The flora of Anykščiai Regional Park is extremely abundant and diverse.

After only preliminary research, as many as 769 species of higher plants (excluding mosses) have been identified here. Such an abundance of plants and the diversity of the flora of the park depends on the diversity of habitats, soil and water bodies. In the vicinity of Anykščiai, you can find a wide variety of biotopes: sedges typical of Dzūkija, blue pine forests and fertile oak and ash forests, riverine alder and willow forests, natural meadows and marsh complexes.
In Anykščiai Regional Park, 25 species of spore-bearing plants, 7 gymnosperms and 737 angiosperms, belonging to as many as 101 higher plant families, have been recorded, of which over 30 are listed in the Lithuanian Red Book. The pine forests are home to true heath beauties – the sedges (Pulsatilla palustris(L.) Mill.). The park also grows forest hyacinths (Dracocephalum ruyschianaL.), glabrous flax (Thesium ebracteatumHayne.), forest bald eagles (Neottianthe cuculataSchltr.), and where else are the blue gentians (Gentiana cruciferaL.), whose large habitat was discovered on the Bijeikiai hillfort, the two-leaved blandys (Platanthera bifolia(L.) Rich.), all plants of the Mayflower family and other rare plant species.

The wind-swept grass (Pulsatilla palustris(L.) Mill.).

The sedge grows in sandy pine forests, but not in all: it needs non-acidic sandy soil, the pH can even be slightly alkaline. It is nice that the Anykščiai grove is adorned with such a beautiful and rare plant! The sedge is listed in the Lithuanian Red Book and is strictly protected. The sedge is classified as a protected species of rarity category 2 (V).Neottianthe cuculataSchltr.) is the real pride of Anykščiai Regional Park! Quite small and fragile plants, which usually remain unnoticed, but not only because of their smallness, but also because they are one of the fastest disappearing species of Mayflower plants in Lithuania. Wood primroses are forest plants, growing in coniferous forests, usually on sandy soil, usually in areas abundantly overgrown with moss. They are also sensitive to competition from other plants and are demanding on the amount of light: the leaves of individuals growing in direct sunlight dry out, but when shaded, the plants become poor and rarely bloom. Found in the Anykščiai Shrub Landscape Reserve.

Blue gentian (Gentiana crucifera L.).

Height 15-40 cm. The base of the stem is covered with fibrous sheaths of old leaves. Basal leaves 5-8, oppositely ovate, narrowed at the base and forming a scrotum. Stem leaves fleshy, quite dense, about 7-11 pairs. A pair of leaves, mature at the base, form a 1-3 cm long sheath that hugs the stem. Leaves with 3 veins, 5-12 cm long and 14-32 mm wide, rough-edged. Flowers quadrangular, blue or grayish-blue, concentrated in tufted panicles in the axils of the upper leaves and at the top of the stem. Blooms in July - August. Fruit - an oblong capsule. Seeds oblong, brown, shiny, with a reticulate surface. This species is listed in the Lithuanian Red Book. Category 2(V): rapidly disappearing. Found in the Rubikiai Hydrographic Reserve.

Mushrooms

This is an important group of organisms, the food chain of the ecosystem. Although fungi are usually classified as plants, they are a separate group, occupying an intermediate position between plants and animals. From the point of view of anatomy and physiology, fungi have characteristics characteristic of both plants and animals. Mushrooms do not bloom and do not form seeds, they reproduce by spores. Mushroom spores, when exposed to suitable conditions, germinate and give rise to a new mycelium. And mushrooms grow from the mycelium.
Anykščiai Regional Park has a fairly large variety of mushrooms, including rare species: yellow champignon (Lactarius scrobiculatus(Scop.) Fr.), the head of cabbage (Sparassis crispa), cone-shaped elk (Morel conica), true red-breasted (Pycnoporus cinnabarinus) , common linnet (Sarcosoma globosum), rough fungus tongue (Trichoglossum hirsutum) etc.

Photo by Rolandas Lančickas

The rich variety of vegetation and biotopes determines a considerable diversity of birds, mammals, and insects.

Most species of mammals can be found in Anykščiai Regional Park: elk, deer, wild boar, roe deer, beavers, otters, etc.
There are about 12 protected bird species in the territory of Anykščiai Regional Park. The most suitable for predatory forest birds is the Burbiškis forest, where black storks (Black stork), lesser spotted eagles (White-tailed eagle). In settlements and farmsteads, over 50 pairs of Lithuania's national bird - white storks - are counted. On the slopes and outcrops of the Šventoji River, grebes breed, in the forests, brassicas are found, and medium and large toothed swans are observed in the river. Many species of ducks, grebes, and grebes dive in the rivers and lakes, and Baltic salmon, river lampreys, shrike, etc. are found.

The following protected insect species are found in the territory of Anykščiai Regional Park: the eyed satyr (Lopinga is still alive.), greater goldenrod (Lycaena dispar), white-banded bluefish (Aricia eumedon), wedge umbrella (Ophiogomphus cecilia), armored umbrella (Leucorrhinia pectoralis), yellow-flowered cordulegaster (Cordulegaster boltonii), small royal dragonfly (Anax parthenope)

The Rubikiai Lake Hydrographic Reserve has been declared a Natura 2000 territory – it is a valuable habitat for bats – the pygmy bat (Myotis dasycneme) habitat.

Carp mouse-eared (Myotis dasycnemeBoie, 1825). A medium-sized bat, body length – 51 – 73 mm, weight – 13 – 20 g. The back of this animal is brown, sometimes of a slightly different shade, the underside is almost white. The ears are medium-sized. The water mouse-eared bat is very similar to the much smaller water mouse-eared bat. The maximum known lifespan is 16.5 years.
The frequency of the strongest emitted ultrasounds is 35 kHz. They fly out to feed at complete dusk and are active until dawn. They catch insects low to the surface of the water, usually near hiding places, although it has been established that they can fly 15-20 km to hunt. In Lithuania, these are rare bats, found all year round: both in the warm season and in winter. They live in various hiding places near water. They roost in buildings, tree hollows, and nest boxes. In Anykščiai Regional Park, they are found in the Rubikiai Hydrographic Reserve.

Lesser spotted eagle (White-tailed eagle).

A protected species of birds of prey, listed in the Lithuanian Red Book. It is one of the smallest true eagles (lat.Aquila) species of the genus, but larger than the dwarf eagle that sometimes strays into Lithuania. They are called shrill because of their very noisy lifestyle. They arrive in Lithuania in March–April. They build their nests in mature forests. A pair can breed in one nest for many years. They start breeding in May, laying 1–2 eggs. The young begin to learn to fly at the end of July. Man poses a threat to this species by destroying nesting sites during major logging, disturbing and visiting near nesting sites during hatching and raising young. In Anykščiai Regional Park, it is found in the Burbiškis forests.

Yellow-flowered cordulegaster (Cordulegaster boltonii Don.).

This is a species sensitive to habitat changes. Breeding habitats are small (usually 3–7 m wide) sandy, directly exposed to the sun and bare plant bottoms of fast-flowing rivers. Larvae are predatory, feeding mainly on the larvae of other insects, which they hide in the sand of the bottom. Their development lasts 4–5 years. The first adults appear at the end of May, most hatch in June and fly by the beginning of August. They stay near the riverbed, hunting flying insects above the water or coastal vegetation. Due to the long-term development of larvae, the population of cordulegasters recovers very slowly. In Anykščiai Regional Park, it is found in the Anykščiai Shrub Landscape Reserve.

Baltic salmon (Salar Psalm).

It also includes salmon living in Lithuanian rivers, which separated from Atlantic salmon in the late Ancillian period (6000 BC) and is now a separate geographically isolated subpopulation of North Atlantic salmon. Freshwater salmon live in some lakes in Karelia and Sweden, growing more slowly than marine ones, but also swimming to rivers to spawn. This valuable fish is very sensitive to chemical pollutants, so it can be considered an indicator of environmental cleanliness. In Lithuania, salmon usually spawns in low-polluted, clean rivers and their tributaries. Salmon is a fast-growing, early-maturing, medium-life cycle fish. In Anykščiai Regional Park, salmon is found in the Šventoji River (Šventoji Ichthyological Reserve), the Virinta River.

Barn owl

Lesser spotted eagle

Yellow-flowered cordulegaster

Baltic salmon