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Why Animalia

Animals have well-defined pigeonholes assigned by the traditional Romanian mindset. From wee to huge, all creatures are cast in distinct roles that any inhabitant of temperate geographical areas will recognize: hardworking as an ant (or bee), stupid as a goose, haughty as

The Fox: From Fable To Reality

see image A widely-spread carnivorous mammal, the fox has been drawn to the attention of the people ever since early Antiquity, remaining throughout the ages the most steadfast symbol of slyness, cunningness, cruelty and cynicism. Totemic animals from one region in the

Slow Beasts, Easy Life

See Gallery One would wonder why the ox is so preferred by most of the Romanian landscape painters at the turn of the century. One reason is a name, Barbizon. Both Nicolae Grigorescu and Ion Andreescu, the leaders of the generation, were configuring their artistic project

The Tomis Sculpture Treasure

Tomis (the former name of the city of Constantza, Romania, situated on the shore of the Black Sea) is a 2550 year-old Greek city that has a historical past overlain with the constructions of the modern city. The name of the city comes from Constanta, an old quarter of the

The Death of Castor

A few years ago, on a day in September, I had been walking alone and aimlessly through the streets, seized by an unutterable wanderlust triggered by the infinite blue of the sky and the dizzying charm of autumn when, all of a sudden, at a crossroads, I came up against the

The Mountain And The Guide

excerpt the shotguns in their slip covers, awaken from the sleepiness of the road smiling in anticipation at the show of the imminent hunt looking for strong sensations imagining the report of the rifle the bunch of metallic shots as an attribute of their being as an energy

Restrictions In The Retezat National Park

Rhododendron on Bucura lakeshore by Cristina LazaroniRestrictions have their place in a national parkMany people know why there are restrictions in a national park and agree with them. I have received various questions from tourists wanting to know why, in the Retezat National

Pseudo-Kynegetikos

excerpt I was a boy around thirteen when I first learned how to wield a rifle – though I confess that, ever since, I have made no progress in this craft, quite the contrary, I dare say! I had accompanied my old man to Whitepond Baths, that had seen the cream of the crop

Xylobiont Coleopterans

Can forests of the Carpathians be a reference point for the virgin forests of the Central Europe? The proof for this is represented by xylobiont Coleopterans Over recent years many German experts specialising in forestry have visited forests in Romania and Ukraine. On these

About Simion Florea Marian's "Insects..."

A valuable folklore study published over a hundred years ago: Simion Florea Marian, Insects in the Romanian language, faith and customs (see Chapters Zoological Portraits and A Folk Bestiary) In 1903 a unique book was published, written by Simion Florea Marian (1847-1907),

The Pig Way

see Gallery The Story of the Pig is one of Ion Creanga's loveliest stories. The story of the pig in contemporary Romanian art is, in its turn, one of the most exciting. The image of the pig in current art ranks, unexpectedly, among the most significant and consistent

Monkeys Without Rights

The article of Peter Singer about monkey rights and human rights published in the 232nd issue of Dilema veche praises the recent approval by the Commission for the Environment, Agriculture and Fishing of the Spanish Parliament concerning the Great Project regarding monkeys.