Wolves and bisons in the Polish wilderness

It is 5 a.m. and we get out of our tent and step into the car. We start to drive slowly to scan the fields surrounded by dense forests. Two hours have passed and we have seen nothing but a roe deer. Our minds are barely awake and we think we should stop for today and get breakfast. But than we thought, okay one more tour. That was the best decision ever! We saw something moving in the field, A WOLF! Immediately we were more awake than ever before! The wolf was running in the field, rolling in the grass. After a few minutes this wonderful animal came closer and closer until it crossed the road and stopped for a brief moment in the middle of the road. A few seconds later he disappeared into the forest again.

It was maybe the most remarkable experience I have ever had as a wildlife photographer. During our 2 week trip to the Polish Bieszczady National Park we were lucky enough to see wolves four times! Besides wolves, Bieszczady is home to a lot of other incredible wildlife. It is one of the only places where the European Bison still roams free. Those impressive animals are the largest land mammals of Europe and can weigh up to 900 kg! In those ancient forests you can also encounter Brown Bear and Lynx but the change you will see them is rather small.

We saw this large male on our walk to a view point. It was around 7 p.m. and there was a small meadow next to the path. Such small meadows in the middle of the forest are always interesting places to check for wildlife. When I walked on the meadow I saw this giant bison staring at me from the edge of the forest. I grabbed my camera and took some photos, then we watched each other for several minutes. A truly intense experience when a massive bison is watching you from 30 meters in an open field!

Every day, two weeks in a row, the alarm was set around 5 a.m. to search for animals. There were two tactics: or we slept in our tent in a place with a good overview over the fields where animals might come out of the forest or we took the car and drove at 30 km/h through wild and remote places in the hope something will be near the road or crossing the road.

One morning we slept with a view on a meadow near the San river, the main river in Bieszczady. The first picture in this post was our view. In the evening one Bison came out of the forest in the distance. I immediately took my camera and camouflage jacket and hiked up there. After a hike of 3 km I arrived at the place where I saw the Bison but there was nothing anymore. On my way back it was getting dark but I could still see something at the edge of the forest, a bison! As I approached more came out of the forest. They clearly didn’t notice me as they always came closer and closer, by that time I could count 12! You could really hear them moving through the grass. From the moment one of the herd saw me I decided it was time to head back. I stood up and hoped they would not approach me. They all watched me but none moved one step, that was a relief and I could go to sleep happy!

The following morning I started to scan the open fields again. In the beginning nothing happened and I was thinking of getting back into the tent as I was getting tired of all those long days. But there was something moving down in the fields. I took my binoculars and I saw it was a wolf!

At that time it was my first wolf sighting ever! And that after several travels to Spain, Estonia, Finland, Romania where every time I had been searching for those elusive animals. But now the moment was there, I went down as fast as I could but by the time I got there I couldn’t find him anymore, a brief moment from far away was already a thrilling experience but I didn’t get any pictures yet. I accepted that that was it for that morning when all of a sudden seven wolves came running out of the forest. They ran very quick straight towards me. I couldn’t believe what was happening and hid after some bushes. They stopped for a brief moment at 20 meter from me. After a few seconds there was something moving at 5 meter, I could even hear the wolf smell the air before it went on. They ran after each other and started to play. After five minutes, they noticed something was wrong and went back to the forest.

It was so incredible, I hoped to see wolves on this trip but this I couldn’t imagine. After a week my cousin arrived to join our search for wildlife in this beautiful corner of Poland. We immediately continued our search with a morning ride through the middle of Bieszczady. We saw some red deer and roe deer which showed there was a lot of life in this area.

But of course we hoped for something more special. After a little more than one hour we saw something standing on an old railway. We had to drive back a little to see what it was and it were two wolves. It was a wonderful setting with the old railway that was disappearing into the fog and the forest.

They later ran away on the old railway so we quickly drove to a place where the road met the railway again. There we waited in the hope the wolves would keep following the railway and ran towards us. After a few minutes we saw something coming from behind the corner. It were the same two wolves! They immediately saw us and ran away into the woods.

The following days we continued our search but with a little less spectacular results. But we still enjoyed the beautiful nature of the Bieszczady National Park.