When we all met at base on Sunday, Lotte, Jana and Lea with detection dog Molly had already finished some surveys the two days before. Their study area was the Walle territory as the status of wolves there is currently unclear. They only found old wolf scats, some of which can still be used for nutritional analysis, but not for genetic studies, as they were not fresh enough.
We started our community expedition with a brief review of methodology and sampling procedures. Wolf commissioner Kenny gave us up-to-date information about the wolves in the areas to be surveyed. In short, we want to help prove that wolves are reproducing in the study areas, ideally via genetics.
After the introduction, we spent the rest of the day in the field in three groups until dinner. In the afternoon the sun burned down hard on us, so at the end of the day, everyone was very glad to have a chilled drink at our Kenners Landlust expedition base. We found some wolf scats, but it’s too early to make deductions based on those alone.
This morning a few of us went on an early morning excursion before we had breakfast with the late risers. We made no significant findings, but spent a wonderful morning in Göhrde forest. Our day today involved four teams out in the field in light drizzle. More in the next diary entry.
Biosphere Expeditions: blogs from the frontline of wildlife conservation and the fight for a more sustainable planet 