Co-authors: Alieksandr Mysiev, Irina Rotenko and Dmitry Mysiev
In the winter of 2023-2024, we’ve captured two enlightening series of footage featuring large road pipes, remnants of Soviet-era construction, now seamlessly integrated into the forest’s landscape. These structures, though abandoned by humans, have found new purpose as integral parts of the local ecosystem, frequently visited by various animal species.
Among these visitors, the large predators—wolves and, notably, lynxes—stand out. Prior blog entries have documented their presence in such man-made structures: (1), (2), (3), (4); however, the recent footage provides further evidence of their activities.
These recordings highlight the significance of these pipes as unique elements within the habitat, serving as focal points for territorial marking and communication among carnivores, particularly lynxes. Intriguingly, we also observed a distinct behavior in wolves, which seemed apprehensive during their visits to the pipes. This adds a new layer to our understanding of the complex interactions and ongoing severe interference between wolves and lynxes in the forest (read more on the topic: (1), (2), (3), (4).
These findings contribute to our understanding of the interspecies dynamics in Naliboki Forest, highlighting the adaptive use of human-made structures by wildlife.
You can support the research on large carnivores in Naliboki Forest by buying just a coffee. It will help to keep the study going.
Zoology by Vadim Sidorovich 