A remote wilderness of raised bogs and dense forest, home to half of Estonia’s brown bears, Alutaguse National Park is a superb wildlife destination also supporting lynx, black storks, Ural owls, and flying squirrels.
Alutaguse National Park, established in 2018, is Estonia’s newest and one of its wildest protected areas. Spanning more than 44,000 hectares of untouched taiga forest, peat bogs, and sand dunes, it's the country’s brown‑bear stronghold, with around 500 bears living in the region. Purpose‑built forest hides offer the best chance of watching bears.
The rare Siberian flying squirrel also inhabits the park, while raccoon dogs, foxes, pine martens, elk, roe deer, wild boar, and smaller populations of lynx, wolves, and beavers can be seen roaming its forests and wetlands.
Mature woodland makes Alutaguse a haven for woodpeckers and forest grouse, and it's one of Estonia’s top places to look for Ural and pygmy owls, golden eagle, and goshawk. Wetlands around the bogs and lakes provide excellent breeding habitat for marsh, great reed, and Blyth’s reed warblers, and the magnificent black stork also has a breeding population here.
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