Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
The lynx (Lynx lynx) was established experimentally in the oak forest in the western
end of the Rila Monastery Forest Reserve and near Kirilova poliana.
The wild cat (Felis silvestris) inhabits most of the forests in the Park (occurring even
at altitudes above 1,600m). The local population of this species is estimated at 10 to
15 individuals at a density (below normal) of one female per 200 ha and one male per
400 ha, and the species depends to a significant degree on the presence of ‘sunny’
forests 100-150 years of age and older.
The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is one of the least numerous ungulates occurring
presently in the Park. It has been sighted in the areas around the Bukovo bardo, the
Rila Monastery Forest Reserve and Lake Smradlivo, and its total numbers do not
exceed more than ten individuals and its density is one individual per 1,200 ha is at
least 7-8 times lower than the normal for any natural ecosystem. Red deer has been
observed in 1998/99 only twice in the Reserve.
The Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) is particularly rare – less than
20 individuals with traces of singular animals found around the Kalin water reservoir,
the Teodosievi karauli locality, the Devil cirque, Lake Smradlivo and certain rocky
sections of the Rila Monastery Forest Reserve. Its sightings during the recent years
indicate that a chamois population in the Park is unlikely and the presence of the
species there is due to the proximity of the Rila National Park from where the animals
cross into the RMNP.
The roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in the Park numbered 60 animals in the spring,
with a very low density of one individual per more than 200 ha of forest area, as a
result of the exceptionally severe poaching in the area.
The jackal (Canis aureus) is also among the rare mammals in the Park that has not
been observed to breed there but enters sporadically from the low western slopes of
the mountain covered with xerophytic brush vegetation and brush forests. It has been
sighted several times in the high mountain, at altitudes higher than 2,000m, including
during the winter.
Rila Monastery Nature Park
Management Plan (Draft) – Appendices
2004 - 2013
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