River Paurupe

Apskates objekts

Name of River Paurupe is said to have arisen at a time when Curonians and Samogitians fought against German crusaders. All crusaders were defeated in the battle and their dead bodies were floating down the river so that only back of their heads or occiputs were visible. Since then the river is called Paurupe or literally – occiput-river.

Paurupe is one of the rivers of Lake Pape drainage basin and it brings approximately 10 million m³ of water in the lake annually. In the last kilometre of its onflow the river flows through an alder forest. Both river banks of the river are in meadows which in the past were used for hay and pastures. In 1965 mouth of Paurupe at the lake Pape was filled up and the river was canalized around the lake directly into the Baltic Sea. In 1996 Danish Environmental Protection Agency funded restoration of the natural flow of the river by redirecting it through the natural riverbed back into Lake Pape.

Extensive spring flooding of Paurupe positively affect birdlife in the southeast of the lake Pape. This area is important for cranes. Reed beds of the lake are densely populated by great bitterns, western marsh harriers, Montagu's harriers and other birds.

Great bittern is a protected specie which is included in the Red Book of Latvia of endangered species. Bitterns usually inhabit shallow water bodies that are overgrown with reeds – lakes, fish ponds, sometimes flooding of beaver dams. Bitterns hunt in reeds slowly waddling in shallow water in search of a prey. To restore biotope of great bitterns at Lake Pape, Pasaules Dabas Fonds is implementing project COASTLAKE „Restoration of biotope of great bitterns in two coastal lakes of Latvia”.

 

Beaver activity areas in Paurupe

Beaver activity areas or floodings due to beaver dams can be found in many parts of Latvia including Nature Park Pape.

Beavers alter watercourses and adjacent forest stands; flooding caused by beavers function as sediment pond ensuring water purification and preventing overgrowth. Thus it enriches and preserves natural diversity of adjacent ecosystems (forests, meadows, etc.). Beaver created water reservoirs serve as spawning places, water bird nesting, feeding and recreation places. While the dam lasts, dead tree trunks tossed in the water attract many species of insects and birds.