Lille Vildmose (meaning: “little wild bog”) is a

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombrot ...

also known as the East Himmerland Moor in the hinterland in the municipalities of Aalborg and

Mariagerfjord Mariagerfjord is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in North Jutland Region in Denmark. It covers an area of 723.63 km² (2011) and a has a population of 42,093 (2014). On 1 January 2007 Mariagerfjord municipality was created as the r ...

, Denmark. It is the largest remaining raised bog in Northwestern Europe. The bog is a remnant of

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

that once extended south from

Limfjorden The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking times. However, it now has inlets both from ...

Rold Forest Rold Skov (Rold Forest) is a forest in Himmerland, Denmark. At 8,000 ha, it is the second largest forest in the country, after the Silkeborg Forests.

Geography

Lille Vildmose is a protected area, about southeast of Aalborg. It encompasses an area of which is owned both privately and partly by the State. A well-preserved, pristine wilderness, it contains the largest remaining raised bog in Northwestern Europe. Its habitat consists of raised bogs (once part of the seabed), former islands (during the Stone Age), and a large area of coastal hills and

beach meadow Beach Meadows are coastal meadows influenced by the presence of the nearby sea. Under this definition, the salinity of the air and wind is always high and the meadows are often flooded during and after stormy weather. These conditions implies t ...

The raised bogs flourished undisturbed for 1,200 years till they were intentionally drained around 1750. They contain layers of

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

growing at an annual rate of and reaching a depth of . Rainwater provides the nutrients. Tofte Lake (''Tofte sø'') has been formed after draining the marsh over a period of 200 years. The deciduous forests of Høstemark, Tofte, and Mose are part of the protected area secured by fencing. Trees have started to grow on the Portlandmose and Paraplymose, both raised bogs, as a result of drainage.

History

Rye was cultivated in Lille Vildmose prior to the medieval period when hemp was introduced for diversification, after ca. 1140. Agricultural production dropped and farmland in Lille Vildmose was abandoned between 1360 and 1540 due to the Black Death plague, resulting in the regeneration of woodland. After 1540, farming was intensified, the main products being rye and hemp. By 1760, when Lille Vildmose belonged to the Lindenborg Estate, more than were tilled for the estate's farm, Vildmosegård. In the early 19th century, the reclamation of Lille Vildmose was the impetus needed to establish a peat industry. The peatcutting have now been terminated completely for many reasons of which the conservation efforts is just one. In 2003, together with

Mols Bjerge Mols is a small Danish gathering of hilly peninsulas in the southern part of the larger peninsula of Djursland on the east coast of Jutland. The largest peninsulas of Mols comprise Skødshoved to the west, and Helgenæs to the east. Mols' l ...

and Møn, Lille Vildmose was selected by the Ministry of the Environment to participate in a pilot project to develop a model for Danish national parks. Lille Vildmosecentret da 090821

The visitor center, Lille Vildmosecentret, was designed by

C. F. Møller Architects Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller, internationally also known as C. F. Møller Architects, is an architectural firm based in Århus, Denmark. Founded in 1924 by C. F. Møller, it is today the largest architectural firm in Denmark based on number of em ...

and opened in 2006. It contains an activity center and is also the starting point for visiting the bogs and forests. Wildlife can be observed from the park's look-out tower. An eagle simulator, landscape models, interactive exhibits, recreation areas for children, and hiking paths are other features. Double-decker bus service began in 2009 from

Hobro Hobro () is an old market and railway town in Region Nordjylland on the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. It has a population of 12,071 (1 January 2022). The town is situated in a hilly terrain at the head of Mariager Fjord, close to the ...

in the south to Egense near Hals in the north.

Flora and fauna

Høstemark and Tofte forests and bogs have been undisturbed habitats for flora and fauna. There are 12-15 different species of plants including ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

'' moss, heather,

bell heather ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar produ ...

crowberry ''Empetrum nigrum'', crowberry, black crowberry, or, in western Alaska, blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually dioecious, but there ...

, rosemary heather,

cranberries Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

, white beak rush and tue-cottongrass; a rare plant is

cloudberry ''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackbe ...

. Flowering plants grow on the peat sponge. There are no trees within the bog, however

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

are recorded in the bog's wooded marginal zones known as " lagg". A stock of

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

totals about 550 animals. Other fauna reported in the moor area includes wild

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weas ...

, and

foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

Moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

beavers Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

wild horse The wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus ''Equus'', which includes as subspecies the modern domesticated horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') as well as the endangered Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii''). The Europea ...

s and

Heck cattle Heck cattle are a hardy breed of domestic cattle. These cattle are the result of an attempt by Heinz and Lutz Heck to breed back the extinct aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') from modern aurochs-derived cattle in the 1920s and 1930s. Controver ...

were proposed to be introduced in the protected zones. The area is a breeding ground for

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

s. Cormorants, cranes,

ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * Benedictine Ravens, ...

and

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

s are also noted,

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptors ...

frequents the area and

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, th ...

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

and

short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

have been recorded occasionally on the bog. Tofte Lake is an ornithological haven, where native ducks breed and migrating ducks flock apart from gray geese,

marsh harrier The marsh harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds. They are found almost worldwide, excluding ...

and

Montagu's harrier Montagu's harrier (''Circus pygargus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu. Taxonomy The first formal description of Montagu's harrier was by the Swedish na ...

. The lake has Denmark's largest cormorant colony of about 4,000 pairs. In September 2011 a large common European conservation programme was initiated for Lille Vildmose under

the LIFE Programme The LIFE programme (French: L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environnement) is the European Union's funding instrument for the environment and climate action. The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and d ...

. It is budgeted at €5,5 million and scheduled to terminate with the end of the year 2016.

Project Aurochs

The Aurochs is an extinct species of large wild cattle that once inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa. In 2003 the back-breeding project Projekt Urokse ('Project Aurochs') was initiated in Lille Vildmose, in which a

crossbred A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

population of

Chianina The Chianina () is an Italian breed of large white cattle. It was formerly principally a draught breed; it is now raised mainly for beef. It is the largest and one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world. The ''bistecca alla fiorentina'' is ...

and Sayaguesa was released under controlled conditions and is being bred and selected for heightened similarity to the extinct aurochs in both

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

(looks) and

instincts Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a ve ...

(behaviour).Projekt Urokse – A pilot project from Lille Vildmose National Park
pdf. The Amt of Northern Jutland. 2005. Retrieved 26 November 2013. The founding herd consisted of one Chianina × Heck bull, four Heck cows and one Sayaguesa × Heck cow, and in 2009 three Sayaguesa bulls were added. As of 2010, the herd had grown to a size of 56 individuals.Uffe Gjøl Sørensen:
Vildokserne ved Lille Vildmose 2003–2010. Status rapport med anbefalinger til projektets forvaltning.
'' København: UG Sørensen Consult, 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2013. Included in the project is an effort to back-breed

s, using the species of

Konik The Konik or Polish Konik, pl, konik polski, is a Polish breed of pony. There are semi- feral populations in some regions. They are usually mouse dun or striped dun in color. The Bilgoray, pl, konik biłgorajski, of south-eastern Poland is ...

.Uffe Gjøl Sørensen:
Vildokser og Konik-heste ved Knarmou Strandenge. Konsulentrapport for Aalborg Kommune.
'' København: UG Sørensen Consult, 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2013. The project is part of the Taurus Project initiated in Germany in 1996, which is not to be confused with the newer

Tauros Programme The Tauros Programme, formerly known as TaurOs Project, is a cooperation between the Dutch foundation Stichting Taurus and universities such as the Wageningen University and Research Centre. It is an international effort to breed a type of ca ...

initiated in the Netherlands.

References

Bibliography * * *

Geography

History

Flora and fauna

Project Aurochs

References

External links