Fauna
Early spring in the mountains! Woodpeckers drumming loudly, exciting views of large carnivores including the European Brown Bear and other species.
Romania is one of the richest countries in mainland Europe in terms of the species living here in various habitats. Some facts: the bird list contains 364 species, we have 191 fish species, 30 reptiles species and 102 species of mammals. Of the 364 species of birds, 109 can be found in the Piatra Craiului National Park.
The raptor species that you can come across in the Piatra Craiului Mountain are : Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Buzzard (Buteo buteo), Goshawk (Accipiter gentillis), Sparrowhawk (A. nisus), Hobby (Falco subbuteo), Peregrine Falcon (F. peregrinus), Kestrel (F.tinnunculus), Little Owl (Athene noctua) and many others
The Gorges and rocky areas are populated with : Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria), Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris), Swift (Apus apus), Alpine Swift (Apus melba), Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis).
The Carpathian Mountains divide Transylvania from the rest of Romania creating an attractive landscape and offering an amazing range of mountainous species all breeding here: Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), Hazel Grouse (Bonasa Bonasia), Dipper (Cinclus cinclus), Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria), Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus), Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes), Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris), Skylark (Alauda arvensis), Crag Martin (Ptynoprogne rupestris), Alpine Swift (Apus melba), Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia), Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Lesser -spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina), Woodpeckers (Picus) and many more.
The mountainous basins attract other interesting species such as Goshawk (Accipiter gentiles), Quail (Coturnix coturnix), Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), as well as plenty of different common and rare Warblers, White and Black Storks, golden and lesser - spotted Eagles, Black Kite (Milvus migrans) and other raptors as well.
Of the approximately 100 mammal species of the country, over 40 % live around the Piatra Craiului massif. Up to now, 17 bat species have been identified, as the caves and old tree hollows in the national park give them the shelter they need. A significant number are strictly protected, with 6 species of community interest (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. euriale, Myotis bechsteinii, M. blythii, M. myotys, Barbastella barbastellus).
The Romanian Carpathians are the only place in Europe west of Russia where widespread populations of all three large carnivore species (Bear - Ursus arctos; Wolve - Canis lupus and Lynx - Lynx lynx) still exist. They are home to about 50% of all bears, 35% of all wolves and 30% of all lynx in Europe.
Surveys undertaken have shown the existence of three animal corridors between Piatra Craiului and the Bucegi mountains. These corridors have special protection status.
The invertebrate fauna is amazingly rich, and of special scientific interest. Particularly significant is that there are not only 35 endemic species but also 91 recognised as being completely new species, examples are Nesticus constantinescui (Arahnida) and Rhagidia carpatica (Arahnida, Acari).
Piatra Craiului is home to a great number of butterfly species, up to now over 216 species have been identified, some of them rare or endemic. Here are some examples : Psodos coracinus dioszeghy - endemic alpine subspecies; Apamea zeta sandorokovacsi - endemic Carpathian species; Erebia pronoe - local Carpathian species, found only in Piatra Craiului and the Bucegi mountains, etc.