The Search for the Dragon – a short documentary film about the olm or “human fish”

The Search for the Dragon – a short documentary film about the olm or “human fish”
The continuation of the ZOOKrka project, in which we learn in detail about the diversity of the animal species of the Krka National park in their original environment

In the context of the constant investigation and monitoring of the caves in the Krka National Park, an educational documentary film was filmed about one of its most famous, but also most hidden inhabitants – the olm or “human fish”. In order to find this exceptional amphibian, it is necessary to dive into the darkness of the ancient underground world. The cameramen Mégane Chêne and Florian Launette, speleologists Petra Kovač Konrad and Marko Studen, and biologist Dušan Jelić headed into the waters of the Miljacka I - V cave system with heavy equipment and much respect in the search for a dragon. The complexity of the caves and holes requires special techniques and trained teams of speleologists, so that the activity of speleologists in deep holes and complex caves can be described as a type of underground alpinism.

According to legend, it was once believed that dragons lived in caves and that the olms or “human fish” were their children. Not much is known about them even today, so they attract the interest of scientists and also the public because of their interesting characteristics. the old (Proteus anguinus),, the only vertebrate adapted to life underground, is endemic to and the largest underground aquatic animal of the Dinaric Karst. Its eyes are completely stunted, hidden under the skin. The elongated, tiny body is white with gentle shades of yellow and pink, and because of its resemblance to human skin, it began to be called “human fish”. It breathes in three manners: through gills, lungs, and skin. It has an excellent sense of smell used for finding scarce food. It lives up to ninety years, and needs sixteen to eighteen years to become adult, just like a human.

In the area of Krka NP, a olm or “human fish” was discovered in 1989 in the Miljacka II cave. Today, it is known that a permanent population inhabits four speleological structures in the area of Krka NP. Monitoring of the species in the Park area has shown that its population is stable. We also had the opportunity to take a brief peek into the underground world of the olm and acquire valuable materials that can be viewed on the YouTube channel of the Public Institute of Krka National Park. The filming in the Miljacka I - V cave system, as the site with the largest population of olms or “human fish” in the area of the Krka National Park, was focused on collecting close-up shots of the species. In addition to olms or “human fish”, the first underground lake is extremely rich in other subterranean aquatic fauna, so shots of crayfish species were also captured.