The Sava Floodplains - Croatia's secret paradise | Full Documentary
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Published 2019-01-24
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Every year, in the middle of Croatia, it's the same story: after the annual snowmelt, a huge flood wave spills out of the Alps toward Zagreb and Belgrade. This leads to an increase in the River Sava's water levels of some ten meters. The contents of more than ten billion bathtubs floods an area the size of Lake Constance, often for months on end, yet still the Croatian and Serbian capital is spared a flood disaster. One of the reasons for this is the fact that the Sava is able to flow unhindered. The annual floods not only create a natural retention reservoir for flood control: alongside the Sava lies a natural paradise, unique in Central Europe. In the species-rich, alluvial flood forests of the last major meadow landscapes of the continent, enormous predatory fish like the catfish lie in wait for prey.
The fertile floodplains of the Sava are an important resting place for more than 240 bird species, including Hoopoe, great crested Grebe, little Egret, common snipe and pied Avocet. Old, domestic livestock breeds like the Turopolje pig and Posavina horse spend almost the entire year in the floodplains. They appreciate the alluvial meadows, keep puddles and mudholes open whilst wallowing and, as living lawnmowers, they ensure that the moist meadows aren't transformed into dense oak forests. Thanks to this traditional pasture farming, more than 700 pairs of white stork alone breed in the Lonjsko Polje National Park. The Sava Floodplains allow us to glance into the past of our continent and at the same time, illustrate just how flood protection for major towns can be perfected.
All Comments (21)
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Croatia is heaven on Earth. Greetings from Poland.
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as a Croatian, forester, recreational fisherman and nature lover I really feel proud and full hearted that such a superb production has been realized in this diverse and beautiful lowland riparian stretch of Croatian landscape. Would also love to learn more on the crew that filmed it and surely some of the local advisers which I am certain must have been involved....first class production π
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Vrlo lepa strana, Hrvatska. SdraΔni pozdravi iz GrΔke.
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Earth Is beautiful... Nature is Beautiful.. Life is beautiful.. Lots of love from Nepal.. πβ€οΈ
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Croatia, I truly envy how much of your natural landscape is still there! Make sure you donβt let anyone steal the life from your hills, rivers, and sea π¬π§ππ·
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Astonishing nature! Croatia is a jewel of beauty!
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Greetings from Kenya! My 4 year old son loves documentaries so much and we really enjoyed watching this one together. Thank you!
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So much love and jealousy from Denmark. Its one of my dreams to go to Croatia for their beautiful and awe-inspirering nature !
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Slovenia and Northern Croatia are so beautiful! Alps becoming low mountains, low mountains becoming pitoresque hills, hills becoming flatlands, abundance of rivers and streams, beautiful, lush forrests, open meadows and a unique combination of Slavic, Balkans and Central European cuisine, a true continental heaven. As much as I love Croatian coast, for more than obvious reasons, I wouldn't change my northern Croatian highlands for anything. Those beautiful autumn mornings, when you sit on the porch of your cabin with a cup of hot coffee and watch the sun rising above the hills, just before you throw yourself on breakfast, ideally consisting of home-grown vegetables, cured meat and cottage cheese, you just know that you are experiencing the highlight of your human existence.
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Croatia is my favourite European country by far. It has everything, from the most beautiful sea in Europe, olive groves and plenty of sun to mountains, fertile lands, lush forest, rivers and waterfalls. And of course amazing Roman towns with incredible architecture.
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Beautiful, informative video. As a retired wildlife biologist in Alaska, I would love to spend time in Croatia and the Balkans. Thank you for this wonderful video
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My beautiful Croatia!π€π€
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I love that this is off the beaten path and not a tourist trap... hence, the pristine, wild beauty. I hope that this region is kept protected so that future generations can enjoy the uniqueness and abundance of its flora and fauna.
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Greetings Croatia! From Guyana, South America!
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Such diversity and lush foliage is rarely associated with Europe. Loved the documentary. The Slavic people are lucky to have the last European wetland. I Thank god they did not destroy it.
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Proud and beautiful CROATIA πβ
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Highly educational and beautifully filmed, the narrator's voice was clear and precise. It is really nice to be able to be entertained and at the same time learn so much about the wild beauty of Croatia's river systems.
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Stunning flora and fauna with very few humans, idyllic indeed! The narrator is as good as Attenborough, both soothing and succinct. Thank you for such a fantastic and free high res nature doc
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This is the epitome of wildlife representation ! Truly what elite level of documentation !
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That red deer buck was, BY FAR, THE most gorgeous buck I've seen in my life, & I grew up in a hunting family! (However, I prefer to "take" only photos.) Just seeing him in all his masculine glory was worth watching the entire documentary, but truth be told, the ENTIRE VIDEO IS FABULOUS! Thank you for putting this video up for people to watch. As an American who has never been to Europe, I had NO idea that such glorious landscapes existed in mainland Europe. Folks just HAD to have left "the old world" because of politics, crowding, or religion, as they certainly didn't leave to find a more beautiful area; there ARE no areas more lovely!
