Responsible wildlife tourism in Romania
Our Romania wildlife Holidays
Carpathian Mountains holiday, conservation & culture
Wolves, bears and sightseeing
Volunteering with bears in Romania
Volunteer at an inspiring bear sanctuary in Transylvania
Romania wildlife holiday, bear watching and tracking
Memorable trip in Romania focused on wild bears
Transylvania wildlife holiday, lynx watching and tracking
Lynx watching and tracking in the land of Dracula
Danube Delta birdwatching in Romania
An incredible Danube Delta birdwatching experience!
Romania's natural wonders holiday, small group
Natural and cultural highlights - Danube Delta, mountains, bears
Romania wildlife holiday, bear tracking and birdwatching
Bear tracking and birdwatching holiday in the Carpathians
Family volunteering with bears in Romania
Unique family volunteering holiday at a bear sanctuary
Transylvania short break, small group
Romanian short break in the home of Dracula
Birding tour in the Danube Delta, Romania
Bird watching tour around the beautiful Danube Delta!
Walking in the Picos de Europa holiday
Explore the Picos de Europa on a self guided walking holiday
Wolf tracking and watching holiday in Transylvania
Wolf watching and trekking in Transylvania (mid Jan-Feb)
Danube Delta birding tour in Romania
Birdwatching tour around the beautiful Danube Delta!
Romania wildlife holiday stay in wildlife hides
-Explore some of the wildest forests of Europe.
Romania bird watching and bear tracking holiday
Wild brown bears and birdwatching in the Carpathians
Responsible wildlife watching
Responsible bear watching
Romania joined the EU in 2007, putting captive animals under the protection of more stringent environmental laws. Up until then, caged bears were commonly used to tempt customers into bars, restaurants and petrol stations. Bears have been seen as a commodity for so long that it takes convincing arguments to change attitudes.Sometimes, it seems a glacier-slow process. The 21st century narrative seems to characterise bears as the devil himself. Newspapers obsess over rare bear attacks. Meanwhile, politicians are keen to stoke an issue close to Romanian farmers’ hearts, saying that a bear hunting ban in 2016 resulted in a too-big-for-its-boots bear population that now needs culling. (It’s worth noting that bear hunting is traditionally the premise of the Romanian elite: politicians and businessmen.) Conservationists and civilian activists say that bear population stats – usually provided by hunters – are unreliable, and that habitat loss and irresponsible waste disposal are causing increased human-bear conflict.
Simona Munteanu, from our wildlife holiday specialists Absolute Carpathian, says: “Some of these conflicts are caused by bears losing their fear of people, entering their households and creating damage to their properties. This is increasing tensions, and there are more and more people taking things into their own hands. Using poison to get rid of the bears creates problems which, of course, harm much more than just the problematic bear.”
Romania has had so many human crises in recent history – from dictatorial Communist rule to a decades-long orphanage crisis – that it’s seen as a privilege to have the funds or time to prioritise wildlife conservation. There has been a feeling that there are bigger fish to fry.
But attitudes are changing, slowly. Libearty bear sanctuary was created in 2006 by journalist Christina Lapis. With around 30 hectares of oak and hazel forests, plus pools and foothills, this is the retirement home for over 100 rescued bears that can’t be returned to the wild.
Responsible wolf & lynx tracking
Wolves and lynx are elusive because they’ve had to be; they’ve been hunted in Romania for thousands of years. They also face very similar problems, so although they might get on like cats and dogs their fates are tied. Dangers range from pulp plantations and quarrying to road and railroad construction. Improved infrastructure is needed as Romania’s economy develops at pace, but there’s a distinct lack of environmental checks.

Environment
Habitat loss
Romania’s economy grew by 7 percent in 2017 (compare that to the UK’s 1.7 percent and the USA’s 2.3 percent). A rapid growth of cities and infrastructure followed. Forest clearing has spread since 2005 and old growth forests are disappearing. New ski resorts are popping up in areas precariously close to fragile UNESCO sites.Wildlife corridors are the key to preserving wildlife in Romania. They need to be established and preserved. The Zarand Landscape Corridor, for instance, is celebrated for its biodiversity – but it’s also threatened by large-scale development, loss of traditional agriculture, and intensified forestry practices like logging and commercial plantations. Wildlife bridges are a solid solution, but have yet to been put into practice.
Foundation Conservation Carpathia is the largest private conservation project in Europe, designed to fight against illegal logging. It’s gradually buying forest and hunting rights to protect a wilderness in the southern Carpathians the size of Yellowstone – big enough to allow natural movement for predators with huge territorial ranges.
Pollution & litter
Recycling facilities in Romania are, quite frankly, rubbish. The newly growing economy hasn’t put responsible waste disposal at the top of its priority list, so recycling is uncommon in cities and practically non-existent in rural areas. Some accommodation takes things into their own hands, though, with self catering apartments offering refills of cleaning products and Tupperware for packed lunches.Simona Munteanu, from our wildlife holiday specialists Absolute Carpathian, says: “Even if the rural guesthouses we work with are separating the usable or recyclable materials, there is no landfill that can process them, so our collaborators have to reuse themselves or take the recyclables to a big town that can. So for regular people that are not so committed to environmental protection, garbage separation is still a utopia, and many communities still leave the garbage in open landfills, which wildlife can easily get into.”
What you can do
People & culture
Always keep in mind that although rapidly growing, Romania still has a developing economy. Tourism helps lift people out of poverty, especially in rural communities. Wildlife holidays illustrate that there is economic worth in protecting forests and the animals in them. After all, top-of-the-food-chain predators like bears, wolves and lynx live in the same space as shepherds and farmers. You’re funding an understanding for the need to facilitate peaceful coexistence.