Wolf watching in the Tatra Mountains

Biosphere Expeditions – the award winning, non profit making conservation specialists which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, has announced a new project for 2010. This is in the Tatra Mountains of Slovakia to monitor wolf and lynx populations and their interrelationships with key prey species.

As part of a small international team, you will be working alongside local scientists and making a major contribution to this important piece of research.

After arriving in Bratislava you will drive into breathtaking mountain scenery that will be your base for the expedition.

You will track these magnificent carnivores through the snow (snow shoes provided) in their natural forest and meadow habitats in the Liptov region.

Some humans consider large carnivores such as the wolf & lynx as competitors as their main prey are typically game species which they themselves want to hunt. Numbers of carnivores are therefore greatly exaggerated, meaning they have been hunted intensively leading to them being almost eradicated from Slovakia in the past.

You determine more realistic estimates for the wolf and lynx numbers to help with the problem. This will go towards creating a sustainable future for these icons of the Carpathian wilderness and promote a greater understanding of their role in the ecosystem.

The expeditions run between 30 January – 5 February and 6 – 12 February and cost £960 each, excluding travel to and from Slovakia.

For more information visit biosphere-expeditions.org.