Two 3-year-old wildcats from the zoo in Gdańsk-Oliwa found a home in the demonstration reserve of bison in the Białowieża National Park. The two males are still very skittish, only beginning to acclimatize to the new place.
Wildcat is a small predatory cat, under strict protection in Poland. The exact size of its population in Poland is not known. According to some sources, there are about 100-200 animals. In Poland, wild cats live mainly in the Bieszczady Mountains and Przemyskie Foothills.
According to deputy director of the Mammal Research Institute PAS in Białowieża, Dr. Krzysztof Schmidt, who has been involved in research on the population of wild cats in the Białowieża Forest, wildcat is not an animal associated with the Forest.
He admitted that in the first monograph of the Białowieża Forest from early 19th century, written by Julius Brincken, there is a reference to this species, but this information did not find any confirmation later was denied. "There is no scientific data, apart from this single publication, that would confirm that the wildcat has ever been in the forest" - added Dr. Schmidt.
In the Białowieża National Park demonstration reserve visitors can see not only the wisent, symbol of the forest and park, but also moose, red deer, roe deer, wild Polish horses, wolves and lynx. There are also żubroń, hybrids of domestic cattle and wisent.
The demonstration reserve is being modernised. Head of wisent breeding centre at Białowieża National Park Jerzy Dackiewicz told PAP that works are carried out in such a way as not to disturb animals and visitors of the reserve, which is one of the places most visited by tourists coming to the Białowieża Forest.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
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