Rivers of Croatia, documentary film

everybody is familiar with the beauty of the Adriatic Sea pristine waters and rocky beaches with ancient towns made of stone [Music] the sea however is only one of Croatia's jewels the rivers are its biggest gems these are places of true wilderness habitats to the creatures that have disappeared elsewhere spots of remarkable beauty [Music] from vast flood plains to the OAC Zimmy coastal rugged rocks croatian rivers abound with life for many wild animals these rivers are its only home [Music] so diverse and so preserved like nowhere else in Europe the rivers of Croatia still flow in freedom [Music] in the very north of the country the drama flows through a cultivated plane with its flow the drop of forms a natural border with Hungary while European lowland rivers have largely been destroyed by dams and regulations the drama has been mostly shielded from these deadly shackles the drama carves its own way through the soft land sand and gravel but she has deposited here through the millennia she has carried rocks from the Elms crumbling them at her foaming wound and leaving them behind in the form of sand or gravel here the river is free to choose its own way and to make a border for herself Lamora drama confluence has changed its location several times in the last hundred years here the drama has enough space to create new habitats and continuously renew old ones sandbars steep banks sign arms dead arms and forests these scenes look like the apocalypse but are in fact scenes of birth this is the key to its biodiversity when the water is low sand and gravel bars rise up from the river resembling lifeless deposits of sediment plants however instantly begin to conquer the barren gravel parched in the Sun with little soil only the most resistant will succeed they are growing fast forming thick underbrush and preparing the soil for other plants [Music] birds visit the gravel bars to feed on tiny animals that the river has ejected a little ring plumber seems to be emerging from the gravel on the gravel bar but is still not overgrown after mating the female is now lying on her eggs she has just dug away a few of the pebbles and laid down the eggs amongst them her eggs can be hard to distinguish from the pebbles this protects them from potential predators when she catches sight of potential danger she sits on the fake nest to draw attention away from the eggs she also draws attention to herself by faking a broken wing as soon as she feels that the danger has passed she quickly returns to her real nest several other bird species have found their home and nesting place on the drama's gravel bars the Comintern is one of them she loves company so 30 pairs make their nests here their number increases their safety the terns eggs are also nested on the bare gravel the bar is protected from the predators from the mainland but if necessary the parents of the turn will ferociously protect their offspring several weeks later young chicks hatch from the eggs and now wholly dependent on their parents parents are also the only protection from the unrelenting Sun which is so strong that the pebbles are glistening from the heat the terns fly around patrolling for fish they can hover in the air while scanning their prey but this is not their only weapon a deadly combination of speed agility and teamwork makes them mighty hunters when they locate a shoal of fish and air assault begins like bombs the turns plunge into the water they dive and catch fish in their habitat with ease with the fish in their beaks they return to their hungry offspring the youngest Birds awkwardly swallow their first meals it's busy on the eroded riverbanks too steep banks are protection from predators so San Martin's nest here these birds are related to swallows only more chunky brown and with shorter wings tens even hundreds of pairs of these birds live together with their gentle legs they dig up to the meter long canals and create circular nests at the end now in late spring the offspring are nested and need to be fed all the time the traffic around the colony is reminiscent of a beehive the parents don't need to go far for food insects along the rivers surface are easy and tasty prey flies and mosquitoes are most often on the menu just one couple of San Martin's can eat one thousand bloodthirsty mosquitoes hungry chicks wait impatiently they nearly fall down from the hole while the parents B them a tasty bite B eaters are more colorful but smaller in number they also dig canals and build their nests at the end of the tunnel before mating the male must prove that he is worthy of the female so he brings tasty food a bee access fly bumblebee a big dragon fly or even a dangerous Hornet or his future partner only then can he become a father a sidearm branches out from the main river course and flows through the floodplain it often meanders parallel to the main channel the current in the armband is slower and the vegetation lusher these slow sidearms are places that attract both forest and water animals snakes swim through the water while deer and roe deer come to the pasture to enjoy the tasty fresh willow branches before dawn the beaver returns from the night shift to a much deserved rest in its lair the shallow and slow water is full of juvenile fish a favorite food for the birds the floodplains are most important for breeding wetland birds come here from the nearby nesting areas to feed in peace the black stork is a rare and timid bird but unlike the grey heron for hunt is explosive little egrets perform a magnificent ballet dance in May the gravel bars are in danger the water increases to dangerous levels snow melts on the mouths where the rivers have their source the torrents rushed to the lowlands filling with the spring rains the riverbeds become too small for this amount of water the lowland rivers are full of water in the spring the reddish waters of the drama converged with the brown waters of the Danube the waters refused to mix for hundreds of meters after they clash as the Danube is a big Central European river it cannot hold enormous amounts of water in its riverbed when it swells this excess spills into the vast floodplain the Koh Pich kited is one of the wildest and biggest floodplains water enters the Koh Pich get it through natural Danube branches the water stands for weeks even months in the middle of a Reed and Willow bed creating a tremendous wetland this is now a heaven for amphibians and reptiles the water is still cold so the European pond turtle climbs onto the driftwood to sunbathe during strong floods the surface area gets smaller so the turtles must huddle next to one another on the driftwood to warm up green frogs do not mind cold water these greedy hunters wait in a frozen stance and then explosively jump on the insects a female dragon fly lays eggs in the water however she needs to be careful not to become lunch for the hungry fish an abundance of fish amphibians and reptiles attracts a lot of wetland birds significant biological diversity ensues nearly 300 bird species are found in the cope edge kited not only have plants and animals adapted to the long-lasting plugs but these waters are keeping the KO Patch Kid it's exceptionally rich ecosystem alive as the wave passes by part of the water retreats back to the river and only deeper ponds are left behind the Sun slowly drains the remainder of the Koh Pich kitted wild boars approach the muddy sidearm in early spring the females lead their young to feed with little effort Bray herons feast on stranded fish even the grass snake sniffs a safe and easy launch it swallows the fish that have already been sentenced to death in the drying ponds the Koh Pich carrot is the land of plenty the deep and long-lasting ponds are becoming warm soup ideal for the breeding of numerous water animals millions of mosquito larvae are teeming here when they hatch the Coppedge kidded becomes horde from these flying bloodsuckers at the end of August when the days are still warm but the morning's fresh the mating instinct awakens of the deer large males come to the clearing and begin to roar before us echoes from this mating call every stag attempts to create a harem of females that he then jealously guards from the competition stags can lose up to 30 kilos from non-stop guarding fighting an other exertion the intensity of the roar represents a deer strength and condition so younger deer steer clear from the stag in his prime the landscape olya is an enormous flood plain near the big Central European river Sava the Sava spills out an early spring flooding spacious floodplains and forests smaller rivers like the low Nia ela WA and struga feed the Sava with water water is in the field during bird migration season it is full of food like a latent table for hungry and tired travelers to the north most frequently waiters feast here as they can sloshed through the water with their long legs the white-tailed eagle supervises everything that happens he is a permanent resident of the landscape olia and meadows are his territory meadows remain underwater for days even weeks for many animals this is an ideal opportunity for spawning fire Bell toads organize a spectacular concert in the spring floating males sing to attract females they utter in choirs competing with the rival the great crested grebe is not a good singer but a fine dancer both male and female are ritually strengthening their relationship and getting ready to rear the offspring the lake becomes a dance floor from the sava and the other rivers fish enter the field [Music] Prussian carps spawn when the sludge settles down and the water warms up in the spring Sun several males chased the female each hoping that he will be the one to transfer his genes to the new fish in the shadow of the oak ash in alder trees turtles made on the driftwood with shells on their backs this is not easy at all the female decides it is enough and the male falls to the water people have adjusted to the floods of Alaska polio but also to coexistence with wild animals in vast floodplain pastures farm animals grace together with wild ones after the water has withdrawn pigs enjoy the mud after the winter and the stables forces return to the fields they run through the pasture enjoying their found freedom cows are next to them their owners regularly visit and water them but the animals find food by themselves farm animals live in the pastures all year except during the winter in the season of a big floods farm animals graze together with herons and other wetland birds in the spring all that is left from the floods are little ponds that are now crowded with animals [Music] Old Pasadena rural villages are set in the middle of this landscape people have always lived here despite the floods fields in the lowlands were left as pastures but in higher areas they cultivated the fields and built houses [Music] storks have just returned to the village with loud clattering they mark their life lasting partnership after that it is time to take care of this year's offspring 40 couples of these big white birds nest in the village Chi coach massive nests lie atop the old rural houses built from oak beams a house can be dismantled and moved to another location in case of high water historic does not need to go far for food you can land on the wet meadows and forests right near the houses one month later the chicks have hatched from the eggs now the stork must constantly bring food for the hungry chicks frogs are often prey however a real treat is a snake but it is inconveniently long so everybody grabs for her at the same time at the beginning of the summer the need for food becomes greater the stork goes to the pastures and hunts right next to the farm animals heat and mosquitoes conquer the floodplain the stork skillfully searches for prey between the hoops of cows and horses every bite matters so she is satisfied even with insects horses look for refreshments in the ponds that are getting smaller and smaller cows look for refreshment as well as water the roof is now intensely hot besides providing life-saving shade the parents water the youngsters at the same time they cool them with splashing like from a shower [Music] hills that slowly grow into mountains are found in the most narrow part of Croatia ear soft land gives way to a firm rock known as karst karst covers almost half of Croatia an enormous amount of rain falls upon this mountain this is the most humid part of Croatia with more than 3000 liters of rain per year the Gorski Kotar is a mountain region overgrown with vast forests these forests are ruled by bears Croatian mountains do not exceed 2000 meters so there are not many monolithic Peaks long cold winters render this area is a land of snow and ice in the early spring all the snow melts down fast mountain streams and rivers form small foamy Rapids over the rocky riverbed at this time of year the Riverside's are decorated with spring flowers the mayfly swarms above the water after mating the female will lay her eggs on the river bottom the white throated dipper nests by the rapids and feeds on may fly larvae trout the symbol of fast mountain rivers prey on them as well not many rivers flow through the mountains of Croatia water quickly penetrates the underground through the porous base of the Dinaric karst therefore rivers appear in the foot of mountains were water resistant rocks keep them on the surface the Cooper River flows between lower Hills where lush vegetation obscures the rocks this is the area of green karst although the Koopas source is only about ten kilometers from the sea our waters flow towards the north converging with the Sabah and becoming part of the Danube River Basin the Koopa flows through Carlebach a city that lies in four rivers the maratha features both exceptional abundance and the phenomenon of karst instead of a fast but a monotonous River there are barriers with waterfalls and slow flowing lakes hundreds of waterfalls are pouring over the barriers the morash Nitsa is like the plitvicka lakes but it's waterfalls outstretch into sixty kilometers of flow these are short cascades often arranged into terraces a commotion of water and air bubbles flurry inside the waterfalls what kind of substance created the barriers that partition the river making her pour over it to fight is the main sculptor of this river landscape and with that of the living world to find out how this occurred we need to take a look inside the waterfalls the water that passes through the karst rocks is full of melted limestone ions here in the waterfalls these invisible ions are reuniting in the form of crystals air bubbles are one of the key elements necessary for the formation of tufa in the mountain waterfalls the other key element is water moss with its stems it captures the limestone so the water cannot take the to four crystals away tufa is created and the water moss covers it with a brown crust with time the tufa suffocates the moss the death of the moss is the birth of the new rock while other types of rock grow for millions of years the growth of the tufa can be traced in the lifetime of a human on the fragile bodies at Moss with the continuous growth of tufa the largest waterfalls are formed the more splashing though bigger and higher the waterfalls will be however right after the waterfalls the Marissa shows her different almost contrary face the barrier has slowed down the flow so the water barely flows this is a real flowing wetland colorful water plants grow on the edges not surprisingly ducks inhabit the terrain the womb of the tufa waters is a green world the tufa has built an exotic land form of big rocks and narrow canals in other locations the bottom becomes a jungle of water plants perfect for the growth of the water lily Lotus and many other wetland plants water lily stems rise up from the forested bottom almost touching the willow an ATAR branch is bent over the water schools of fish glide peacefully through this underwater forest many Croatian rivers are rich with tufa this substance also carries the flow of the karana river she has one of the most beautiful sources in the world of Lavazza lakes the lakes are located in the middle of the thick forests of Lika they are in fact flowing lakes with tufa barriers that create world-famous waterfalls the saw stuff see waterfall developed where the last lake falls down and connects with the province of waterfall in this wonder of nature the Koran a river is born not all rivers are born from the splashing of waterfalls some of the rivers sources are entirely calm but not any less attractive deep from the underground water Springs to the surface and creates a calm lake some of the wells reach over 200 meters in depth the river flows from the lake source almost half of the karst wells look like this part of these wells is developed in karst fields by toes between the hills or high mountains the lika region under the velvet mountain is a place of brutal cold in the spring the snow melts and produces a large amount of water the waters of the Subbaiah River flow only in the humid part of the year abundant rainfall and melted snow from velvet fill up her basin only a few weeks later and there is less water soon it will completely run dry still there are places where the water remains longer the curve of scope olya is a huge lake during the spring water was not brought by the river year but rises up from the underground the waters in the karst have an unbreakable bond with the underground rivers are just their surface manifestations when the water returns to the underground and the Sun dries up the ground the field becomes a pasture find sediment from the nearby hills has blocked the porous bottom of the karst fields and created a plain rivers often flow here their flow is calm and they even meander peatland a special plant community is developed by the dredge eula River the soil is always moist due to the mosses that store water like a sponge a small botanical garden of plants has adapted to the moisture reeds cotton grass orchids and even carnivorous plants grow here these predatory plants need to compensate for the lack of minerals and the perpetually moist ground with few nutrients butterworts therefore catch insects with their sticky leaves an ant has recklessly climbed on the plant and stuck to it the butter wart is now ingesting him Bhagat's Co the most known river in Lika rises up at the beginning of the cars field it is 11 kilometers long [Music] birds can find plenty of food here break crested Greaves make their homes here and are occupied with racing their offspring parents dive in for food and the youngsters follow them parents are often the warm platform where the fledgling can rest despite freezing water that does not exceed over 11 degrees centigrade even in the summer the got SCA's riverbed is lushly overgrown the brown trout fish from the got ska that can grow to an impressive size height among the plants because of them Vygotsky is a mecca for fly fishermen the strict rule of catch but return applies here the benefits of the river and the plane attracts people since ancient times people have used the power of the river and built water mills on their wells wood and water mills on the mire well of the got Scott River Armonia slee blended with the river a massive milestone grinds grain and turns it into an aromatic flower before electricity people built this kind of water mill on many Croatian rivers waterfalls are a natural power source and therefore a logical place for building water mills the water mill on the mir no River in the katli village in Istria is one of the most beautiful it uses part of the energy from the natural waterfalls and blends in with the landscape the river has carved the narrow canyon and the circulating currents have created dents that look like gorges the village was named after them nearby over the magnificent waterfalls close the position cell river under the ancient town of posit the River enters into the monstrous mouth after the last waterfalls and Rapids the river disappears into the darkness of the underground the karst rivers often rise up on one part of the field and on the other part finalized their flow under the Sun and plunge into the dark underground therefore they are called underground rivers invisible to the eye in the eternal darkness the waters of the underground rivers continue to flow far away from sight to the inside of the mountain rising up to the lower step in the lower field the leach gut Jennison a saw River plunges into a combination of branches and lakes when she rises up again her waters are known as the river of a different name her name is now saluted son [Music] the closer we get to the sea there is more and more karst the area between the Lika fields the coast is occupied by colossal mounds by the other karst part of the velvet mountain the Cooper River flows through one of the most inhospitable landscapes in Croatia in the middle of this fervid Inferno of the northern Dalmatian plateau unspeakably refreshing water pearls the Krupa has created a green oasis here her guardians are steep cliffs and canyons och creeps that heat up so much on hot summer days but only the most resistant organisms lichens can live here in only seven kilometers of its flow the Cooper River hides so much charm in its deep canyon that it can easily be compared to much longer rivers the sound of water is ubiquitous as the river flow is intercut with tufa barriers water crashes over the barriers and spectacular waterfalls all this is the creation of tufa this master of stones created waterfalls underwater caves and a soft yellowish riverbed this living porous rock continues to grow and transform the landscape she gives life to other living creatures the coudé bridge is also constructed from the two phone legend says however that it was built from log by a shepherd so he could reunite with his darling who was on the other Riverside the Koopa flows into the zir minyak river not only do the waters merge but two remarkable canyons do as well right after the confluence tumbles the velikiy Buch waterfall of Zermeno from a barrier 11 meters high completely covered with grass millions of tiny drops spray in white blasts the set in a river rises up from a deep lake well on the edge of the karst field butterflies search for water and food by the well moisture and animal dung attract these beauties the setna river snakes under the mighty Dino Mountain in the summer her flow resembles an African savanna on the other part of the flow the setna boasts an impressive Canyon over the millennia the power of the water deepened the riverbed through the firm Rock leaving bare cliffs at the sod VAR game the setna enters a canyon so steep that even the rafts cannot pass anymore the magnificent goo bovitz of waterfall is located in the middle of this magical ambient it is made of two main steps almost 50 meters tall macaca is another adriatic river that wriggles through the karst plateau a big tufa barrier slow down the flow of the Kerkar river as it exited from the canyon creating a huge piece of its lake a franciscan monastery has found its peace on the island near the widening of the river the formation of the tufa can better be monitored with a microscope but its effects on the river can be seen from an airplane pods and Islands create a wetland maze this is another away supply fin the middle of the cruel karst dragonflies insects that span both water and air buzzed like helicopters life flourishes both above and under the water endemic fish easily swim through the water jungle that rises from the bottom halls of this endemic fish swim among lush underwater vegetation the querque is warm enough here so the plants crowd together on every inch of the floor the kirko resembles a tropical water course here even though the bare rocks of the canyon are just a few metres away Kirk ax is the prime of life Europe's most impressive waterfall surround the Kirk a river the Stravinsky book foams and crushes 800 meters high and 400 meters wide waterfall after waterfall is strong ear pearl after pearl of this famous necklace 17 larger and smaller terraces violence armbands three beds and groves overcome the high altitude of forty seven and a half meters various species of fish live underneath the waterfalls mullets are found just beyond the striated ski book this fish can tolerate both fresh and saltwater their presence indicates that the sea is near the karst rivers mostly merged with the sea in the estuary where the salt and fresh waters mingle freshwater flows on the surface towards the sea and the saltwater slithers on the bottom deep in the land the 0na estuary looks like the lunar surface [Music] in contrast the delta of the narrative our River resembles the Danube this river Springs and flows mostly in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina it flows in Croatia only in its final stage through its course the narrative ax deposited sediment filled karst cracks and created arable flats and valleys the biggest Adriatic wetland soft ground in the middle of the karst was created the karst hills are now an island in the sea of never-ending reed beds the cold and clear rivers and branches of the narrative of river flow through them and just when it seems as if the narrow foot disappears forever in the sea The Magic sandbars emerge Bernardo has been pushing its sediment towards the pellets thereby creating its Delta during the low tide huge sand Shores attract a lot of animals this is a remarkable habitat for wetland birds they weigh down the mud with their long legs and big fingers and have no trouble catching their prey with their long beans among them are also pygmy cormorants remarkable divers hunting for a meal of tasty fish [Music] the nerrit ball was always a haven for a variety of birds but very near to the sea reed beds are replaced by salt marshes alle fights plants that have adapted to saltwater grow here they are watered both by the narrative of river and the waves of the sea tide one of the Halla fights is salt work it's thick fleshy stems are resistant to the salt [Music] humans claimed a big part of the narrative of Valley for themselves they built up towns reclaim breed beds and planted plantations they covered the Delta of the river in stones and straighten it they stole the narrative of river from the wetland in the sea despite that the narrative on bite all of the Croatian rivers is still alive while many rivers of the world are suffocating from the shackles of dams and regulations only rivers that are alive will enable our survival [Music] water is the treasure of the future [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you you

Channel: Explore Croatia

Views: 43,108

Keywords: priroda, dokumentarac, Hrvatska, Croatia, dalmatia, wild, hrvaška, kroatien, croatie, croazia, Chorwacja, croatia rivers map, croatia rivers and lakes, main rivers Croatia, rivers istria Croatia, Chorvátsko, croatian rivers, documentary, kopački rit, danube, national parks in croatia, Kroatien Viele Flüsse, reiche Fauna, La Croatie au fil de l'eau, croatia nature, croatia rafting, documentary croatia, zrmanja rafting, cetina rafting, danube croatia, national geographic croatia

Id: 3w3CAMw2L7Q

Length: 49min 17sec (2957 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 06 2020