Carska Bara

Some areas of water are covered in pond algae.^[4] Many rare and autochthonous plants live in the wetland, but also many imported ones. Some representatives of the water plants include water fern, European white water lily, yellow water lily,^[9]lax-flowered orchid.^[9] Meadow plants are represented by Plumbago, Achillea, wormwood, mallow and meadow sage, and marsh plants by flowering rush, yellow flag iris, water mannagrass, common sweet flag, bulrush,^[4]reed,^[4] etc.

Altogether, there are some 500 plant species registered in the reserve, including rare species, like yellow pheasant's eye, buttercup,^[10]marsh orchid, early marsh-orchid and mare's-tail.^[11] The colonies of old willow groves are preserved, so as the forests of the black poplar and narrow-leafed ash. There are rare specimens of pedunculate oak.^[10] Once abundant, the oak was heavily cut, but its number began to grow after the area was protected in 1955.^[4]

The main invasive species is the water caltrop. It anchors to the bottom of the ponds with its spikes and grows extremely fast, draining large amounts of oxygen from the water. The avoid the massive dying of the fish, the plant is being regularly cut from the bottom.^[4]

Five species of plants are on the Serbian red list of endangered species: yellow floating heart, Camphorosma annua, aquatic bladderwort, St John's wort, and saltmarsh thistle which is on the wider, European red list.^[11]

In Carska Bara and nearby Begej river there are 24 different species of fish.^[10] The muddy waters are ideal for northern pike. There are also colonies of zanders, which thrives in different waters (clearer, rocky, sandy). They remained from the period before 1964, when the Old Begej was a "live river", used for navigation. After being transformed into the oxbow lake, the population of zander remained in it, adapting to the new environment.^[4]

Amphibians (fire salamander, edible frog) and reptiles (sand lizard, European pond terrapin) are also abundant. Despite being a marshland, in Carska Bara there is a noticeable absence of mosquitos which local biologists attribute to the large number of frogs.^[7][10] Both frogs and tadpoles are feasting of mosquito larvae, while those who manage to hatch are prayed upon by the frogs and 18 species of dragonflies.^[4]

There are also numerous frogs and snakes (grass snake, etc.^[11]). Terrapins are strictly protected and considered the "cleaners" of the bog, as none of the other animals (birds, snakes) are not eating dead fish.^[4]

Carska Bara is the best known for its abundant bird life, the first ornithological exploration of which began in the late 19th century. There are 240 bird species recorded in the area.^[12][13] There are thriving colonies of herons (grey heron, little egret, black-crowned night heron) and cormorants (including pygmy cormorant). Other species include buzzards, Eurasian sparrowhawks, common spoonbills, western marsh harrier, Montagu's harrier, red-breasted goose, osprey, greylag goose, stork, woodcock,^[4][7]grebe, Eurasian bittern, auk, European bee-eater, and common redstart.^[11] Some 110 bird species are migratory.^[4][7]

Herons are considered the most important for the ecosystem. They nest in large colonies which are periodically moved from one locality within the reserve to another, based on the abundance of fish and its successful spawning. The number of herons vary greatly from season to season. By the late 20th century, their number differed from several hundred nests to over 10,000.^[13] All 10 species of herons living in Serbia can be found in Carska Bara, so herons became a symbol of the wetland.^[4] Some 50,000 greater white-fronted geese spend December-January each year in Carska Bara on their voyage from Siberia to the South Europe, via the Carpathian Mountains.^[10]

Other birds include whiskered tern, rails,^[14]swans, white-tailed eagles, ferruginous ducks, 8 species of herons, gulls and pelicans, while the cormorant colonies have 3,000 members. It is suggested that such a large number of birds actually prevents the bog from freezing during the winter.^[10] Swans in the reserve show aggressive behavior, attacking nests of all other birds, except for the migratory greater white-fronted geese.^[4]

Numerous birds, including kingfishers and cormorants, try to feed on the nearby Ečka fishponds. Cormorants especially reduce the fish population, so the birds are being chased away from the fishponds with the gas cannons. It was estimated that cormorants alone would eat over two tons of fish daily, if not chased away. The cormorants colony in Carska Bara has been described as the "horror movie set", with the trees dried from their droppings, with the strong smell of ammonia spreading around.^[4]

White-tailed eagles are on top of the food chain in the wetland. They are also the largest birds, with a wingspan of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) and weight of 7.5 kg (17 lb). They are known to pray on herons.^[4] In 2022, osprey and snake eagle were spotted in the reserve.^[14]

Variety of mammals include otters,^[7]European ground squirrel, wildcats,^[7]bank vole^[10] and also wild hog,^[9]roe deer, red fox, European brown hare, muskrat, bats, hedgehog, mole, weasel, hamster, European polecat, etc. The otters are under the strict protection. Wild hogs are also protected but in time their number greatly increased as they have no natural enemies in Carska Bara. They began to roam outside of the reserve, greatly damaging crops, especially in Belo Blato village. Residents sued the state for damages but lost. Instead, the state granted them permission to kill a quota of animals, if caught in their fields.^[4]

Tras casi 30 años de lucha de poder entre ecologistas y autoridades, el estatus legal de la reserva cambió en 2022, y el instituto "Reservas Naturales" de Zrenjanin se convirtió en su administrador. El instituto se creó específicamente para gestionar la reserva. Esto permitió la revitalización de la zona, que se había degradado con el tiempo. Partes de la reserva se degradaron considerablemente: el estanque de Tiganjica se secó, mientras que el de Perleska se redujo al 30% de su tamaño original. Los planes incluyen el dragado del río Bega Viejo en todo su curso, para que vuelva a ser navegable para embarcaciones turísticas. Se instalaron bombas de agua para extinguir incendios en toda la reserva. Se suspendió el vertido de aguas residuales de los estanques de peces, aunque la recuperación del ecosistema tardaría varios años, y se reforzó el servicio de guardaparques. La construcción del sistema de miradores panorámicos, torres de observación, parques infantiles e instalaciones turísticas comenzará en 2022. ^{[ 22 ]}