Co-author Irina Rotenko
Multi-breeding in a wolf pack is one of the enigmatic questions of the grey wolf reproduction. When we began to investigate the wolf reproduction in Belarus (mainly in Naliboki Forest and Paazierre Forest) in details, we found the phenomenon of a pack multi-breeding.
Continue reading “Multi-breeding in a wolf pack. Nowadays it is commoner than breeding of a pair in Naliboki Forest”Co-author Irina Rotenko
In this post we address to a newly registered trend in breeding of wolves in Belarus, in particular relating to the earlier giving birth in wolves in Naliboki Forest, the central-western Belarus and in the whole country.
Continue reading “Too early giving birth in wolves got common in Naliboki Forest”Co-author Irina Rotenko
In this blog we have presented our own materials on the interference between wolves and lynxes in Naliboki Forest, the north-western Belarus in several quite large posts before.
Continue reading “Afeared wolf is investigating a lynx marking spot”Co-author Irina Rotenko
In Belarus wolves visit badger setts rather often. Frequently the aim of such visits is to catch a badger that slacked near the burrow. During the breeding season of wolves, quite usually they try to get rid of badgers and occupy their sett. They use such burrows to leave pups inside. Normally wolf breeders enlarge the entrances of such a badger sett.
Continue reading “Wolf vandalizes badger sett with badger cubs inside”Co-author Irina Rotenko
In the book on the grey wolf reproduction biology (Sidorovich & Rotenko, 2019) we told about several patterns of wolf pack multi-breeding, which we documented in Naliboki Forest and Paazierre Forest in Belarus during the last two decades. The main distinctive feature in wolf pack multi-breeding is how many big adult males, which perhaps equally ranked, take part in a breeding group of wolves. If a male leads a breeding group, normally it is only a strong male in the breeding group. Such a group of breeders may include two or three breeding females.
Continue reading “Double breeding in the model wolf pack during the spring of 2022 with implication for a pattern of a pack multi-breeding”Co-author Irina Rotenko
Since May 2021 in the protected area of Naliboki Forest consisting slightly more than one thousand square kilometres we traced six wolf litters. Altogether there were 35-40 wolf pups. In the mid-July there were registered 15 pups (2, 8 and 5). In September only one breeder group saved 4 pups. These breeder group consisted of mother, father and another adult female, which was like a pup-sitter. Till December they lost 3 more pups. In the beginning of January 2022 merely one pup walked with the three adult wolves there. That pup was the only single one in the the protected area of Naliboki Forest and the whole Naliboki Forest in the beginning of 2022.
Continue reading “Again very high mortality in wolf pups in Naliboki Forest in 2021: only one pup survived from 6 litters”Co-authors: Irina Rotenko and Gerard Oonk
In the last year after our study on denning in wolves in May 2020 we have already reported about the peculiar situation in denning by wolves in Naliboki Forest, the central-western Belarus. Wolf breeders stopped denning on open coaches as it used to be, and they began denning in burrows exclusively, when mammals (red deer, bison, elk, lynx, brown bear), which are characterized by aggressive behaviour to pups, got plenty altogether in this forested terrain.
In May 2021 we discovered four active wolf dens and traced the denning behaviour of two wolf breeding groups having two and three breeding females (both cases of a multi-breeding in a wolf pack). All the five breeding female wolves kept pups in burrows only. Altogether we found 33 wolf burrow-dens that were used for denning: 7 self-made by wolves and 26 enlarged badger-setts and outliers. Interestingly, that 11 out of 26 badger burrows were wolf burrow-dens before (2-7 years ago). No any wolf couch-dens were found in May 2021, while before such a situation that is inimical for wolf denning they denned on open couches and pits.
See the video below for the details of denning in wolves in Naliboki Forest during May 2021.
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.
Continue reading “Brown bear attack on a wolf den in Naliboki Forest, central-western Belarus”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).
Continue reading “Snowtracking of attack on brown bear by five wolves”Coauthor Irina Rotenko
Since the last May we began using video mode in our camera-traps more often in order to create a scientific film about reproduction in wolves in few years. The video sequence you see below is a kind of a report on the video results we gained across breeding of wolves in Naliboki Forest in 2020. In this video you see some interesting moments demonstrating various behaviour of wolf pups and parents during this secretive period.
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 