Shebenik – Jabllanice National Park is a protected national park located in the northeastern part of the Librazhd District

Librazhd District

The District of Librazhd is one of the thirty-six districts of Albania, part of Elbasan County. It has a population of 63,192 , and an area of . It was formed as an administrative unit in 1958. It is in the east of the country, and its capital and administrative center is...

, Elbasan County

Elbasan County

The County of Elbasan is one of the 12 counties of Albania. It consists of the districts Elbasan, Gramsh, Librazhd and Peqin and its capital is Elbasan.Much of Elbasan's eastern border is with the Republic of Macedonia...

 in central Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. The park covers an area of 33,927.7 hectares and shares a border with the Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

. Elevations in the park vary from 300m to over 2,200m at the peak of Shebenik

Shebenik

Shebenik is a large mountain located in the Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park in eastern Albania. Shebenik has many peaks over . The highest is Maja e Shebenikut at above sea level. It is found in the north-east of Shebenik. Around this peak are a number of small and large mountain lakes. Shebenik...

 mountain, which, along with Jablanica give name to the park. The park is one of Albania’s newest, created in 2008. Within the park region dwell a number of different species that are fast becoming rare in Albania, including the brown bear

Brown Bear

The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...

, gray wolf

Gray Wolf

The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...

 and the endangered Balkan Lynx

Balkan Lynx

The Balkan Lynx is a subspecies of the Eurasian Lynx in the Lynx genus. It is the national symbol of the Republic of Macedonia. It is considered to be the largest cat on the continent. The Balkan Lynx has been on the brink of extinction for nearly a century, with numbers estimated to be around one...

. Further, the park is home to a number of endemic and rare plants. The nearest towns to the park are Librazhd

Librazhd

Librazhd is a town in eastern Albania, capital of the Librazhd District. It has a population of approximately 9,998. Librazhd is the nearest town to the Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park...

 and Prrenjas.

On 21 April 2011, the PPNEA (Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania) research team got the first photo of an alive Balkan lynx living within the boundaries of the national park.

History

The area was declared a National Park by the government on May 21, 2008.

Park management

The project is managed by the local Forest Directorates in Librazhd and Prrenjas, as a part of the Ministry of the Environment.

Geography and geology

Geology

Two rivers flow and multiple smaller water sources flow through the park's area including the Qarrishte River and Bushtrice River, both of which are 22 km long.

Glacial Lakes

The area is home to at least 14 glacial lakes, the highest of which are around 1900 meters.

Climate

The climate of most of the park falls into the Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

 category, with average annual temperatures between 7°C and 10°C. Annual average precipitation is between 1,300mm and 1,800 mm dependent on location within the park

Wildlife and ecology

The park area is home to a number of different rare and endemic species of plants, animals and fungi.

Flora

The park contains beech, fir, pines, and oak species as well as species such as Purple Willow, Norway Maple, Silver birch, and European silver fir in the northern slopes of the Park area. There are a number of rare and endemic plant species such as Albanian rock rose (endemic species), greenwed (subendemic species), Albanian pansy (subendemic species), Dukagjini pansy (subendemic species) and Rock grevillea (subendemic species).

Fauna

The park area is thought to contain one of the primary remaining ranges of the Balkan Lynx

Balkan Lynx

The Balkan Lynx is a subspecies of the Eurasian Lynx in the Lynx genus. It is the national symbol of the Republic of Macedonia. It is considered to be the largest cat on the continent. The Balkan Lynx has been on the brink of extinction for nearly a century, with numbers estimated to be around one...

 subspecies of the Eurasian lynx

Eurasian Lynx

The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized cat native to European and Siberian forests, South Asia and East Asia. It is also known as the European lynx, common lynx, the northern lynx, and the Siberian or Russian lynx...

. On 21 April 2011, the PPNEA (Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania) research team got the first photo of an alive Balkan lynx living within the boundaries of the national park. It is also a natural range for the brown bear, gray wolf, chamois, wild boar, European otter and brown trout

Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....

. Avian populations include the Golden Eagle, Western Capercaillie, and Hazel Grouse

Hazel Grouse

The Hazel Grouse or Hazel Hen is one of the smaller members of the grouse family of birds. It is a sedentary species, breeding across northern Eurasia and central and eastern Europe in dense, damp, mixed coniferous woodland, preferably with some spruce.The nest is on the ground, and 3–6 eggs is...

.

Recreation

There are numerous hiking trails throughout the park of varying difficulty with markings of varying quality. See the Librazhd Forest Directorate for a map.

External links

• Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park Official Website
• Shebenik-Jabllanice NP at Wikitravel