Biosphere Expeditions: blogs from the frontline of wildlife conservation and the fight for a more sustainable planet

The second expedition week is over, everyone left NABU Gut Sunder on Friday. Once again, Peter summarized the findings of the week before we left: 12 wolf scat samples sit deep frozen in his fridge by now, thereof 6 fresh samples are also kept in Ehtanol for DNA analysis. For the first time one of the teams spotted, measured and recorded a wolf track of more than 100m of direct register trot (complying with the official wolf monitoring criteria). The finding has cost Peter a crate of beer… 🙂 Overall the survey teams recorded twelve more tracks and nine more scats that couldn’t be classified as wolf signs without a doubt. All findings, datasheets and documentation pictures will be handed over to the Wolfsbuero after the expedition for approval. Thirteen different 10 x 10 km cells were visited in four and a half survey days and the total distance covered on foot and by bike is 322.45 km.

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Thank you very much, team 2! Once more we were a great bunch of people from all over the world learning from each other & working together towards a common goal. Some of you came over for a week from places as far as India & Singapore, others kindly provided their private vehicles for transport. And, of course, all of you contributed a lot to the research by covering hundreds of kilometres on foot and by bike surveying and collecting samples. I hope the week out there around bogs and in the forest was great fun.

Writing this I am at my desk back at home where I will spend the next four days. I hope you’ve all had a safe journey back home, too, or enjoy your onwards travelling. I hope to see some of you again some time. Keep in touch!

Our week is packed with activities from walking to biking to overnight surveys. It has been raining a lot on the training days but from our fist full survey day on the weather is mostly dry & sunny. We’ve been intensively monitoring the rural district of Celle where wolf scat was already found during the first week. Christine, Lalitha, Vibeke and Malika sampled four more scats proving the presence of wolf in this area. Keep your fingers crossed that any of the two teams consisting of Christine, Vibeke, Dan & John (on bikes) and Peter & Martyn (on foot) out there again today will bring some scat fresh enough for DNA analysis.

The overnighter team went far up to the North-East monitoring ‘wolf terrain’ in the rural area of Lüchow-Dannenberg. It is known that two wolf packs live within that area but much more information is needed for monitoring movements of individuals an the ‘family’ status. After two intensive days of survey walks, a night in a tent on a campsite and a 2 hour car journey Kate, Graham, John and Malika presented a plastic box filled with fresh wolf scat samples yesterday evening at the daily review. When our scientist Peter opened the box he (and everyone else in the room) immediately approved our findings – the smell of wolf shit is beyond words! 😉

Campsite

Forest survey walk

Checking tents

Daily route briefing

Crossing Elbe river

Everyone on slot 2 has arrived safely. Another international team, including participants from India, Singapore, the UK and Germany, assembled in Bremen on Saturday morning. Today we are in full training mode and everyone is already looking forward to going out into the field in the afternoon.

More on how the surveys are going later in the week …

24 June

We waved team 1 good bye yesterday. Here is a quick summary of the findings of last week: 310 km of forestry roads and paths were covered by bike and on foot during 4 full survey days. Except from Thursday when heavy rain and thunderstorms forced some of us to stop their survey around mid-day and seek shelter the tracking conditions were great. In total we visited 15 cells of 10 x 10 km – referring to the official survey grid. In the Winsen/Walle area, no more than 15 km away from our base at Gut Sunder, the teams found and sampled two wolf scats for further analysis. We also checked camera traps that have been set up 1 km North of Gut Sunder before the expedition started. Three pictures show evidence of wolf but are not approved yet. In five more cells we found hints of tracks, etc. and we will send more teams to these locations hoping to verify and hopefully find more – preferably – fresh scat. 😉

Our plan for next week will include a night in a tent for four team members willing to survey an area that is further up in the North-East. We will also continue some of the surveys on bike. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather will allow for it.

Those coming on later slots please note that you don’t need to bring a cycle helmet as mentioned in the dossier. We have purchased four helmets you can use but if you prefer to bring your own feel free to do so. And also, contrary to the dossier you don’t need to bring a bath towel. We will provide one small and one big towel at base.

Thank you team 1 for being trailblazers on this expedition, for all your feedback, comments, hard work and good moods. It’s been a great pleasure for Peter and I to meet you. We hope you’ve enjoyed the week as much as we did.

Team 2, see you all later today at our meeting point at Bremen airport.