The private life of wolves
We have more in common with wolves than meets the eye. And I’ve always felt that if more people knew this, it could help transform public opinion, making the species far easier to protect. But as it is, accurate accounts of these mysterious animals remain rare. This piece on the intimate private lives of wolves […]
The Wolf – Our research
We were recently overjoyed to hear that the Polish National Science Centre is to fund our further study of how wolves affect European ecosystems. This work will be a continuation of the now world-famous research coming out of Yellowstone National Park, where it was well established that the reintroduction of wolves repaired long lost ecological […]
The story of the bison of Białowieża Forest
Białowieża Site Guide Plants & Animals The Story of the European Bison How Europe’s largest land animal went from extinction in the wild to roaming the forest once more. The story of the European bison is perhaps the textbook example of how humans can both decimate and restore nature. Europe’s biggest animal once roamed vast […]
Bison in Poland. Where can we find them?
Site Guide Plants & Animals Bison in Poland Where Europe’s largest land animal lives — and how it came back from the brink. The European bison is Europe’s largest land animal — a species that once roamed almost the entire continent from Russia to Spain. Its numbers dwindled over the last millennium until only two […]
The story and science behind the legal battle to save Europe’s last primeval forest
Site Guide History & Conservation The 2017 logging conflict How a chainsaw standoff put Białowieża on the front pages of the world’s media. Białowieża Forest in northeastern Poland 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 […]
The Wolf – Natura 2000
I’ve spent the last year or so writing my Master’s thesis on wolf conservation. The project was a resounding success, and today the paper reporting the results was finally published in PLOS ONE. So a big shout out to my colleagues at the Association for Nature ‘Wolf’ the Conservation Genetics group and the Mammal Research […]
An Introduction to Wolves in Poland
Wildlife conservation is not known for its success stories. But in Europe, little noticed, we’re living through a most remarkable event in natural history: the return of large carnivores to our forests. These most iconic animals, the wolf, bear, lynx and wolverine were over centuries pushed to the verge of extinction through relentless persecution. This […]
Wolves in Poland. Where can we find them?
Wolves in Poland have recovered remarkably over the past decade, with around 1500 of them now inhabiting the country. Only a few years ago wolves inhabited only the remote eastern forests and southern mountains. They can now be found all over Poland, even in woodlands adjacent to dense urban areas. Wolf populations in Poland Wolves […]
Lynx in Poland. Where can we find them?
The lynx is perhaps Poland’s most charming carnivore. This enigmatic and mysterious animal of deep forests lives only in the most remote parts of the country: the highest mountains and vast, sparsely populated forext complexes of eastern Poland. There are some 300 lynx in Poland between two transboundary populations: the Carpathian and Baltic. These number […]
Bears in Poland. Where can we find them?
As of 2017, there are 150 bears in Poland. All of which live in the Carpathian mountains along the southern national border. While not very numerous, our bears are part of Europe’s largest bear population – the 7000 strong Carpathian population, which stretches down through Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia and Romania. The latter’s wild forests are […]