Читать книгу Walking in Hungary. 32 routes through upland areas онлайн

47 страница из 60

There are almost 500 types of mushroom in Hungary, and woodland species of the boletus, russula and inocybe groups are commonly found. In the early nineteenth century the German settlers in the Bakony collected bracket fungus for tinder to light pipes and make hats. Today mushroom-foraging continues to play a small part in village economies.

The relatively undisturbed forests are a haven for wild game such as roe deer, red deer and, less commonly, the moufflon, introduced from Corsica in the 1920s. The wild boar is largely nocturnal, and the walker is more likely to see the upturned turf of its foraging than the animal itself. Red squirrel, pine marten, badger and fox are also present, but the wildcat, which prefers old beech forest, is very shy. Hungary’s hundreds of caves and crevices have attracted speleologists and archaeologists from all over the world, but also provide a good habitat for many species of bat, including the Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat. Lynx and wolf were once extinct, but thanks to a hunting ban since the 1970s have been making a cautious comeback in the Aggtelek and Zemplén. The brown bear is a very rare visitor from Slovakia.