Endangered species

Let's help them survive so that they don’t remain just as designs of our socks.

We have been cooperating with a conservation association for a long time, and it has been implementing practical conservation measures in Natura 2000 areas for more than 20 years. Especially around the Danube river, it restores wetlands and river branches, floodplain forests, meadows and pastures. In cooperation with them, our collection of Dedoles socks was created, which draws attention to endangered species.

A common feature of the animals in this collection is the fact that their amounts are declining alarmingly in nature. They are therefore at the risk of extinction or they are approaching such status. Because of the activities of people, there is less and less space for these animals to live in. The meadows ploughed, the forests decimated, and the wetlands dried up. That is why there are fewer and fewer of these species.

We want to make sure that these species will not remain just as designs of our socks. That is why we support the restoration of wetlands, the protection of natural floodplain forests, so that nature and all our ‘sock species’ have enough space to live in.

How can each of us contribute to the protection of endangered species?

The best way to protect plants and animals is to improve the environment in which they live. It can be done by:

• planting variegated flower beds – the diversity of the garden and flowering trees attracts bees, butterflies and other pollinators,
• more sensitive farming in the country – lower pesticide consumption can contribute to improving local biodiversity,
• mosaic mowing of lawns – insects find their place in uncut parts, which in this type of mowing is approximately 20 to 40% of the lawn area,
• not planting invasive plant species, which are largely far-reaching and threaten the native ecosystem,
• or by supporting environmental organisations which protect natural forests and restore wetlands. They can do that thanks to the financial and voluntary assistance from people.

All of this has an impact on the diverse landscape, which is the clue to the diversity of plants and animals.

More about endangered species

The black stork is a mysterious inhabitant of our forests and wetlands. Only the last two pairs of this rare species nest in the Danube meadows. To nest, it needs stable, old trees and wetlands in its vicinity with plenty of food. In order to preserve it, it is therefore necessary to protect wetlands, as well as restore the original forests.

The Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) needs meadows and pastures to survive, which have to be regularly mowed and cleared of plant and tree seeds. As the name suggests, this species is targeted by bees. The Bee orchid prefers sunny steppe meadows and well-lit thickets.

The Kingfisher bird has gradually lost its place to live and has become rare near the Danube river. It is a small, beautifully coloured, turquoise-orange bird. It eats small fish, which are caught from the perch – most often from a branch above the water.

Blue butterflies are rare species among butterflies which depend on a variegated landscape full of flowering plants. They need very specific conditions for their life and development, not only maintained meadows and food plants, but also anthills nearby. Such a diverse landscape is best achieved by grazing animals.

The ground squirrel loves to be ‘fully informed’. For a squirrel, it is ideal if the meadows are maintained by grazing animals. Ground squirrels were once a widespread species, and their colonies had several hundred thousand members. But everything has changed with the intensification of agriculture and the ploughing of grasslands.

The Bee-eater bird needs a suitable nesting place and an insect-rich landscape for its life. However, with the current state of agriculture, abandonment of grazing and also changes in river dynamics, this landscape is not so easy to find nowadays.

The Swallowtail Butterfly needs a country where plenty of food is available, such as flowering meadows, variegated forests, natural gardens, and agricultural land that is not widely treated with pesticides. Only there they can fly happily.