There is something unique and truly special to be involved in exploring unknown places.

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ABOUT THIS PROJECT
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This summer we decided to fund an expedition in Bosnia to a cave called Vilina which can be translated as fairy cave. Why..? You might ask. We have a few reasons to think this is a good investment to support biodiversity in the long run. Caves are fragile ecosystems that live on the edge of science and far from the public’s perception of the type of nature worth protecting. Cave shrimp and salamanders aren’t exactly cute fluffy pandas. However, they are unique and amazing in their own way due to their complex adaptations that allow them to live in caves. We think that they are worth protecting. This is why we work on cleaning up cave habitats in Croatia. This cave expedition is something new for us as it is not direct conservation or rewilding. However, research and exploration are the basis from which we can plan direct interventions and long term strategy. Besides that, we have two good reasons to survey this cave:

The first one is purely the benefit of exploration: it is rare to find the opportunity to explore new places where few or no humans have gone and which remain unknown to science. Exploring allows us to understand whether it is home to endangered species or even if it contains new species altogether. The second reason is because of our suspicion that this cave might be polluted already. You see there is a rather large power plant and open air coal pit upstream on the other side of the mountain in Gacko. This plant is planning further expansions which doesn’t necessarily seem the smartest move. So our goal is to support local activists by putting together an impact assessment on the pollution levels to understand the condition of this system.

Learn more about this expedition: https://mossy.earth/projects/rewilding/fairy-cave

Specimen photos credit to Roman Ozimec