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Trip Report - 6 days/5 countries

PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 5:55 pm
by David Broek
In August last year we made a trip through five European countries in six days. What started with only an attempt to see Salamandra atra was expanded a little bit. Some days were very successful with target species found within a few minutes while other days were very frustrating with almost zero new herps. Paths crowded with atra's enjoying the heavy rain, finding relict tessellata and ammodytes within a few minutes and seeing some regional specialties like Rana latastei, Iberolacerta horvathi and Proteus anguinus were some of the highlights. The Italian Alps and the Croatian Island Krk were more disappointing, probably due to the weather (and our slightly unrealistic itenerary). We ended up with 27 herp species, with also some lifers.
You can read the full trip report here:
https://pantala.jouwweb.nl/trip-reports/europe/eurotrip-august-2019

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Re: Trip Report - 6 days/5 countries

PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 10:02 pm
by Jeroen Speybroeck
Well done!

I hope you won't hate me for some bubble bursting, though. The olms in that puddle are put there by the guides to lure tourists who don't want to do the full tour. The actual, natural and wild habitat only starts way further and deeper in the cave and involves a boat trip, where you can easily see several tens, if not more swimming below your boat. Sorry.... Finding one by checking the waters at the entrance, before the gate thus is also highly unlikely.

Re: Trip Report - 6 days/5 countries

PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2020 5:53 pm
by David Broek
Jeroen Speybroeck wrote:Well done!

I hope you won't hate me for some bubble bursting, though. The olms in that puddle are put there by the guides to lure tourists who don't want to do the full tour. The actual, natural and wild habitat only starts way further and deeper in the cave and involves a boat trip, where you can easily see several tens, if not more swimming below your boat. Sorry.... Finding one by checking the waters at the entrance, before the gate thus is also highly unlikely.

Hmm, I have to admit it didn't look very natural indeed, so many olms in an isolated puddle. But other dutch naturalists told us these olms were in freedom as well. It wasnt possible to book the full tour for us so it was a nice backup opportunity to see them when we couldnt find them at other sites. At any case, have to go back there to change the observation of pre-captured olms for some real olms in the wild.