Wild Serbia

Serbia is in the heart of the Balkans, a “little Europe“ within Europe; with its rich variety of landscapes and natural beauties, it certainly does this name justice. This nature documentary presents Serbia's breath-taking, picturesque regions and unique wildlife on a journey to the most beautiful and wildest areas of the Balkan peninsula, from high mountains across gentle hills to the vast plains of the Puszta. Serbia is only about five times the size of Schleswig Holstein, yet here the most varied vegetation zones, animal kingdoms and cultures meet. And even today a large number of Serbian people live in close communion with nature. They are proud of the storks’ nests in the villages, the ancient species of livestock that have been preserved and the vultures that return to make their home here. In many places people are pleased to see bears, lynx and wolves, and even jackals are at home in the forests of Siberia. It is a country full of traditions and folklore, with deep influences from the Orient as well as the West. The Danube is the most prominent river in Serbia. As it makes its way through the Carpathian Mountains of Rumania it forms the most imposing gorge in Europe, the Iron Gates. Other striking features of Serbia's landscape include the archaic earth pyramids of Devil's Town, towering up in powerful red colours - and what must be the driest region of Siberia, the Deliblatska Pescara, which is also known as Europe's Sahara. Colourful birds called bee-eaters have settled on a rocky slope - a whole, noisy colony of them. They make their nests in caves which they dig themselves in the ground, and the inaccessible location means it is difficult for enemies to reach them. The more frequently the male brings the female insects it has caught, the more powerful is the bond between them later.