A she-wolf from the Ilzecka Forest in the family way!
A she-wolf from the Ilzecka Forest in the family way!
A pregnant she-wolf from the Ilzec Forest wolf family has been recorded on our photo traps!
Data from our research (Bieszczady, Bory Dolnoslaskie and Swietokrzyskie) show that wolf pups are born in the last days of April/first days of May.
While checking our photo traps in Ilzecka Forest in April, it turned out that a pregnant female from a wolf family living in this area was recorded on two of them. The recording comes from the 23rd of April.
As you can see on the short video, the wolf is in good condition and should give birth soon. The size of her litter will be known in July, when we will try to “talk” with the wolf family by simulating their howling. The cubs are then eager to speak, and their voices are distinctly different from those of adult wolves, so we can determine their approximate number.
Interestingly, wolves in Minnesota, where the winter is much harsher, sometimes give birth much earlier, as early as early April:
https://www.facebook.com/VoyageursWolfProject/posts/1168458767312804.
Author: Jacek Major
Meeting with children in Marcinkow
Meeting with children in Marcinkow
As part of our foundation we try to promote pro-ecological attitudes and teach respect for all living beings as well as the natural environment. Therefore, we accepted with pleasure an invitation from the Village Cultural Center in Marcinkowo to lead a meeting on nature for children and their parents.
The meeting was organized by Ms Marta Blicharz Salamon from Kukułeczka Foundation and took place on 12 April.
The meeting was attended by children and their parents. The main topic was of course wolves. We also talked about the contribution of the local community to nature conservation, placing particular emphasis on the harmfulness of burning grass in the spring.
“Should you be afraid of the wolf?” and “Is the wolf really that scary?” – were two topics that definitely dominated the meeting. We tried to convey our knowledge about wolves in an accessible way, expose stereotypes and myths about their behavior and contacts with humans. We acquainted children with the actions we take to protect wolves in the Świętokrzyskie province. We also presented short films from our work in the field.
At the end of the meeting we organized a small contest about wolves. As a reward, for correct answers and activity during the meeting, we gave children T-shirts with the logo of our project. We hope that our meeting will contribute to a better perception of wolves not only among children but also their parents.
Author: Jacek Major
Author: Jacek Major
A wolf in Ponidzie
A wolf in Ponidzie
We received information from foresters at the Pińczów Forestry Division that a large male wolf was seen there on March 22 and 23 of this year.
On the 22nd of March the male wolf was seen in the forestry of Góry through binoculars from a distance of 50 m, on a distance of about 400 m. The second time it was seen from a car in Bugaj forestry. The wolf was walking twice along an asphalt road crossing forest complexes.
Last year wolves were seen several times in the Pinczów Forest District. It is possible that it was one and the same individual as observed in March this year, but it is impossible to say that with absolute certainty.
In February 2021 a wolf was seen twice in the Wiślica commune: near Kobylniki (video recording) and near Jurków village. In March the predator was photographed near the forester’s lodge in Rudawa forestry, and in autumn the wolf was also observed in Kazimierza forestry.
Autor: Tomasz Bracik
About wolves during the "Night of the Owls"
About wolves during the "Night of the Owls"
During the “Night of the Owls” organized in Lesnica, we also had the opportunity to talk about wolves. The meeting and wolf presentation was led by Tomasz Bracik, our great predator tracker.
Tomasz Bracik:
On March 19, 2022, I had the pleasure of leading the “Night of the Owls” at the Educational Farm “Ostoja Dworska” (http://ostojadworska.pl/) in Lesnica in the municipality of Malogoszcz, and to give a presentation about wolves from the Swietokrzyskie forests.
The topic of the presentation was basic information about wolf biology and behavior. I also talked about wolf monitoring conducted in the Swietokrzyskie region and I tried to familiarize the listeners with specifics of field work of researchers taking part in monitoring. I described the methods of collecting information about wolves: tracking, photo-trapping, simulation of howling, collection of droppings, analysis of the composition of wolf diet and direct observation.
I also discussed situations in which wolves can be dangerous for humans and how to behave in case of a close encounter with a predator.
The presentation lasted about 1 hour. The meeting was attended by about 20 people, most of whom were children aged 6-10 with their parents. At the end of the meeting I showed the participants some recordings from the photo traps installed in the field and gave answers for questions asked.
Author: Tomasz Bracik
Gagat - the fifth element
Gagat - the fifth element
On Sunday, April 10, we were able to capture our fifth wolf in the Swietokrzyskie Forest.
As in November, a young two-year-old male was caught in a trap. From a distance we had the impression that, like the young wolves of the Ilzecka Forest, he too was infected with scabies. However it turned out that the wolf was in an advanced stage of moulting – he had lost almost all of his winter coat and therefore at first we thought that something was wrong with his fur.
Upon closer inspection after being put down, the wolf appeared to be in great condition and weighed 35kg. After putting on a telemetric collar, funded by a few Swietokrzyskie Forest districts, he quickly woke up and went to rest after this stressful event.
We named him Gagat – such name, connected with the region (Gagaty Soltykowskie reserve) was chosen by the employees of State Forests. During 10 days since the catching Gagat has already traveled across the whole Swietokrzyskie Forest.
Author: Roman Gula, Artur Milanowski, Joanna Toczydłowska, Piotr Portnicki and Michał Piotrowski
Geralt's wandering anxiety
Geralt's wandering anxiety
Geralt, a young wolf caught by our team in November 2021 in the Świętokrzyska Forest, left the forest just a few weeks after being caught and fitted with a telemetry collar and went for a short trip to the Niekłań area.
After a few days he returned, but later made several more such trips. He was on Kołomański Hills, near Stąporków and again in Niekłań forests. He crossed the S7 road at Baranowska Mountain several times and penetrated the forests near Parszów.
During these wanderings he was alone, so we guess that he was looking for his fiancée-wolf. Unfortunately, so far he has not managed to find her. We could find out about it by following him last week during his next hike – this time to the Siekierzyń forests.
We went to the location sent to us by Geralt’s collar and thanks to the snow cover we followed the wolf’s trail. We managed to establish that Geralt crossed the S7 route at night near Łączna, walking along a street passing under an S7 overpass. He then walked along the Kamionka river valley, reached the Skarżysko-Kielce railroad line and crossed it by climbing up an embankment. Then he climbed Barbara Mountain between Michniów and Wzdół Rządowy, where he hunted a roe deer. The next day he returned by the same route to Puszcza Świętokrzyska, but this time he did it in the middle of the day – a violent snowstorm made it possible.
Authors: Roman Gula, Joanna Toczydłowska and Piotr Portnicki
Young she-wolf killed on S7
Young she-wolf killed on S7
On Monday 11th April we were informed about a dead wolf lying in a ditch between the S7 expressway and its service road in Barcza.
When we arrived at the place, it turned out to be a 2-year-old female. She was lying in a ditch under an embankment of the S7 unfenced in this section. The examination showed that the wolf had injuries indicating that she had been hit by a car. She tried to cross the S7, was struck and fell down the embankment into the ditch.
A resident of a nearby house informed us that he had spotted the lying wolf as early as Friday 8 April. The wolf was probably from the wolf family from the Swietokrzyska Forest and was trying to enter the forests growing in the Klonowskie Range of the Swietokrzyskie Mountains.
Foresters from the Zagnańsk Forestry Commission informed us that other animals also try to cross the S7 on this section and collisions often occur. It would be worth considering to install protections to prevent animals from entering the road and the construction of a safe passage for them to the other side of the road.
Author: Piotr Portnicki, Roman Gula
A dead wolf in the Lublin region
A dead wolf in the Lublin region
On Sunday April 10th we received a report about a dead wolf in the Lublin district, in the forest surrounding Lipinki, near the national road number 63 between Wisznice and Slawatycze.
We arrived at the scene around 4 p.m. The police were already waiting for us and conducted a preliminary examination of the scene – killing a wolf is a crime punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years. The police were called by Grzegorz Wegier, a naturalist who came across the carcass while walking in the woods looking for deer antler drop. Members of the association “Z szarym za płotem” (“With the gray behind the fence”), which associates wolf lovers and works actively for wolve’s protection, was also present at the scene.
The dead wolf lying under the trees turned out to be a large male bass, weighing about 40 kg. The bullet hole in its side was clearly visible. Advanced signs of decomposition indicated that the animal had died at least a week earlier. Despite suspicions that the fatal shot may have come from a pulpit 250 meters away, evidence indicated that the wolf was shot at close range not far from where it fell.
The wolf was turned over to us for further examination. We transported it to the eMwet veterinary clinic at Brzezie 28, where veterinarian Marcin Mandziak performed a detailed necropsy. The examination revealed that the wolf’s cause of death was undoubtedly a gunshot wound to the lungs. The wolf died practically immediately after being shot.
This is another case of poaching of a legally protected species. If anyone has any information that may help us find the perpetrator of this crime, please contact us or the Police Station in Wisznice: 47 814 62 10.
We would like to thank the veterinary clinic eMwet for support:
https://www.facebook.com/Gabinet-emwet-110461761607339/
Author: JT
Summary of winter in the forests of Daleszyce
Summary of winter in the forests of Daleszyk
During the period from the beginning of November 2021 to the end of March 2022, we continued monitoring the wolf family from the Daleszyce forest.
We noted numerous traces of wolf presence in the field in the form of: droppings, tracks, urine marking and remains of prey. Several times we were able to register wolves with the help of photo-traps. The biggest registered group consisted of 7 individuals. In spite of the fact that there were not many days with snow cover, we managed to track wolves in the snow several times. We tracked from 1 to 7 individuals and the maximum distance over which we could continue tracking was about 3 km.
In February, we found a rendez-vous site of 2021, where we collected a large amount of droppings. At the rendez-vous site we also found several toys of young wolves – bitten plastic bottles, cans, a plastic swimming board, fragments of thick animal bones, and bitten antlers of deer: elk and buck deer. We also found the remains of several prey, mostly roe deer, and several lairs where wolves rested.
In late February, we had the opportunity to directly observe a large male wolf that came within about 20 m of us in response to our earlier howling. The wolf did not sense, see or hear us. When it saw one of us it abruptly stopped, turned and fled in the direction from which it came.
In March there was less wolf activity around the rendez-vous. We found droppings and tracks (1 to 3 individuals), but photo traps did not register any of the predators. In the vicinity of wolf tracks we found several remains of wolf prey.
Authors: Tomasz Bracik, Mariusz Wlazło, Paweł Gola
Jackals, the mini-wolves
Mini-wolves, a new species in the fauna of Poland.
In recent years, a new species of predator has appeared in our part of Europe. Unlike the raccoon or American mink, it was not introduced by humans, but came on its own from the Balkans as part of the largest natural expansion recorded so far.
Golden jackal (Canis aureus) in many ways resembles a wolf, although its weight does not exceed 15 kg. Like wolves, jackals live in family groups and communicate through howls. However, their acreages are much smaller than wolf areas, and they prefer wetlands with reeds and bushes to large forest complexes.
The expansion of jackals in Europe is very controversial as little is known about their role in nature and policymakers do not know how to manage this new species. In Poland, despite the extremely low numbers, the jackal is currently a game species.
The Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences has launched a research project devoted to the ecology of the golden jackal. We carry out research in southern Poland. In the videos recorded with camera traps, you can watch a pair of breeding jackals that move together and mark the territory. In the second, night sequence, the male tenderly heats the female during estrus.
Author: Katarzyna Bojarska