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For most
people, Mljet is an island lost in the open sea, and the
island is indeed hard to reach. But do not let this landscape
- mentioned in the stories about Odyssey and St. Paul, as
well as Benedictine monks and the Mediterranean Seal - remain
a secret for you. Mljet is an elongated island, with an
average width of 3 km, 37 km long. |
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It
is an Island of great diversity and contrast, and "Mljet"
National Park covers his northwestern part with an area
of 5.375 ha of protected land and surrounding sea. This
area was proclaimed as national park 11 November 1960 and
represents the first institutionalized attempt to protect
an original ecosystem in the Adriatic. The rich vegetation
of the island, especially in the area of the national Park,
explains why Mljet is also known as the Green Island. Today,
there are five types of forest on Mljet, including the remains
of a Mediterranean primeval forest, although the original
Holm Oak forest is only found in fragments. The best preserved
of these are in the area of the Great Valley. It has been
replaced with dense maquis, karst and spacious forests of
fast-growing Alpine pines which tend to dominate the vegetation.
Besides the forests, there are other areas of biological
interest: sand dunes on the coast, high, steep coastal cliffs,
as well as cliffs further inland, and, finally, the vegetation
on the reefs. Mljet's fauna is particularly friendly because
there are no poisonous snakes (e.g. horned viper) thanks
to the introduction of the Indian Mongoose, which wiped
them out. Five species of snakes and six species of lizards
have been registered on the island to date. Mljet's largest
daylight bird predator, the Snake eagle, feeds on snakes
and lizards. There are also many song-birds, as well as
several species of birds in the forest that do not normally
live on the Adriatic islands.
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