Animals of the Danube Delta

Today I found this short article about the animals in the Danube Delta. Even if the descriptions are very short, and sometimes the names might be confusing for a Romanian (like The Egret - which one ?), the pictures are nice and they correspond to each animal described. Rather than a detailed description is written a curiosity about each animal. I'll try to add some knowledge about each one.

1) Dobrudja Tortoise. Is a vegetarian, but in harsh conditions it can eat soil rich in nutritive minerals. You can also here a see a picture of the Dobrudja Tortoise

2) The Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna). they build nests underground, or in burrows left by foxes or badgers.

3) Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus) - Romania shelters the biggest number of pigmy cormorants in Europe. It is protected by low and you can meet it in the Danube Delta, mainly in the maritime area.

4) The otter - lives in the water and on the ground, in burrows with double entries. Has feet with five toes, joined by a membrane.

5) Grasshopper with sawmill legs. Known for eating partner after having sex (Bad habit, huh ?)

6) Glossy Ibis - lives in colonies, in the middle of the delta. It leaves the delta in the autumn, migrating towards Africa of Mediterranean countries. They sit in trees and them excrement are so acid that practically burn the tree down until it dies.

7) Wild cat - resembles the house cat, but is bigger. It can reach up to 10 kg.

8) Small white egret. In the past, was hunted for it's beautiful feathers, used for the hats.

9) The spoonbill - a rare, big bird, reaching up to 80 cm. It's name came from the beck with a spoon-like form and it feeds with fish, frogs or insects' larvae.

10) The stoat (Mustela Erminea) - once per year, gives birth to 12 cubs.

11) The Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) - a rare, protected bird, nests in the arctic areas, coming to the Danube Delta in winter. Is one of the rearmost geese in the world, depending on the wetlands.

11) Sturgeons - The sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), Acipenser stellatus, Acipenser gueldenstaedti and Huso huso are part of the Sturgeons family.
They have a cartilaginous skeleton (the only bones being the maxillary) and very poor vision.

12) Meadow Viper - Although it's name might sound scary, it's bite is equivalent to one of a bee. It feeds with grasshoppers and, seldom, a small mouse.
It swallows the prey alive without first paralyzing it by venom.

13) White tailed eagle - is a prey bird, living in Danube Delta between March and October. Females hatch one or two eggs, once in two years. Read more about Haliaeetus Albicilla here.


14) The Yellow Jackal - Resembles the wolf and is an omnivorous, but prefers meat. Member of the family Canidae, eats insects, birds and mice and hunt especially during the night.

15) European Mink (Mustela lutreola) - Minks are carnivore mammals, living along the shoreline or riverbanks. Are very sensible to stress, a scaring could lead to spontaneous abortion.

16) The Pelican - Symbol of Danube Delta, the pelican is an water birds and is the biggest bird in Danube Delta (The one in the article's picture is the Dalmatian Pelican - Pelecanus Crispus).

17) The Black Winged Stils (Himantopus himantopus)- Easily recognizable by it's long, red or pink legs. Hunts small animals, hidden in the shores or among the rocks.

Spring in Danube Delta

This short movie presents the Danube Delta early in the spring. We can see the flooded forests, a traditional household, a fishery and some nice landscapes.

Cousteau's expeditions

This video presents images from Cousteau's expeditions on the river Danube and in the unique eco-system of the Danube Delta. Incredible images of huge collonies of pelicans, swans taking off in a way that always make me think of a 747, the word of reed and multi-color waters. We can notice the young pelicans (Pelecanus Onocrotalus) with the dark plumage, as well as the fishing tradition.
It also talks about polution, that lead to disparition of the sturgeon.

Storm on Razelm Lake

While this video is not that spectacular, I find it interesting as it shows how a storm could be on one of the great lakes in the South of Danube's Delta, Razelm Laxe (a.k.a. Razim Lake), the largest lake in Romania:


for a better orientation, here is the location of the lake
View Larger Map

Reed Burning in Danube Delta

I recently found this short movie with some reed burning on Saele sand barrier, near the road going to Histria citadel. While the images are not very spectacular, neither amusing at all, I posted this short video to remind about the problem of burning reed in the Danube Delta.

Blazing the reed on small areas helps regenerating it, due to the rich ash acting as a natural fertilizer, but when the areas are bigger it affects the wildlife habitat. Istria area is on one of the big European migration corridors, so many birds , mainly smaller ones might be affected if they don't find the reed.

Apparently lifeless in winter the reed area are used as a shelter by number of birds like the long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus), the Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus), the smew (Mergellus albellus) or the the great tit. So burning it means destroying a natural habitat for this species of birds and other small animals.



Also, intentionally burning the reed near the strictly protected areas (like Istria - Sinoe) can cause a blaze inside the protected area, where the man's intervention is strictly forbidden.

Wild Horses in Letea

Letea forest is a striclty protected area, for it's unique aspect of rainforest. One of the things to see in the forest are the almost wild horses.
While the semi-wild horses are present allover the Danube Delta, lately they become subject of discussion due to the rising number.

I have seen them near Cardon, in an area that is to become protected area soon. I've been told that some of them recognize the initial owner, but there are now new generations that are really not used to man's presence at all.

The author of this movie explains that the horses eat tree's crust and this eventually leads to the death of the trees. Some estimate around 2500 horses, while other estimation indicate about 1000. This horses have the way of life of wild animals. Is very difficult to get close to them, because they can imediately feel you and once you get under a certain distance they run away scared.

Each herd is led by a pair that takes care of the rest of the group. The stallion has the biggest authority, being the one that signals the fact that they have to move (retire). It does this by a short neighing and by hitting the ground with the hoof. Sometimes, when they feel the group is in danger, the stallion runs in one direction, to attire the attackers , while the female runs in other direction together with the rest of the group.

The horses did adapt the tough winter in Danube Delta as well as the hot summers. In winter-time them hair grows three times faster than the domestic horses' one. They adapt also by better prelucrating the cellulose, so when the food is scarce they can resist with only thistles and dried plants. "Nowadays, the racing horses loose the resistance to diseases, to cold temperatures or the capacity of effort. In the future, this horses will become a real treasure, still conserving while the other horses will have lost. We don't have to regard them as baneful but as real treasures", declared Stefan Raileanu, from the National Institute of Research and Development of Danube Delta.

Here is the video, courtesy to Lucian Reniţă and Irina Stelea, who made this video and posted it on youtube: