The lady’s slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus), one of Europe’s most beautiful and rare wild orchids, is once again growing in the vicinity of Sarajevo. This critically endangered species has been successfully reintroduced within the Skakavac Natural Monument under the expert supervision of the Cantonal Public Institution for Protected Natural Areas, in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations on nature protection. Specimens were carefully translocated from Mount Plješevica in northwestern Bosnia, where a natural population of this remarkable plant still exists — typically inhabiting beech forests at altitudes between 1,100 and 1,400 metres.
This reintroduction is part of a growing European trend aimed at biodiversity conservation through the return of endangered plant species to their natural habitats. The Cantonal Public Institution for Protected Natural Areas actively follows contemporary trends in nature conservation, applying the latest principles of conservation biology in managing natural resources.