Update from our Germany wolf volunteer project
With our second team of expeditioners arrived the tropical weather. Temperatures exceeded 30 C, humidity levels increased and the night brought a thunderstorm. That clearly did not phase our newly arrived expeditioners, who were keen to get into action. After our usual pick-up in Bremen and guided tour in the Wolfcenter, we went into full training modus in our beautiful Bockum research base.
Sunday afternoon our try-out survey to test the newly acquired skills did not disappoint with no fewer than five recorded wolf scats. Wading in the stream Lopau on our return brought some well-deserved refreshment. Ending the day around the campfire with a nice drink allowed us to get to know each other better and exchange previous nature adventures.
Monday we headed out to two nearby wolf territories, Breitenhees and Susing, and split up into six teams. As tends to happen, some teams only managed to cover 4 km due to a high amount of wolf evidence that had to be documented and sampled in their assigned areas, while other teams did as much as 15 km, covering a much larger area, but with no indication of any recent wolf presence, which is equally relevant data. In any case, it is hard not to enjoy the beautiful forests, the other wildlife sightings (red deer, wild board, cranes, red kite and marten) and this in great company. Tomorrow half of the team heads up north to survey Amt Neuhaus and Göhrde, while the other half continues their investigations here.
Biosphere Expeditions: blogs from the frontline of wildlife conservation and the fight for a more sustainable planet 