BELOVEZHSKAYA FOREST

also called Belovezh Forest, Belarusian Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Polish Puszcza Bialowieska forest in western Belarus and eastern Poland. It is one of the largest surviving areas of primeval mixed forest (pine, beech, oak, alder, and spruce) remaining in Europe and occupies about 480 square miles (1,250 square km). The Belovezhskaya Forest is located in Brest and Grodno oblasti (provinces) of Belarus and in Bialystok, Suwalki, and Lomza wojewdztwa (provinces) of eastern Poland near the headwaters of the Narew and Lesna (Lesna) rivers, tributaries of the Bug. The forest has a wide range of flora and fauna (including elk, deer, and wild boar) from both western and eastern Europe. It harbours animals that have vanished elsewhere and is a breeding ground for the rare European bison, or wisent. Once the hunting grounds of kings and tsars, the Belovezhskaya is the oldest nature preserve in Europe. The Polish portion is now a national park and the Belarusian part a nature preserve.