Which animals are native to Poland?

American mink and slider turtle aren`t native. Recently they found a giant turtle in the Vistula River which weighed 3.3 kg. Amazing.

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Mink is a woman's favorite...

These are native to (or common in) Poland with colonies in the Wisła and Odra. The szczeżuja (Eng: duck mussel). Apparently not very tasty, but the English name suggests that ducks like them.

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Once, at a scouting camp, in conditions close to survival course, we tried to roast them in the campfire but they turned out as tough as a shoe sole. Poor mussels! I still can`t forget their horrible plight. :(:(

They don't feel pain.

The don't have brains either. maybe they should start posting here ;-)

Here's the very big kind (up to 20 cm long), szczerżuja wielka (Eng: swan mussels). They're very protected in the UK, and are protected in Poland under international treaties. Apparently they were common here until the late 20th century but now are vanishingly rare.

Someone once told me that they started to disappear after Chernobyl, however I don't know how accurate that is.

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Spider called bagnik przybrzeżny - shore swamper or in proper English - raft spider - lives close to water . It preys even on tadpoles and small frogs.

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The first specimens of American blue crab appeared in Polish sea. Amazing! I love all seafood and those crabs are eaten by millions of tons in US and Mexico.

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@pawian, that's a nice blue colour :)


We found it once in a river near my grandma's village when I was a kid or a teen. We simply called it "małż". Btw, some women call their husbands in such a humorous way, because in Polish one of the words for a husband is "małżonek" :)


lol

A closest encounter of the third kind with a beautiful red deer in the Tatry Mountains

In Poland the species` formal name is noble deer.

Only truly sick people might dream of killing it as a hunting prey.

What a sweet creature... ❤️ and an amazing encounter... Those people have strong willpower - I'd be tempted to feed that deer :/

Wisents are very careful when crossing roads - they wait until all cars stop.

See a huge herd of about 100 animals

Smart creatures.

Quite understandable. Big mammals have big brains. Not like dinosaurs.

@pawian

Nice video!

Looks like America's Yellowstone National Park

One deer is nothing special. But 100 or 200 or more red deer is unusual.

Where they rush, interestingly in the opposite direction than the bisons.

Wise animals, they know that crowding at the same place is dangerous, with covid threat etc.

A bear attack in Poland! Watch out!

The man attacked by the bear is a German activist who "tried to prove that the animal's lair was abandoned due to forest clearing." "A concerned bear emerged and started chasing an activist trying to prevent logging in the Bieszczady Mountains," we read.

The activist and his companion expected the lair to be empty. But the animal was there. While running away, the man allegedly tripped and was injured by the bear.

The event was recorded by a camera trap. The photos were posted on social media by the spokesman of the State Forests, Michał Gzowski, who called the event "irony of fate".

Pawian and Bonobo......

Well, everything is clear. In Poland, even bears don't like Germans anymore. Well, here's what the 8-year rule of PiS has led to.

Heh:)

Why even? I like Germans and their Sprache. I only dislike some of their views occassionally but that is a trifle.

I don't know what mergansers are and have never seen or heard that word however this afternoons was walking in Saxon Gardens and saw a giant hedgehog walking about. He or she was cute.

:):):)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_merganser

Black squirrels are a rarity in Poland. This one succumbed to the temptation of nuts, fava beans and sunflower seeds which I stored outside.

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They're so cute! I didn't even know there were black squirrels. Thought they were either red or grey.