Baba Mountain

Pelister National Park’s flora include the five-needle pine molika (Pinus peuce) – a unique species of tertiary age, being present on only a few mountains in the Balkan Peninsula. Fauna in the area include: bears, roe deer, wolves, chamois, deer, wild boars, rabbits, several species of eagles, partridges, redbilled jackdaws, and the endemic Macedonian Pelagonia trout. In a comprehensive article published in 2002, Melovski and Godes reported that there are three large carnivores in North Macedonia which can be found in Baba and surrounds, the brown bear, the wolf and the lynx. Actual numbers at that time were difficult to estimate given that most reports came from non-scientific sources (surveys, hunters and anecdotal reports), however in 2002, it was estimated there were approximately 30 bears in N.P. Pelister and Galičica N.P hosting only 3-4. A larger number could apparently be found in the N.P Mavrovo. The numbers however may be significantly larger in today’s climate given the protected status of bears in North Macedonia. In terms of wolves, there was an estimated total of 1200 wolves in the entire country of North Macedonia, with an estimated 54 lynx when the article was written.