An article in the Irish Times by one of our guests
A journalist, Paddy Woodworth, who joined one of our five-day tours has written a beautiful piece in The Irish Times about these truly special woods. With great care, he describes the forest’s inhabitants and its complex ecological relationships, while also managing to clearly explain the intricacies of how the forest is managed. It was particularly […]
Beavers: Nature’s Water Engineers in Białowieża Forest
Our new project: how do wolves and humans shape beaver behaviour and ecosystem impacts?
Our team won a grant that to study wolf-beaver interactions over the next three years (2024-2027). The aim of the project is to understand how wolf risk and human activities shape beaver behaviour, and in turn their impacts on woody tree communities. The 1 062 124 PLN in funding from the Polish National Science Centre […]
How will Poland’s new anti-migrant border wall impact the environment?
This article first appeared on the Notes from Poland news portal. Since summer last year, Poland’s border with Belarus has been the scene of a man-made migration crisis created by the Belarusian regime. In response, the Polish government has constructed a five-metre-high wall along around half of the frontier to stymie the flow of those […]
Our new paper: Badgers remain fearless in the face of simulated wolf presence near their setts
Badgers remain fearless in the face of simulated wolf presence near their setts. So suggests our new paper published today in the journal Ecology & Evolution. In this study we investigated whether badgers vary their denning behaviour after perceiving wolves near their setts. We wanted to explore whether the transient presence of wolves shapes badger […]
The tree communities of Białowieża Forest
As you pass through the ancient woods, take care to note how the scene changes: even a short walk can take you through several different forest types. Europe has transformed most forests so as to maximise their profitability – draining their soils, logging their trees, and planting monocultures of fast-growing conifers. By contrast, Białowieża has […]
Poland to restart logging in Białowieża Primeval Forest
Straddling the Polish-Belarussian border in northeastern Poland, Białowieża Forest is the last of the vast primeval forest that once stretched across the European lowlands. Strictly protected for centuries by royalty as a private hunting ground, it is now a living museum of ancient natural processes replete with species extinct elsewhere. Yet despite this special status, […]
Wolves in Białowieża Forest
How are the wolves in Białowieża Forest and where can they be found? These are the most common questions I get asked by visitors to the forest. The wolves here are some of the best studied in the world, making the answers to these questions lengthy but fascinating. In this article I’ll run you through […]
Where to find the best-preserved parts of Białowieża Primeval Forest
The past century of logging has transformed Białowieża Primeval Forest into a mosaic of natural and plantation forest. Fortunately there’s still plenty of natural (primeval) forest to see. But to find it, it’s critical that you know where to go. In this post I’ll briefly explain how this mosaic came about, and then how to […]
We recorded a bear in Białowieża Forest!
This beauty is the first bear ever filmed in Białowieża Forest. He stumbled onto one of our experimental plots last Friday. We’re over the moon as it’s the first bear documented in Białowieża Forest in over 50 years. Bears went extinct here at the end of the 19th century due to over-hunting. Apart from a […]