Co-author: Irina Rotenko
In April–May 2026 we searched for wolf dens with pups across approximately 1.7 thousand km² of Naliboki Forest. In total, seven breeding groups of wolves were identified. All of them consisted of simple pairs, and no multi‑breeding cases were recorded this year.
Continue reading “Short report on the study of breeding and denning behaviour in wolves in Naliboki Forest, April–May 2026”The whole my life — from early childhood more than fifty years ago until today — I have spent a great deal of time in the forest. In my childhood I often walked there with my dogs. Even now we keep two to four dogs and live in the forest year‑round. From those early years I hardly remember any problems with ticks, either on myself or on the dogs. Perhaps I encountered none, or only a few ticks during the entire warm season, and they rarely bit me or my dogs. Consequently, our dogs were never sick with piroplasmosis.
Continue reading “One underestimated cause of wolf pup mortality”Co-author Irina Rotenko
We are preparing a scientific book on the key questions of grey wolf population biology and the species’ survival under both direct persecution by humans and indirect human‑related impacts. The book is based on long‑term field research in Belarus.
By indirect impact, we refer to human‑driven environmental changes — particularly the sharp increase in habitat carrying capacity and the growth of species that are hostile to wolf reproduction. Their interference leads to a collapse in wolf breeding success.
Book title: Challenges and Adaptations of Wolves on the Way to Survive Under Persecution in the Modern Environment
Subtitle: A Case Study of a Local Wolf Population in Naliboki Forest, North‑Western Belarus
Co‑author: Irina Rotenko
The book will be in English, approximately 400 pages with around 300 photographs.
We are currently raising funds to print 30 hard‑copy books. Twenty copies will be sent to major libraries and wolf specialists. A PDF version will be uploaded to ResearchGate for wider access.
If you donate 200 euros or more, you are guaranteed to receive a printed copy. If you make such a donation, please let us know so we can reserve your copy.
If you’d like to support this project and help bring the book to life, you can do so here: https://fr.ulule.com/un-livre-exceptionnel-sur-le-loup
Co-author Irina Rotenko
This May we succeeded in obtaining more than one hundred 20‑second video clips of a mother wolf with her pups in an open couch‑den situated in a treefall. Over three consecutive days (19th–21st May), our camera trap recorded almost three full 24‑hour cycles of the family’s life.
Continue reading “Video registration of a mother wolf with pups in the den”Co-author Irina Rotenko
High mortality in wolf pups is a well‑known demographic bottleneck that strongly shapes wolf populations worldwide. Belarus is no exception: as documented in Sidorovich & Rotenko (2019) and in several posts on this blog, pup mortality here is particularly severe. In Belarus survival of wolf pups to the first winter is a crucial stage in the species population dynamics.
Continue reading “Is there a relationship between initial litter size and survival to the first winter in wolf pups in Belarus?”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.
Continue reading “The Reproductive Struggle of Wolves and Brown Bears: Next Steps in Our Study”In Naliboki Forest in May-June 2025 within an area of only about 140 km², we recorded three distinct wolf families (each with pups) living in exceptionally close proximity throughout the denning season. One of these families had two simultaneously breeding females (double-breeding), two of them had one litter each, while a separate group of four non-breeding adults and subadults lived there, ranging between the families. We define this newly observed social structure during breeding season as a breeding clan.
Continue reading “Some findings on the development of a wolf reproduction clan”Co-author Irina Rotenko
Recently, we captured an interesting moment when a large wild boar tried to attack an adult wolf just after it had crossed a river via a beaver dam.
Continue reading “Footage of a wild boar attempting to attack an adult wolf”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”Co-authors: Louise Giovannelli and Irina Rotenko
Usually, from May until the end of September, wolves engage in territorial marking only sparingly. Breeding individuals, in particular, tend to avoid excessive marking. Non-breeders continue territorial marking at levels similar to those in the cold season, or even noticeably less.
Continue reading “Outstandingly frequent marking by wolves in summer and early autumn: what does it mean?”
Zoology by Vadim Sidorovich 