A powerful wolf captured by scientists in the Świętokrzyskie forests.
See amazing photos (original Polish article here)
Professor Roman Gula and the forester Artur Milanowski in the Suchedniów Forest District captured a large wolf. Basior weighed about 40 kilograms. The animal is wearing a telemetry collar, which will help in studying the lives of wolves from Świętokrzyskie Province.
Professor Roman Gula and forester Artur Milanowski come from the Bliżyn commune, and for years they have been studying the growing wolf population in the Świętokrzyskie region. Artur Milanowski heard the first wolf on 6 February 6, 2006. They returned to this area after several decades of absence – they were exterminated by people. Currently, more than 60 of them live in our area.
On 30 November, researchers managed to trap the wolf in a special trap. It was the second successful attempt. In spring, a young she-wolf, Jaga, was captured and put on a telemetry collar. Unfortunately, after a short time the animal died, probably of starvation.
“From May we tried to catch another one. It’s a difficult art, but it finally worked. In the area of the further forestry, we caught a large, four-year-old male, weighing about 40 kilograms. We suspect that it is the pack leader or the second male in the pack. When he was in the cage, the rest of the wolves were lying right next to him. They only left when we came”, says Artur Milanowski.
The animal was euthanised, the injection had to be given manually. Then the “basior” was quickly put on a telemetry collar and the wolf was released. After waking up, he left. The action was attended by Piotr Fitas, a forest inspector of the Suchedniów Forest District.
“Such a large “basior”* has fluffy hair to the touch like a puppy. A fantastic feeling. The animal, after carrying out the necessary measurements and other activities, safely returned to nature without any health damage”, the forest inspector reports.
The information about the success has only now been made public, and the researchers wanted to be sure that the animal was safe and was doing great in the field. All the readings indicate this.
The telemetry collar sends a signal to the satellite every two hours, which then goes to the centre in Canada and is sent to Poland. Scientists will then follow the wolf’s life.
“We will learn the daily activity of the animal, we will be able to locate it, find out what distances it travels. This is valuable information. The collar will work for three years, then it will fall off the wolf’s neck”, explains Artur Milanowski.
“As we have learned, there will be an attempt to catch another new arrival. Our researchers from the Save Wildlife Foundation received one more collar”.
*Basior -is a male wolf. The term is used in reference to an adult, usually old, and in particular to the dominant pack leader, the so-called alpha male. A basior is larger than a female wolf (wader) by approx. 1/4. Body size and weight depend on the climatic zone and subspecies. Basiors from northern Canada can weigh 80 kg, and from the Middle East only up to around 30 kg. They are up to 200 cm long (from the nose to the end of the tail), and the head and torso are 105–150 cm. The height at the withers is 70–90 cm. The old basior has a massive cluster covered with lush hair forming a kind of mane.
