European hunters know Croatia best for its big European brown bears, wild boar and mouflon sheep. One of the best areas for European brown bear is a place called Begovaca, which is about 200 kilometers south of Zagreb. Begovaca has about 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of dense forest surrounded by other woodlands that provide an ideal variety and number of food sources and very good habitat for brown bears. The trophy size of the bears here goes up to 450 CIC points. Hunting season for brown bear starts the 1st of October and ends the 16th of May. The best time is November and December. Hunting mostly takes place from traditional European high-seats. Hunters either wait for the bears over their natural feeding places or a bait pile.
Another abundant species in this region is the wild boar. They produce very good trophy quality here. Tusks can get up to 28 centimeters (11 inches) and body weights have been known to reach 300 kilos (662 pounds). Wild boar can be hunted throughout the year. The best way to hunt the big trophy boars is also from high-seats over feeding stations baited with corn and even meat.
Hunters visiting Croatia may also chase after European mouflon sheep. The best hunting grounds for mouflon are some of the islands off the coastline of Croatia. One very famous island close to the city of Zadar is Dugi Otok Island. The animals were introduced on the island about 30 years ago and roam around freely. Dugi Otok is about 12,000 hectares (29,700 acres)........(continued)
