First, briefly about history of lynxes in Naliboki Forest during several last decades. In the early and mid-1990’s, after the Soviet Union crash, perhaps in conditions of relatively weak nature protection, the majority of lynxes were poached in Naliboki Forest. In the 1980’s there was a dense lynx population in the terrain, but by the late 1990’s lynxes occurred sporadically there. In the early 2000’s lynxes began recolonizing Naliboki Forest. The severe snow conditions in the late winter and early spring of 2013 seemed to impact lynxes negatively, and the local lynx population number dropped from 35 to 22 the next winter. Indeed, during the spring of 2013, as far as we learned, local forestry workers and antler searchers found at least three lynx carcasses. All of them seemed to be subadults or kittens, because they looked relatively small.
Continue reading “Rapid decline in the local population of lynx in Naliboki Forest, NW Belarus: density-dependent regulation or disease?”Tag: lynx
Wildlife trips on the way of our zoological study in Naliboki Forest
Nowadays, the way of a researcher is overloaded with applying for projects and then producing numerous reports that can negatively affect the studies of wildlife. Such a situation is spread in the academic zone everywhere in the world. It wasn’t so hard for us a while ago, but during the last decade it started to … Continue reading “Wildlife trips on the way of our zoological study in Naliboki Forest”
Nowadays, the way of a researcher is overloaded with applying for projects and then producing numerous reports that can negatively affect the studies of wildlife. Such a situation is spread in the academic zone everywhere in the world. It wasn’t so hard for us a while ago, but during the last decade it started to be really too much, and that brought a feeling of wasting time in the academic zone. In effect, we quitted the zoological institute and university we worked for (in my case for 32 years), moved to our homestead in Naliboki Forest and continued the study on vertebrate predators (first of all, the wolf, lynx and badger) on our own. Continue reading “Wildlife trips on the way of our zoological study in Naliboki Forest”
Enigmatic warm-season behavior and ecology in Eurasian lynxes: pressing questions, hypotheses and results up-to-date
The behavior and ecology of the Eurasian lynx during the snowless season, particularly from the second half of April till the end of October (hereafter the warm season), is still searchless, and several important questions of study on the species in this seasonal period are seemingly even unknown. The main hassle is that the prevailing research method of GSM GPS telemetry fails to investigate those questions. Basically this method only records coordinates and how active or passive the individual is. It looks like currently the single possible way to learn about the behavior and ecology during the warm season goes through much routine habitat inspection, art skills to read activity signs of lynxes in snowless period and smart extensive camera-trapping.
Continue reading “Enigmatic warm-season behavior and ecology in Eurasian lynxes: pressing questions, hypotheses and results up-to-date”The variety of life styles of Eurasian lynxes in Belarus
In Eurasian lynxes there are several age-sex categories, which are strikingly or markedly differed by their life styles. The data that leads us (Naust Eco Station & Wild Naliboki) to this conclusion originated from about 2300 km of snowtracking lynxes, multiannual study of lynxes with camera-traps (up to 70) and much other various research results. Among them the results of two lynx telemetry projects.
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Climbing trees by Eurasian lynxes to emit territorial and mating calls in Belarus: pressing questions and knowledge up-to-date
Another important role of trees in the life of lynxes is usage of elevated positions in tall trees to emit territorial and mating calls. During the winter of 2017-2018 in Naliboki Forest, the central-western part of Belarus we have found that lynxes climbed rather high Scotch pine trees (Sidorovich et al., 2018). In total, during February and March 2018, we registered four such trees, on which adult male lynxes climbed for about 17-26 meters high. The density of the local lynx population was very high about 4-5 inds per 100 square km i.e. about 80 lynxes per almost 2000 square km. We have evaluated that phenomenon of calling by lynxes from a tall tree top as a mating call, also taking into account that it was registered in the lynx mating season (mid-February-early April).
Then in Naliboki Forest in July 2018 we faced with several fresh climbing a tall pine presumably by adult female lynx (that was mother with two kittens), because the tree was in the core area, where this mother lynx with two kittens were staying most of the time.
Social contacts in Eurasian lynxes exclusive of between-mate relationships and mother-kittens behaviour
This post addresses the question of poorly known social contacts in the Eurasian lynxes exclusive of between-mate relationships and mother-kittens behaviour. In the book “Unknown Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx: New findings on the species ecology and behaviour” by Vadim Sidorovich, Jan Gouwy and Irina Rotenko (2019) we have stated that the species is not a solitary, but it is surprisingly social carnivore.
Peculiarity of usage of openings by lynxes
This post adverts the recent shift in the habitat-related lynx distribution for usage of openings and the lynx reaction to get back to forest in connection with the considerable changes in the wolf number in Naliboki Forest.
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Enigma of lynx pee
During quite a lot of studies on the Eurasian lynx in Naliboki Forest and Paazierre Forest we realized that this species is still so poorly known (Sidorovich et al., 2019). Even a simple lynx pee hides several non-studied questions that were raised during investigation the species behavior. Several curious pee-related phenomena were registered that was already some achievement, but for every one still there is a pressing question how such a pee regime is possible on a morph-physiological level i.e. by means of which morph-physiological adaptations of the species. Maybe somebody, after reading the post, will try to investigate the lynx pee questions.
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Wolf erasing off marking points of lynxes
In Naliboki Forest adult lynxes particularly males are known as killers of the vulnerable categories of wolves such as pups, lonely living subadults and heavily pregnant females (Sidorovich et al., 2019). Also, lynxes may be a valuable competitor for wolves in their exploiting of the roe deer and beaver populations. Study on the interference of wolves and lynxes in Naliboki Forest suggested that wolves disagree with presence of lynxes in the habitats, and they behave aggressively towards lynxes, too. Lynxes feel safe in forest habitats, whereas they mainly avoid openings, when wolves are common in the habitats and where they may be killed by a wolf pack, because there are no trees to escape. Continue reading “Wolf erasing off marking points of lynxes”
The role and origin of open ground spots for large carnivores, wild ungulates and other wildlife
In snowless period spots with open sand, peat or other ground types are outstanding elements in the habitat structure in forested areas such as Belarus, and many mammal species tend to use them for territorial marking. Among these mammal species first of all it may be mentioned red deer, bison, wolf and lynx.
Zoology by Vadim Sidorovich 