At Lake Bockwitz, visitors can now learn about grazing on a nature trail. This is because water buffalo, Konik horses, Taurus cattle and Boer goats now graze in a nature reserve where lignite was once mined. The nature trail comprises three different variants of a circular route with a maximum length of 13 kilometers, according to the Landesstiftung Natur und Umwelt. Information boards provide visitors with information about conservation-friendly grazing in words and pictures.
The nature trail was designed and built by employees of the Saxon State Foundation for Nature and the Environment and other experts. The most species-rich areas in Bockwitz are open land and are home to many rare animal and plant species. "Two thirds of these are on the Red List of endangered species. Following the recommendations of the management plan for the protected area, they must be kept open at relatively high cost," it said.
As there are no large natural herbivores, these areas need to be maintained. Otherwise they would be overgrown by shrubs and biodiversity would be lost, the regional foundation said. In Bockwitz, Konik horses, Taurus cattle, goats, sheep and, more recently, water buffalo are used for grazing. The controlled and year-round grazing preserves the habitats of other animals. Open landscape species can find ideal conditions here,
