Facts About Vilsandi National Park
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Vilsandi National Park is a national park in Saare County, Estonia. It includes part of the island of Vilsandi, a number of smaller islands.
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The park grew from a bird reserve founded in 1910. It is a highly sensitive ecosystem due to the use of the area as a stop-over by many migratory birds, like barnacle geese and Steller’s eider, and as a breeding and nesting ground for over 247 species of birds, of which the most common is the eider duck.
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One-third of all protected plant species in Estonia can also be found in the national park.
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With in the National Park Hunting is absolutely prohibited.
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Vilsandi National Park is made up of 150 islands.
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In 2007, the European Commission launched the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) competition. Vilsandi National Park was the nominee in 2009 in category “EDEN. Estonia’s hidden treasures. Tourism and protected areas”.
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Vilsandi is the oldest nature protection area in the Baltics, founded as a bird reserve in 1910, which was reorganised as the Vilsandi National Park in 1993.
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The park covers an area of 23 880 ha, of which more than half is the coastal sea.