In the note from February 14, we wrote that Bartek found a partner and that this she-wolf is in heat. Now we know that this couple has pups. Bartek – the sole ‘provider’ of the family – changed the way he moves within his territory. He returns to the den where the she-wolf gave birth to pups in order to bring her food. His locations create a distinctive, star-like pattern, with the den in its center. Bartek is now facing a busy season. Soon he will have to provide food not only to the she-wolf but also to the growing pups. We observed a similar case of a male who started a new family several years ago using telemetry in the Bieszczady Mountains. Andro’s family – that was the wolf’s name – had 5 wolves after the first year and 9 after three years. Thanks to this, Andro had a lot less work in the following years. You can follow the details of Andro’s efforts in our publication in the Journal of Ethology . We hope that this time we will also be able to obtain good information on the mechanisms of the formation of new wolf families.

Roman Gula