"The wilderness of Cluj" or "Sălbăticia Clujului" in Romanian, is my first photography project aimed at educating the public about the nature surrounding their city and triggering a response from the authorities regarding the issues that wildlife and flora face due to the uncontrolled development of the city.
Thanks to the submontane and steppe habitats, a great biodiversity can be found around the city of Cluj-Napoca, encompassing numerous species from mountain to steppe, making these areas special. Within this project, I am trying to present most of the species through the photographs below (the project is still in its early stages, and the number of species is much larger than the ones I am currently presenting).
The biggest problems threatening the loss of these habitats and the reduction of biodiversity are:
Fragmentation of habitats
Illegal deforestation
Intense motorized traffic even in protected natural areas (see photos)
Real estate development in these areas or in their immediate vicinity without a buffer zone
Illegal dumping of waste in such areas (see photos)
A large number of people who traverse forests or use these areas for picnics, often exhibiting inappropriate behavior that affects the wildlife in particular
Intensive grazing and free-roaming shepherd dogs in these areas, which are dangerous to passersby and constantly hunt (see photos).
The wilderness of Cluj GALLERY
