Tag: brown bear

The Reproductive Struggle of Wolves and Brown Bears: Next Steps in Our Study

Co-author Irina Rotenko

Introduction: Bear Recolonization and Lack of Reproduction

Since April 2011 brown bear began re-colonizing Naliboki Forest, where in the past the species was common. During the summer of 2018, consistent observations (mainly via camera traps) revealed seven large male individuals and one or two smaller ones of uncertain sex (presumably females, inferred from the lack of visible testes). From 2020 to 2022, in the Naliboki Forest, we identified ten to twelve brown bears, about half of which (4–7 individuals) did not have visible testes, indicating they were likely females. Despite detailed tracing of the local bear population, no reproduction (i.e. no cubs) in summer has been observed, although mating pairs have been recorded every mating season from May to June.

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Again, higher survival of wolf pups in the conditions of lower numbers of lynxes and brown bears in summer 2025

Co-authors: Louise Giovannelli and Irina Rotenko

From mid-August to the end of October, we closely monitored the wolf families that had been registered as denning in Naliboki Forest (central-western Belarus) in late spring of this year. In addition to our spring findings, we discovered in early autumn that one breeding group had previously gone unnoticed. This group exhibited double-breeding behavior.

Continue reading “Again, higher survival of wolf pups in the conditions of lower numbers of lynxes and brown bears in summer 2025”

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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The Reproductive Struggle of Brown Bears in Naliboki Forest: An Investigative Hypothesis

Co-author Irina Rotenko

Historical Context and Current State of Brown Bears

During the Great Lithuanian period, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, brown bears were abundant in the Naliboki Forest and surrounding forest massifs. Reports of hunting these animals frequently appear in the game husbandry documents of the Radziwills and other magnates. Up until the First World War, the brown bear remained a standard game species and a relatively common trophy in the hunting collections of the local elite, indicating a high-density population in the Naliboki Forest.

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Heavy aggressive interference between wolves and brown bears in Naliboki Forest, Belarus

Coauthor Irina Rotenko

The Naliboki Forest, located in the central-western part of Belarus, is home to a dense population of wolves. Recently, brown bears have begun to populate this forested region, prompting an important question: how do these two large predators interact? Specifically, the aggressive interactions between wolves and brown bears, and the influence of their individual traits on these encounters, warrant further investigation.

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How Glade and Forest Affect Carrion Scavengers: A Camera-Trap Study

Co-author Irina Rotenko

We wanted to know which animals scavenge on elk carcasses and how often they do it. So we set up camera-traps near two dead elks in Naliboki Forest (a large forest-swamp terrain in northwestern Belarus). 

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Parental wolves chased a brown bear from the place, where their pups stayed

Co-author Irina Rotenko

In Naliboki Forest, a central-western region of Belarus, a dense population of wolves has long existed. In the past decade, brown bears have expanded into this forested area, raising a pressing question: how do these two large predator species interact? Particularly: the aggressive interference of wolves and brown bears, and how their individual characteristics affect the encounter, is important to investigate.

Continue reading “Parental wolves chased a brown bear from the place, where their pups stayed”

Complex hibernating by a brown bear in Naliboki Forest in the winter 2022-2023

Recently we found two hibernation dens of an adult male brown bear, which suggest complex hibernating of the bear. Initial hibernation den was made by the bear in kind of a wide burrow of 2 metres as long. Nearby this initial hibernation burrow-den there were at least five other tries to dig such a burrow-den. The farthest such a try was found on the distance about 80 meters from the actual one. All found preparation of the bear for hibernation were situated in young spruce-birch thickets with big rotten uprooted spruces.

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Brown bear attack on a wolf den in Naliboki Forest, central-western Belarus

Co-author Irina Rotenko

Every May we continue our long-term study on behaviour and ecology of denning wolves. Since 2004 the terrain of Naliboki Forest (the central-western part of Belarus) has been the main study area for the question. Since 2018 the brown bear has become more or less common there. It appears possible to investigate the interspecific interactions of brown bears and wolves and particularly during denning period in wolves.

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Snowtracking of attack on brown bear by five wolves

Yesterday in Naliboki Forest (central-western part of Belarus) I faced with interesting wolf-bear track trails, which evidenced that five wolves attacked brown bear (not big, not small one).

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