According to police, a 62-year-old man, identified by media as former Brijuni national park director Eduard Kolic, was charged with illegal hunting and an illegal weapons offence. Police did not confirm the suspect's identity.

The charge came after the Jutarnji list newspaper published a video of Kolic, now a head of department at the park, firing a rifle fitted with a suppressor, allegedly at animals.

Park employees told the paper that the incident was just one example of mismanagement -- which included alleged hunting trips.

In a statement to AFP, the park said its current director had filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors to investigate the claims. Some employees had also been suspended, it added.

Kolic twice served as the park director between 2008 and 2024.

The Brijuni archipelago of 14 islands and islets served as a luxury residence of former Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito.

After his death, it was designated a national park in 1983.

It hosts native wildlife, such as deer and boar, and some introduced exotic species.