The preservation of the forests has certainly contributed to Slovenia being one of the few European countries in which the three larger European beasts of prey can be found: brown bear, wolf and lynx.
Slovenia is situated on the northwest rim of the area populated by the Dinaric brown bear and - together with Gorski Kotar in neighbouring Croatia - is the western extent of the natural area of distribution of this species in Central Europe. Despite the general persecution of large beasts that was typical of Europe in the second half of the 19th century and after, the first animal to gain the right of domicile on the territory of Slovenia, and the affection of people, was the brown bear. Brown bear first enjoyed protection in the region of Kočevje and Notranjska – still its central habitat - as early as 1889.
That was not the case with lynx. It became extinct and was reintroduced to the Kočevsko region in 1973. In the very next year, lynx cubs were born in the neighbouring forests, marking the beginning of the spread of this species. By 1995, lynx had populated a large part of Slovenia and had also spread south and east to Croatia, even as far as Bosnia and Herzegovina. It had advanced towards the northwest to Italy and Austria.
The fate of the wolf in the present territory of Slovenia is interesting, too. As with the brown bear and lynx, high bounties were also offered for the killing of wolves in the 18th century. Bounties for dead wolves were only abolished in Slovenia as late as 1973. Owing to the wolf’s extreme vitality, natural intelligence and habitation of large forest areas - extending from Notranjska and Kočevska in Slovenia to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina - this species has managed to survive in Slovenia.