Flora and fauna

Vegetation

There are silva, meadow, shrub and aquatic types of vegetation in the national park.

Forests occupy more than 85% of its territory. Pine forests are most widely distributed here (50.3% of the forested area). Oak forests occupy 12.8% of the forested area. You can also find white birch (10,7%), common birch (10.6%), black alder (7.1%), ash (2.1%), hornbeam (0.6%) and aspen (1,5%). There are occasional maple forests, lime-tree forests and willow beds.

Flora

The flora of the park is represented by 929 species of higher plants, including 22 species of trees and 32 species of shrubs. There are also 196 species of moss, 184 species of lichen and 321 species of algae. 44 species of plants are recorded in Red Book of the Republic of Belarus. Among them there are foxfeet, garland flower, martagon lily, floating moss, white water lily, prairie anemone, azalea, blackthorn, Siberian iris and others.

Fauna

On the territory of National Park "Pripyatsky" there are 51 species of mammals, 250 species of birds, 7 species of reptiles, 13 species of amphibians, 38 species of fish and more than 3 300 species of invertebrates, among which there are more than 2,500 species of insects.

Mammals are represented by 6 orders: insect-eating mammals (Insectivora) - 6 species, wing-handed animals (Chiroptera) – 5 species, duplicidentates (Lagomorpha) – 2 species, gnawing mammals (Rodentia) – 20 species, predators (Carnivora) – 13 species and cloven-hoofed mammals (Artiodactyla) - 51 species.

Among hoofed animals the most numerous species are wild boar (500-800 animals) and roe deer (500-600 animals). Acclimatized species of mammals got well acclimated on the territory of the park - muskrat, American mink and raccoon dog. Aurocs reacclimatized in 1987 and European red deer reacclimatized in 1995. Currently, aurocs are represented by 3 subpopulations, including two subpopulations of primary gene pool and one redundant subpopulation. The total number of aurocs is about 90 animals. The number of red deer is growing very fast. It reached 300 animals.
The natural balance of animals is supported by such predators as wolf, fox, lynx, marten, polecat and weasel.
The following animals from the Red Book live in the park: European mink (the 1^st category of protection), aurochs (the 2^nd category of protection), European lynx (the 2^nd category of protection), badger (the 3^rd category of protection), garden dormouse (the 3^rd category of protection), fat dormouse (the 3^rd category of protection), hazel dormouse (the 4^th category of protection).

Birds.

There are 256 registered species of birds in National Park "Pripyasky". It constitutes about 98% of the avifauna of Polesie. And it constitutes 79% of the avifauna of the whole country! 65 species are recorded in the Red Book of Belarus. It is more than 90% of birds from the Red Book of Belarus. Among them there are common crane, black stork, marsh owl, green woodpecker, azure tit and white-tailed eagle.

The floodplain of the Pripyat is the largest migration riverbed of migratory birds in Europe. Since March, endless flocks of thousands of birds fly over here: geese, ducks, sandpipers, tarrocks, gulls, storks, cormorants and others.

Plant speciesrecorded in the RedBook ofthe Republic of Belarus

On the territory of National Park "Pripyatsky" there are 44 kinds of rare plants included in the third edition of the Red Book of Belarus, 2005.

The list of rare plants of National Park "Pripyatsky"