Satellite view of the forests in northwestern Turkey Photograph by USGS   Southeastern Europe: Western Turkey Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub   33,300 square miles (86,300 square kilometers) -- about the size of West Virginia and Maryland combined Critical/Endangered

· New Life for Dancing Bears
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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New Life for Dancing Bears

The Anatolian Conifer and Deciduous Mixed Forests ecoregion is made up of evergreen forests, coastal lakes, marshes, mud flats, and sand dunes, which provide habitat for a large number of plants and animals. A wildlife reserve in the southern portion of this ecoregion provides sanctuary for many species that have faced habitat loss in other areas. Brown bears, for example, are sent to this reserve from all over Turkey for rehabilitation. One of the most common reasons a bear ends up in the rehabilitation center is their marketability as pets. Performing bears, often called "dancing bears," were once a common site in many Turkish cities. However, officials have begun to crack down on this illegal trade. These bears, usually cubs whose mothers have been shot, are taken by the rehabilitation center for eventual reintroduction to the wild Anatolian forests that they normally inhabit.

Special Features

This ecoregion’s forests are heavily degraded, and many have been replaced with olive groves, poplar plantations, and other forms of intensive agriculture. In the more natural mountain areas of the Uludag Range, black pine dominates lower elevations, beech and fir grow in the middle elevations, and alpine scrub, juniper moorland, and pasture are seen in the highest areas. Coastal lakes, marshes, and wet forests are found in the northern part of the ecoregion where it touches the Sea of Marmara. Vegetation in the north includes reed beds of phragmites, extensive alluvial forests with ash, alder, and willow trees, and a wide strip of dunes. Also in this coastal area are large mud flats with glasswort and Tamarisk species growing on them.

	Also known as the bearded vulture, the lammergeier eats the fatty bone marrow of dead animals. It will carry a bone high into the air and drop it to smash the bone open on the rocks below.

Wild Side

Amid the reed beds and marshlands of this ecoregion, you might see breeding populations of pygmy cormorants, night herons, great crested grebes, and little egrets. Other birds found here include lammergeiers, golden eagles, goshawks, booted eagles, collared pratincoles, Kentish plovers, black storks, and ferruginous ducks. In the mountains, roe deer and wild boars might be spotted crossing the forest floor. The alert visitor might also spot a species of Apollo butterfly whose population is threatened by collectors. In the south of this ecoregion, a wildlife reserve protects hills covered with mature deciduous forest. Included in the preserve are a pheasant breeding station, a deer protection area, and a bear rehabilitation center.

Cause for Concern

This ecoregion is facing threats from all sides. Untreated wastes from cities and villages and from industries such as the local olive oil processing plants are released into water sources, killing fish and other aquatic organisms. Also affected are the birds and terrestrial creatures that the fish and other aquatic organisms support. Industrial pollution causes acid rain. Ski areas and recreational trekking and camping disturb wildlife and destroy habitat. Illegal felling of trees and the construction of small farms increasingly spoil alluvial forests. Cattle and sheep grazing also destroy habitat. And dunes are rapidly being destroyed to provide sand for human uses.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.