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It seems that July is going to be very hot. The bison are laying on sand in the sun. The ladies, as usual, enjoy the sunbathing. The lazy atmosphere, with flies buzzing in the hot air, is interrupted only by the sounds of tractor’s engine, the visitors or… presence of the photographer J.

For the free-ranging bison, summer means the time of giving birth. The pregnant female leaves her group, and comes back a few days after, with the new-born. The first few weeks together are very important for the female and her child: this is the time of bonding, when the calf learns to recognize its mother’s scent and voice.

Some time ago, we were writing about adventures of a wolf called Lucky on his journey in search for… luck :). You can see on the map how long was his trip: from Drawsko Forest to Bydgoszcz Forest, covering a straight-line distance of about 150 km. He crossed many obstacles: villages, roads, railways, open agricultural areas with no cover. He finally made it to Bydgoszcz Forest, where he found happiness, in his case… a she-wolf. Now, the wolves explore the area together. We will see if they will have pups :).

Bison love to rub. Any objects with rough surface can serve as “bison brushes”. The free ranging bison also use rugged structures, like tree trunks. Rubbing against objects helps bison to shed the winter fur and get rid of ticks. To rub the whole body sometimes requires impressing gimnastic skills.

WATCH A BISON RUBBING

The Opening Conference for LIFE Project “Diversification and development of European Bison population in north-western Poland” (LIFE13NAT/PL/000010) took place on 17 July 2015 at the Bison Centre in Jabłonowo.
The conference started at 9 am. The program included four lectures and visiting the Wild Farm, intersected by coffee breaks. The first speaker, Magdalena Tracz, gave a lecture entitled “Diversification and development of European Bison population in north-western Poland”. The next speech “Conservation of European Bison in north-eastern Poland” was given by prof. Wanda Olech. The third speaker, Maciej Tracz, talked about “Practical aspects of Bison conservation”. Finally, prof. Rafał Kowalczyk gave a lecture entitled “A new approach to management of European Bison populations”. After the lecture session, all the participants were invited to dinner and for a field trip involving observation of wild-living bison in the Mirosławiec forestry district. Meanwhile, the project council had the openeing meeting to plan the working schedule.