Europe’s Last Primeval Forest

Animals of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha

The Bison are Coming Back

As of January 2020, there are 604 of these bovine beauties living in the park. That is 32 more than in 2019. Good News!

Mean Bears Slapping Bison Around

These Belovezhskaya Bears bullied their bovine brothers. When the bison were on the brink of extinction, the bear bullies drove them out onto a frozen lake. They fell through the ice and drowned. These meanies were also in the habit of slapping them on the back with their huge bear paws to disable them. This is harsh. But, it’s an ursine eats bovine world, right? So people hunted the bears to extinction …almost. The last bear in the pushcha died in a royal hunt in the 1800s.

Bears are Coming Back to Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Breaking news: The bears are sneaking back. A bear track was found in May of 2020. Since we are all out with Covid, they sense an opportunity to “take back” some of the forests for themselves. You go bears! Bears are people, too. Check out this video. The above article describes them as brown bears. I have heard that they are full-blown grizzly bears and omnivorous.

Urban Wolf Myth

The following story has been making the rounds for generations. Who knows if it is true or not? Since every lie and myth has one grain of truth in it, I’ll tell you the story. It’s about a pack of wolves that terrorized Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Both animals and people were victims of this vicious pack. They say it was one of the most ferocious wolf packs in the history of the forest.

These wolves could not be caught for a very long time. And when they were finally caught, it turned out that the leader of the pack was a service dog. He had escaped from a border outpost. Apparently, this can happen. When it does happen, a pack led by a feral dog poses the most danger for people. The dog’s fear of humans is diminished. While fear of humans in wolves is innate.

Disturbing Scene at Entrance to Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Wolf hides hang at the entrance to the park. Since this park is a refuge for animals, I don’t understand the reason for displaying these hides. Indeed, there wasn’t even an explanation for why they were there and where they came from.

Raccoon Dogs vs Badgers in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

The Raccoon Dog is the Belorusian possum. They play dead like a possum, too. Its closest relative is the fox, not the American raccoon. They are very mean to badgers. There is evidence that they suffocate the badger while he’s hibernating. Then they eat him and steal his den. These dogs hibernate for a shorter period of time and therefore have the opportunity. However, this could be a counter-reaction against the badger’s aggressiveness toward the raccoon dog. The badger population in Belarus is in decline. No wonder.