Large carnivore monitoring in the West Carpathians
Join the project and help with effective conservation of endangered species
Friends of the Earth Czech Republic organize field monitoring of lynx and wolf in the mountains on the Czech-Slovakian border. Join the action, help with field research, conservation, learn about large mammals and their role in forest ecosystem... and find people with similar interest!
Dates:
January and February 2016 (dates will set during the summer)
Locality: Kysucké Beskydy and Oravská Magura, Slovakia, Protected landscape area Kysuce
Main goal: Field study of lynx and wolf occurrence and ecology in the West Carpathians. Snow tracking, collection of samples for DNA and diet analyses, installation of camera traps.
Bacground information:
Wolves, lynx and bears have been natural compartment of forest ecosystem in Central Europe for thousands of years, but their populations suffered from hunting and destruction of habitat in last centuries. The conservation effort and socioeconomic changes in countryside in last decades allowed the gradual recovering of populations of large carnivores throughout the Europe. Also the West Carpathian Mountains have become the home of these controversial and charismatic species as well. Until know, little is known about their impact of forest ecosystem, habitat requirements, genetic structure and migration corridors. Impact of legal wolf hunting in Slovakia seems to be a major force influencing the dispersal of animals to the west. The aim of the conservation research project is to answer all these questions and to protect wolves and lynx in their mountain habitat.
Photo: Karel Brož
Organizer:
Friends of the Earth Czech Republic (FoE CZ) are active in nature conservation and especially in large carnivore issues for more than 15 years. In the Czech Republic, the organization is the most active NGO in this field. FoE CZ have realized a number of projects focused on species conservation, monitoring, public education and awareness campaigns mostly in Protected landscape area Beskydy. FoE CZ experts cooperate with state nature conservancy, universities and other European NGOs. About a hundred of trained volunteers are participating field monitoring each year.
Project coordinator, field biologist Miroslav Kutal is working with large carnivores monitoring and conservation for 10 years. He is part-time employed by FoE CZ and by Institute of Forest Ecology, Mendel University Brno. He is an author of both scientific and popular articles and gives lectures about large carnivore issues for volunteers, officials and university students.
Accommodation:
- Mountain chalet: shower, capacity is limited to 7 people.
- Small homemade pub in the area of accommodation
Price: wire transfer € 270 / in cash on the spot € 300
Meals: The first (welcome) dinner paid by the organizer, other meals volunteers pay by themselves
Essential equipment: winter trek boots, warm winter clothes (including some reserves), gaiters, headlight, smaller backpack for one-day trips.
Recommended equipment: snowshoes (depends on weather, we have some pairs to lend), GPS
Arrival: By train from Prague to Žilina (it is five and half hour). We will pick you up on railway station and take you on the field station by car or together by bus. Recommended connections (only indicative now, because current timetable is valid until 14th December):
| Praha hl.n. | Žilina | train No. |
| 9:19 |
14:22 | EC 123 Radhošť |
| 10:19 | 15:38 | EC 111 Praha, in Bohumín change to train Ex 149 Kysuca |
| 11:19 | 16:22 | EC 223 Detvan |
Program for 7 day monitoring action
1. Day (Saturday): arrival, dinner, introduction to the field monitoring
2.- 6. Day :
- field monitoring in small groups (2-4 people): snow tracking, installation and control over trail cameras (intensity depending on weather), photographing
- Evening programme:
- processing of field data
- lectures in preferred issues: measures for large carnivore conservation, threats: overhunting, migration barriers and landscape fragmentation, role of large carnivores in the forest ecosystem
- movies about large carnivores
- social programme
7. Day (Friday): Departure
Additional notes
Climatic conditions and nature
Number of days when temperature does not exceed 0°C varies between 25-60 a year. There can be one and half meter of snow or just several centimetres. We will inform you some days before your departure if it is reasonable to take snowshoes with you. In any case we have some pairs to lend.
The main mountain range of Moravskoslezske Beskydy slightly exceeds 1000 meters above sea level. Mighty mountain ranges with stunning views are separated by deep valleys through which flow through a natural mountain stream. The mountains are mostly covered by spruce and beech forests (both managed and left without interventions). There are no avalanches in the Beskydy Mts. at all!
Field monitoring
Monitoring will be conducted 1-5 days after snowfall on transect routes with assumed presence of large carnivores. Each group will be led by experienced field guide, who will show you nice Carpathian beech-fir forests and also other endangered species (three-toed woodpecker, white-backed woodpecker or hazel grouse) or they tracks. All data will be saved in GPS and documented for later analyses.
In case of finding a lynx or wolf tracks, animal will be backtracked in order to assess the number of animals, to see the track of the animal to find other traces, such as droppings, scent-mark places, or remains of prey. Samples of droppings or hairs will be collected for DNA and food analyses. Automatic trail cameras will be installed in the vicinity of scent marks or prey remains.
The length of patrol will depend on weather, snow depth and time spent by snow tracking reaching 15-20 km in average. Primarily they will be planned along tourist paths and forest roads.
Depending on the interest of participants we will move to a small log cabin without electricity for 1-2 to monitor more remote areas - or even to overnight in the forest on the snow (in that case, good sleeping bag or two poor sleeping bags are needed).
Funding support and acknowledgment
The organization of large carnivore monitoring and other conservation activities are partly funded by a grant from Switzerland to the Enlarged European Union. The participants' fees help to co-finance large carnivore conservation in the Czech Republic. Thank you for taking part in that :-)
Application forms
Download the applicatin form and send it until 15. 1. 2015 at leatest to miroslav.kutal@hnutiduha.cz (deadline extended!)
More information
Read the report from 2014 by Aukje Brandebrug or from 2013 by Francis Williams
Organizer:
Miroslav Kutal
E-mail: miroslav.kutal@hnutiduha.cz
Cell phone: + 420 728 832 889
