Category: Current studies

Wolf breeding clan under conditions of surplus prey abundance in Naliboki Forest: a new phenomenon

Co-author: Irina Rotenko

Over the last decades in Naliboki Forest (central-western Belarus), we have repeatedly documented multi-breeding wolf packs — most often double broods, occasionally triple broods. We now estimate that roughly two-thirds of wolf packs in this region reproduce in this intensive, multi-breeding strategy. This is likely driven by a combination of abundant prey and continued human persecution of wolves.

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Another brown bear attack on wolf pups discovered

Co-author Irina Rotenko

In late April of this year, we discovered a wolf den where the pups had been extirpated by a brown bear. Just yesterday, a new incident was recorded – another brown bear attacked wolf pups.

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Study on the wolf breeding in Naliboki Forest (April-May 2025): a short report

Co-authors: Louise Giovannelli and Irina Rotenko

Throughout April and May 2025, we conducted a study on wolf breeding within the Naliboki Forest (the central-western region of Belarus), covering an area of approximately 1,800 square kilometers.

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Abundance of signs of denning in wolves in relation to weather

Co-authors: Irina Rotenko and Louise Giovannelli

In this short post, we examine the clear relationship between the abundance of wolf denning signs and weather conditions during the denning period in wolves in Naliboki Forest, the central-western region of Belarus.

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Unusually early wolf denning this spring

Co-authors: Louise Giovannelli and Irina Rotenko

In Belarus, female wolves typically give birth between the end of April and the end of May, with about two-thirds of litters emerging by May 10th. Before 2010, significantly earlier parturition was very rare.

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Otters at the Vilija-Minsk water supply canal

Between 1987 and 1992, I conducted regular studies on otters at the Vilija-Minsk water supply canal. The research primarily focused on assessing the otters’ diet within this artificial habitat and analyzing their distribution along the canal and its surroundings. However, the study was not completed as initially planned. Since last autumn, I have resumed my research on otters in the area, although behavioral aspects were largely unexplored in the past. Now, we are examining otter behavior using camera traps.

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Something outstanding about breeding in lynxes

Co-author Irina Rotenko

Over two decades ago, for the first time, I encountered a lynx family’s tracks showing that the mother had very small kittens in mid-December. The kittens’ footprints were almost half the size of a typical kitten’s at this time of year. A few years later, I observed this phenomenon again.

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Adult male assistance in lynxes in Belarus: ideas and inferences

Co-author Irina Rotenko

In mammals, it is not uncommon for adult males to assist mothers or engage in continuous fathering, and the lynx species Lynx lynx shows such behavior as well.

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One more case of lynx denning

Recently, another former lynx den was discovered, which was active in the months of June and July.

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Accommodating a yearling male lynx in the original den where it was reared

Co-author Irina Rotenko

At the start of June, we discovered wolf pup tracks alongside numerous lynx footprints nestled between the root plates of two toppled spruces. We installed a camera trap at this location. Following our visit, the wolf pack seemed to have moved elsewhere. The camera trap documented numerically repeated visits by a yearling male lynx.

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