Let's let the Krkonoše grouse flow in peace

Spring is a time of courtship and reproduction in the animal kingdom. It is no different with black grouse. They are one of the rarest species that live in the Krkonoše National Park - only 75 males live here. The time of their flow, when the black grouse fights together for the hen, is just beginning. They can be disturbed by curious observers, but also by the supply of ridge huts.

In addition, it tries to agree with the operators of the facilities on the ridges of the mountains that the passages through the tokaniště will go to a time where the black grouse will not be disturbed. Such localities are, for example, the area of ​​Pančavská and Labská louky and the area between Výrovka and Klínovy Boudy. The KRNAP Administration has agreed with the operator of Labská and Luční bouda, which passes through both localities during the supply, to regulate traffic for a time of day between 8 and 17 o'clock. This year, the black grouse will have particularly favorable conditions - the mountain huts are closed due to the Covid-19 infection and tourists are not allowed to move on the top parts of the mountains. The entry ban due to nature protection applies from 15 March to 31 May.

Unfortunately, the number of grouse is declining slightly. The reason is the loss of suitable habitats, the increase in the number of their natural enemies (wild pigs, foxes), which eat on the ground nesting grouse eggs and chickens. The third reason is excessive human interference. It is mainly due to illegal winter activities, such as moving off the beaten track, or ski mountaineering and climbing in glaciers, where grouse spend a lot of time, especially in winter, because catkins and buds of willows and cranes often protrude above the snow cover, an important component of their food. The Krkonoše Mountains, together with the Jizera and Ore Mountains and the Šumava Mountains, are probably the last areas in the Czech Republic that experts believe the grouse has the prospect of preserving long-term sustainable populations.

Will the Krkonoše grouse survive the year 2040?

The Giant Mountains and the neighboring Jizera Mountains are one of the last two areas in our country with a relatively large population of black grouse. Nevertheless, according to the last census in 2017, the number of males fell to only 74 roosters in the Giant Mountains and 30 in the Jizera Mountains. The survival of the species throughout the Czech Republic depends on the populations in the Krkonoše, Jizera and Ore Mountains! If we do nothing, the species in the Krkonoše Mountains will become extinct around 2040. One of the characteristics of the grouse population is the number of males flowing on common towers. The more birds flowing together, the higher the chances that the best of the females will mate with the females and their genetically superior offspring will keep the population in a favorable condition. Conversely, a handicapped individual will be able to use the token field with a single male.

What to do for vanishing grouse? In the past four years, 24 grouse "centers" with a total size of 86 hectares have been established in the Jizerky and Krkonoše Mountains. The felling of the forest created open areas for completely new or already extinct tokaniště. Moreover, at a "range" distance, so that at least the grouse females have a chance to fly from Jizerky to the Giant Mountains or in the opposite direction or gradually "jump" from west to east of the mountains. Even black grouse disturbance can be reduced to an acceptable level. Here, however, the park cannot do without the responsible approach of every inhabitant and visitor to the mountains. Black grouse are able to get used to the movement of people on familiar routes. But any deviation from them is a problem for birds. In addition, most males spend their entire lives within one kilometer of the hatchery, females move within 5 km on average, and flying over 10 km is an absolute exception.

Published studies indicate that in grouse birds, about 100 individuals are considered the survival limit of a viable population. Already 10 years ago, a genetic study indicated that black grouse from the Jizera and Giant Mountains differ "by a fous" from each other, as well as black grouse from the western, central and eastern Giant Mountains. It can be concluded that there are very few crosses of Jizera Mountains and Krkonoše birds, even though they have it only "over the hill", more precisely over the Jizera valley and the Novosvětský pass, as the crow flies only six kilometers. The key step in rescuing the local grouse is to connect these subpopulations and create such conditions for them that birds can meet again within the entire Krkonoše Mountains and between them and the Jizera Mountains!