Flora and Fauna in Lithuania

Lithuania is a very beautiful country. It is very rich with many plants and animals. But of course we must save what we have. The most beautiful part of nature is our thick forests. They cover 27,9% our all territory. So we can admire our woods. But they are not like they were 5 or 6 hundred ago. Then our forests were just inpassable and full of different animals. But many people have cut these beautiful woods and now we have only 18,000 separate plots. But now when people understand the threat of extinction and many organisations plant new pine forests. But as trees grow very slow we can see these new-planted forests only after some time. 38,1% of all wooded area are pine forests, 20,7% fir forests and 21,1 birch groves. Also we have such beautiful trees as alders, ashes, asps, limes, maples, poplars and oaks. These trees usually grow separately form others or in mixed woods. They occupy the rest wooded-territory. But of course many of them grow in cities and separately from others and singly, especially oaks. But sometimes we can find a beautiful and also dreary oak-grove. These groves were honoured in till the 14th century by the pagans and are admired now. They are the symbol of the strenght of Lithuania. Lithuania’s woods are rich in mushrooms and berries. Many people like gathering them. It is quite popular in Lithuania. Lithuanians gather raspberries, wild strawberries, cranberries and billberries. Lithuania is very beautiful with its running rivers and blue lakes. Many different fishes are there and fishing is a popular hoby in LT. But there are many areas where you can’t fish nor hunt. These are the reservations in Lithuania and they are made to save our nature and all the components of it: flora and fauna. But you can always find a place for fishing and pick a convenient time for hunting durning the hunting season.

Lithuania’s climate is not very hot so we don’t have such breeding animals like tigers, ostriches, hippos, kangaroos and others. But we have such animals like wolves, foxes, hares, bears, elks, squirrels and wild boars. Some of them sometimes make a lot of trouble to the village people but on the whole they are loved and carred of. Also we have such beautiful and big birds as eagles and hawks. Many trees and electric stoles have nests of the storks. They fly back to their sweet homes from warm countries in spring. Many lithuanian birds hibernate in Lithuania and sometimes they have problems with food. Such birds as crows find the food easily, but for pigeons and sparrows it is extreemly difficult. And then people try to help them by putting some food in the balconies or in similar places which are easily accessable by the birds. People try to help bigger animals too. They build feeding-racks and put some food for elks and zools. These racks are built in the woods and they help to survive for herbvivorous animals. Wolfes and bears eat meat so they can find the food themselves. But they are saved too. The hunt of some of them are prohibited or divided into seasons when the threat of extinction is not so high. Many animals and birds are written into Lithuania’s Red Book. So it is against the law to hunt or kill these animals. There are many endangered plants in Lithuania and they are also written in the Red Book. Then none can uproot and pluck these plants. Some of the beautiful flowers are there. And people try to plant and grow them artificially. Then the flowers and other plants are grown in hothouses and the number of plant species grown artificially is about 800.
I think that our woods are safe. We don’t have very dangerous animals. Of course a bear is not vary kind to people when it is hungry, but all the animals fear of people because may of them made much harm to them. They have their habitats and try to stay there as long as they can. There are very little poisonous snakes. The popular non-poisonous snake is grass-snake. It has its history too. And it was admired by many people long ago and old people still bring food (milk) to them and keep them in the cellar or near the house. Many woods and other plants are killed by man’s chemical industry, factories. Also a big harm is made by the fertilisation. The fertilisation is used very frequently and it kills mane insects and worms but it also kills a big part of our nature. We must be in charge of the nature and environment around us. We must save our home and the place we live in. all the people must know that nature is our home and we take a big part of it to survive. So we must give something back. It can be love to animals and plants and help.