Great Bustard is one of the rarest bird species, not only in our country but also all across Europe and in the entire world. These birds are protected by law as natural rarities in Serbia, and also included in the Red List of Europe and the world among species threatened with extinction.

 

At the end of the 19th and in the early 20 century, in Serbia, Great Bustard inhabited much wider space than today. Because of the negative anthropogenic influence, especially a destruction of the most suitable habitat, and direct hunting pressure, Great Bustard has retreated from most of the former habitat. It is believed that at the beginning of the 20 century in Vojvodina lived over 1000 individuals, but already in the middle of the 20th century the number dropped to only a few dozen individuals. Now the number is estimated to be between 15-20 birds, but with only 10 reproductive females. The only remaining population is located in northern Banat, near Mokrin, Sajan, Jazovo, Vrbica and Banatsko Arandjelovo in Special Nature Reserve "Pastures of great bustard."