and nearby Bosnia. It also encompasses the gorges of the rivers Rača, Brusnica and Derventa and the waterfall of [[List_of_waterfalls_in_Serbia#Veliki_Skakavac|Veliki Skakavac]] on the river [[Beli Rzav]]. The area is also characterised by [[karst]] caves, pits, springs, and viewing points (Kićak, Smiljevac, Bilješke Stene, Kozje Stene, Vitimirovac and Kozji Rid).<ref name="Politika1"/>

The deepest sections of the Drina canyon are cut on the slopes of the Zvijezda, Tara's natural northwestern extension, sometimes also called High Tara, between the mouths of the Žepa river and Neveljski stream. The canyon is cut in the massive, layered mid-[[Tertiary]] limestone deposits. The cliffs are extremely steep, with rock creeps, partially under the vegetation (forests and shrubs) and partially barren. The deepest canyon in Serbia, the {{ill|Zvijezda Canyon|sr|Кањон Звијезде}}, was discovered only on 12 June 2010. Due to its seclusion and inaccessibility in the bend of the [[Perućac lake]], it is inhabited by bears and chamois. The canyon is located on the right side of the Drina, being completely within the national park area. The stream of Selski Potok flows through it for {{convert|2,5|km}}, down the altitude of {{convert|500|m|}} through some 40 waterfalls, varying from {{convert|5|to|40|m}}. Over the final waterfall, the Selski Potok flows into the Drina.<ref name=anicic1>{{cite news | author = Gradimir Aničić | script-title=sr: Занимљива Србија - Тара : Велики крај - природни рај | trans-title = Interesting Serbia - Tara : Big area natural paradise | newspaper = Politika-Magazin, No. 1253 | pages = 19–21 | language = sr | date = 3 October 2021}}</ref>

Forests account for three quarters of the national park's area, {{convert|160|km2|abbr=on}}, some of them being the best preserved and well-kept in Europe. With 83.5% of the territory under forest, Tara is the most forested area of Serbia and thus nicknamed the "lungs of Serbia". The forest growth is among the highest in Europe: the total wood mass increases each year and the quality of the forest is enhanced. Cutting of the wood is strictly controlled. Since 1960, the total measurement of the wood mass on Tara has been measured every 10 years. From 1990 to 2000, the mass grew from {{convert|463.7|m3/ha|abbr=on}} to {{convert|476.4|m3/ha|abbr=on}}. Within the park, there are 9 reserves with an area of {{convert|29.5|km2|abbr=on}}, or 16% of the park, where woodcutting is forbidden. Some of the areas have been left unattended for centuries, making them basically a [[temperate rainforest]].<ref name="Politika"/><ref name="geo"/>

Forests mainly consist of beech, [[spruce]] and [[fir]]. Tara also boasts a rare endemic [[Tertiary]] species, the [[Picea omorika|Serbian spruce]] which is now protected in the small area of the park. It was discovered by [[Josif Pančić]] in 1875 in the [[Zaovine]]'s hamlet of Đurići. Because of its rarity and scientific importance, it has been placed under national protection as it can only be found on two locations on Tara: the canyon of the [[Mileševka]] river and on the Zvezda massif. Oldest trees in the park are the beeches,<ref name="Politika"/> (some are estimated to be over 500 years old) but other old and rare Tertiary species include [[Ilex aquifolium|European holly]], [[Daphne blagayana|Blagaj's daphne]] and [[Taxus baccata|European yew]].<ref name=anicic1/>

With several other beech localities in the national parks of [[Fruška Gora#National park|Fruška Gora]] and [[Kopaonik#National park|Kopaonik]], beech forests Zvezda and Rača Gorge on Tara have been submitted for the inclusion into the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] [[Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe]] in May 2020. The nomination was rejected due to the Serbian laws allowing [[shelterwood cutting]] on the area of {{convert|5|ha}}, while UNESCO accepts cut areas no larger than {{convert|1|ha}}, and even that is not only in the areas of the highest level of protection, but also in the surrounding zones. It was announced that the rules will be changed, so that parts of Tara might be included in 2023.<ref>{{cite news | author = Višnja Aranđelović | script-title=sr: До Унескове листе изменом прописа за фрушкогорске шуме | trans-title = To UNESCO list through regulations change for Fruška Gora forests | newspaper = Politika | page = 8 | language = sr | date = 10 May 2022}}</ref>

The area where the river Derventa flows into the Drina, is the natural spawning area of the fishes living in the Drina.<ref name=anicic>{{cite news | author = Gradimir Aničić | title = Nacionalna sramota na Perućcu | trans-title = National shame in Perućac | newspaper = Politika | page = 13 | language = sr | date = 8 September 2020 | url = http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/462049/Nacionalna-sramota-na-Peruccu}}</ref> In total, there are 19 species of fish in the park.<ref name=cetiri/>

Since they have been fully protected, numbers of brown bears soon began to rise. By 2018, there were over 50, which is considered to be the optimal number of animals on the mountain. As their number grew, despite having feeders they began causing damage to local orchards and apiaries but have not attacked livestock nor the villagers. Some of the animals are tracked via satellite. The tracking shows that females, especially with cubs, occupy a compact area, but males range more widely travelling west, crossing the Drina into Bosnia where hunting is permitted. The bears do not tend to travel into central Serbia, to the east or northeast of the mountain, but the first animal which was tracked used to go all the way to the slopes of the [[Kopaonik]] mountain, in the southeast.<ref>{{ cite news | author = Slavica Stuparušić | title = Зими је лакше са медведима | trans-title = In winter is easier to deal with bears | newspaper = Politika | page = 08 | language = sr | date = 19 January 2018 }}</ref> In April 2019 there were some 60 bears on the Tara, making 80% of the entire brown bear population in Serbia.<ref>{{cite news | author = Branko Pejović | title = Turizam s pogledom na medveda | trans-title = Tourism with the bear view | newspaper = Politika]| page = 19 | language = sr | date = 27–28 April 2019 | url = http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/428399/Turizam-s-pogledom-na-medveda}}</ref>

In the fall of 2021, a 15-year-old bear named Aleksandar (after [[Alexander the Great]]) was equipped with the GPS collar camera. He was specifically selected due to his massive size, as he weighed around {{cvt|250|kg}}. Footage until August 2022, when he managed to tear the collar, proved that he indeed was an alpha bear on the mountain. Aleksandar was hibernating from mid-November to late March and was quite reluctant to leave the cave. Other animals were hiding from him and moving out of his way so much, that he had no encounters with other animals than bears. He was feeding at the [[manger]]s and "enjoyed" spending time with two she-bears in this period, but he mostly was just calmly wandering all over. The bear avoided open spaces, not crossing over the forests' rims. He was extremely cautious to avoid humans, even when close to the villages.<ref>{{cite news | author = Branko Pejović | title = Medved s kamerom i njegove devojke | trans-title = Bear with camera and his girlfriends | newspaper = Politika | page = 21 | language = sr | date = 30 October 2022 | url = https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/523003/Medved-s-kamerom-i-njegove-devojke}}</ref>

The main tourist points are Kaluđerske Bare on the north, close to Bajina Bašta, and [[Mitrovac (Bajina Bašta)|Mitrovac]] on the south. Hotels Beli Bor and Omorika, as well as several smaller ones, are located on Kaluđerske Bare, while Mitrovac hosts eponymous children's recreation hotel.

*[http://www.nptara.rs//en/ Official website of the national park]