NEWS ARCHIVE: DECEMBER 2006
December 28, 2006
Website "The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha"
During winter vacation
A huge throng is now in an estate of Grandfather Frost in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Yesterday, on December 27, 83 groups of tourists visited this place. Children from Mogilyov, Minsk, Vitebsk, Mozyr and other Belarusian towns and villages, and Russian pupils met a Grandfather Frost and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden). They together singed and dances in a ring round a living New Year's spruce tree, the highest all over the world. They thought of desires at Twelve Months' wood-sculptures and visited a Skarbnitsa (storehouse or Santa's grotto) and a Snegurochka's house. They asked the Grandfather to give them snow falling because the children want very much to play snowballs, to ski and to toboggan. The wizard was however very tired of meeting with too many children and was unable to shake his down pillows. But he surely promised to shake a big feather bed by the New Year that to make the amount of white snow sufficient for everyone. He is a tale-teller to carry out children's wishes.
The children write him from everywhere. The requests are very different. Someone asks a mountain bicycle, another wants a new ski or a dog. But the children basically share their thoughts with the Grandfather Frost. "When I will to grow to adulthood I will be a doctor to cure all the people", a boy writes. A girl from Mogilyov dreams to make friends with all the people and to do so that the children were perishing nowhere in the world from a war.
The pupils send a lot of their hand-made articles to the Estate. The best of them will be exposed in a Grandfather Frost's museum, which the wizard intends to open one day.
A huge throng is now in an estate of Grandfather Frost in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Yesterday, on December 27, 83 groups of tourists visited this place. Children from Mogilyov, Minsk, Vitebsk, Mozyr and other Belarusian towns and villages, and Russian pupils met a Grandfather Frost and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden). They together singed and dances in a ring round a living New Year's spruce tree, the highest all over the world. They thought of desires at Twelve Months' wood-sculptures and visited a Skarbnitsa (storehouse or Santa's grotto) and a Snegurochka's house. They asked the Grandfather to give them snow falling because the children want very much to play snowballs, to ski and to toboggan. The wizard was however very tired of meeting with too many children and was unable to shake his down pillows. But he surely promised to shake a big feather bed by the New Year that to make the amount of white snow sufficient for everyone. He is a tale-teller to carry out children's wishes.
The children write him from everywhere. The requests are very different. Someone asks a mountain bicycle, another wants a new ski or a dog. But the children basically share their thoughts with the Grandfather Frost. "When I will to grow to adulthood I will be a doctor to cure all the people", a boy writes. A girl from Mogilyov dreams to make friends with all the people and to do so that the children were perishing nowhere in the world from a war.
The pupils send a lot of their hand-made articles to the Estate. The best of them will be exposed in a Grandfather Frost's museum, which the wizard intends to open one day.
December 27, 2006
Website "The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha""
News from an estate 3,000 visitors per day
This is the number of the visitors which come to an Estate of Belarusian Grandfather Frost in Belovezhskaya Pushcha every day during a school vacation. The fantastic characters - a Snow-White and Seven Dwarfs, Twelve months, a Dub-Dubovich (the Oak-knight), Vyaz-Vyazovich (the Elm-knight) and other heroes of a magic empire hospitably meet the children and adults. All are welcomed and are invited by the grey-beard Grandfather Frost with his Granddaughter Snow Maiden to a New Year's fairy tale. The tourists together with the deft guides go round the Estate. They examine a Skarbnitsa where Grandfather Frost's gifts for children are stored, a magic well at the bottom of which splinters of small miracle are, a mill which grinds all troubles and many other sights of the Grandfather Frost's Estate. The children together with the Snow Maiden sing and dance in a ring round a living New Year's spruce tree which is sparkling by fires. They read verses devoting to a New Year and solve riddles. And they, certainly, get gifts from the Grandfather Frost .
The barkers of the Estate offer to visit shops with wide choice of souvenirs and a smell of testy pancakes with jam, honey and caviar, and of light smoke of juicy shish kebabs (shashlik).
Except for the fascinating travel in the area of the Estate, the adults and children examine enclosures with wild animals, visit a museum of nature and join excursions across Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
This is the number of the visitors which come to an Estate of Belarusian Grandfather Frost in Belovezhskaya Pushcha every day during a school vacation. The fantastic characters - a Snow-White and Seven Dwarfs, Twelve months, a Dub-Dubovich (the Oak-knight), Vyaz-Vyazovich (the Elm-knight) and other heroes of a magic empire hospitably meet the children and adults. All are welcomed and are invited by the grey-beard Grandfather Frost with his Granddaughter Snow Maiden to a New Year's fairy tale. The tourists together with the deft guides go round the Estate. They examine a Skarbnitsa where Grandfather Frost's gifts for children are stored, a magic well at the bottom of which splinters of small miracle are, a mill which grinds all troubles and many other sights of the Grandfather Frost's Estate. The children together with the Snow Maiden sing and dance in a ring round a living New Year's spruce tree which is sparkling by fires. They read verses devoting to a New Year and solve riddles. And they, certainly, get gifts from the Grandfather Frost .
The barkers of the Estate offer to visit shops with wide choice of souvenirs and a smell of testy pancakes with jam, honey and caviar, and of light smoke of juicy shish kebabs (shashlik).
Except for the fascinating travel in the area of the Estate, the adults and children examine enclosures with wild animals, visit a museum of nature and join excursions across Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
December 25, 2006
Website "The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha""
Belarusian Grandfather Frost is the youngest
The project "Belarusian Grandfather Frost" is the youngest. It is only three years old.
However, the interest to it, not only in Belarus but also abroad, grows every day. 3,000 to 4,000 people visit a residence of Grandfather Frost every day. It is planned to expand apartments of the fantastic hero in the near future - to construct new facilities for rest and entertainment and essentially to renovate an excursion's program. Little visitors will be served with the opportunity to participate in various competitions and contests, and to become a fantastic character for a certain time.
The adult also sometimes would like to find themselves in a fairy tale and to recollect childhood that to be clearer of in what kinds of interests their children live. They can get all together a good rest in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the most mysterious and old wood in Europe where wild animals freely live and 600-year-old giant trees grow.
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The news is put in the short-cut form, the note by the BP-21 Century's editor
The project "Belarusian Grandfather Frost" is the youngest. It is only three years old.
However, the interest to it, not only in Belarus but also abroad, grows every day. 3,000 to 4,000 people visit a residence of Grandfather Frost every day. It is planned to expand apartments of the fantastic hero in the near future - to construct new facilities for rest and entertainment and essentially to renovate an excursion's program. Little visitors will be served with the opportunity to participate in various competitions and contests, and to become a fantastic character for a certain time.
The adult also sometimes would like to find themselves in a fairy tale and to recollect childhood that to be clearer of in what kinds of interests their children live. They can get all together a good rest in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the most mysterious and old wood in Europe where wild animals freely live and 600-year-old giant trees grow.
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The news is put in the short-cut form, the note by the BP-21 Century's editor
December 22, 2005
"Narodnaya Gazeta" (The Peoples Newspaper) Newspaper, No 284-285
To confuse bison with... wild boar
A scandalous case has taken place in the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" on November 14, 2006. With participation of foreign citizens, two bison listed in a Red Data Book of Belarus were illegally shot during a hunting tour.
By the way, an unknown person, not the management of the State Nature Protection Institution (SNPI) "The Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park", forwarded information concerning this case to a state inspection. The Brest Regional Inspection of Animal and Flora Protection immediately informed a prosecutor office of the Brest region about this signal.
On November 15, a special commission visited the place of incident to go into details. It was established that, as a part of the hunting tour, the hunting for wild boar and deer with participation of the beaters and foreign citizens has been carried out in the Hvoyniki forest area of the National Park on November 14. Fourteen foreigners took part in the hunting. Mister Alexander Litvinovich, a forestry officer's assistant of the Hvoyniki forest area, supervised over the hunting. Before the hunt began, the participants were given instructions about rules of safety and hunting and the hunters signed a hunting permit for wild animals' shooting valid for one occasion only.
When realizing the hunting in the compartment 380, the hunt manager staying on the flank of a shooting line has heard four shots. With this hunting completed at 16.40, he has found out two killed bison - a female at the age of seven or eight years and a male at the age of one and a half or two years. Two foreign hunters (citizens of Switzerland) were near the killed animals. The hunt manager has not defined who of them shot bison. The hunt was immediately stopped and the management of the SNPI "The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" was informed about the occurrence.
Carcasses of the bison were delivered to a preparation shop of the National Park. Skins were taken off and were handed over to a taxidermy shop for making stuffed animals, the meat was given to a local restaurant.
A report drown up by the members of the commission on infringement of nature protection legislation was forwarded to an investigating team. The volume of the harm caused to an environment as a result of the illegal hunting for bison was defined to be equal 17.67 million Roubles (~8,300 USA $). Besides, according to a contract on the hunting tour, it's stipulated that the tourist agency, in case of illegal killing of bison, pays 10,000 Euros to the SNPI "The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" for every animal.
Legal proceedings were instituted in the Pruzhany District Office of Internal Affairs regarding this fact. The damage of 17.67 million Roubles in total caused to the state was compensated by the foreign citizens to a full extent. A stipulated penalty was also paid to the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha".
Answering a question of the Narodnaya Gazeta's reporter on how such the event could take place on the whole, Nickolai Bambiza, director general of SNPI "The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha", has said that the foreigners never saw bison before and, in a fit of hunting temper, could simply confuse them with ... wild boars. They hunted before for wild boars and were surprised how huge those can be in nature. Though, frankly speaking, in our opinion, one should be of great imagination that to mistake bison for wild boars.
By the way, according to Nickolai Bambiza, the similar case happened in Poland six years ago a citizen of Switzerland has shot bison there too. Something, probably, is bad to learn zoology in this country. After the incident occurred in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the foreign hunters are much deeper instructed, Nickolai Bambiza emphasized.
Victor KUKLOV, Nickolai DYM
A scandalous case has taken place in the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" on November 14, 2006. With participation of foreign citizens, two bison listed in a Red Data Book of Belarus were illegally shot during a hunting tour.
By the way, an unknown person, not the management of the State Nature Protection Institution (SNPI) "The Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park", forwarded information concerning this case to a state inspection. The Brest Regional Inspection of Animal and Flora Protection immediately informed a prosecutor office of the Brest region about this signal.
On November 15, a special commission visited the place of incident to go into details. It was established that, as a part of the hunting tour, the hunting for wild boar and deer with participation of the beaters and foreign citizens has been carried out in the Hvoyniki forest area of the National Park on November 14. Fourteen foreigners took part in the hunting. Mister Alexander Litvinovich, a forestry officer's assistant of the Hvoyniki forest area, supervised over the hunting. Before the hunt began, the participants were given instructions about rules of safety and hunting and the hunters signed a hunting permit for wild animals' shooting valid for one occasion only.
When realizing the hunting in the compartment 380, the hunt manager staying on the flank of a shooting line has heard four shots. With this hunting completed at 16.40, he has found out two killed bison - a female at the age of seven or eight years and a male at the age of one and a half or two years. Two foreign hunters (citizens of Switzerland) were near the killed animals. The hunt manager has not defined who of them shot bison. The hunt was immediately stopped and the management of the SNPI "The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" was informed about the occurrence.
Carcasses of the bison were delivered to a preparation shop of the National Park. Skins were taken off and were handed over to a taxidermy shop for making stuffed animals, the meat was given to a local restaurant.
A report drown up by the members of the commission on infringement of nature protection legislation was forwarded to an investigating team. The volume of the harm caused to an environment as a result of the illegal hunting for bison was defined to be equal 17.67 million Roubles (~8,300 USA $). Besides, according to a contract on the hunting tour, it's stipulated that the tourist agency, in case of illegal killing of bison, pays 10,000 Euros to the SNPI "The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" for every animal.
Legal proceedings were instituted in the Pruzhany District Office of Internal Affairs regarding this fact. The damage of 17.67 million Roubles in total caused to the state was compensated by the foreign citizens to a full extent. A stipulated penalty was also paid to the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha".
Answering a question of the Narodnaya Gazeta's reporter on how such the event could take place on the whole, Nickolai Bambiza, director general of SNPI "The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha", has said that the foreigners never saw bison before and, in a fit of hunting temper, could simply confuse them with ... wild boars. They hunted before for wild boars and were surprised how huge those can be in nature. Though, frankly speaking, in our opinion, one should be of great imagination that to mistake bison for wild boars.
By the way, according to Nickolai Bambiza, the similar case happened in Poland six years ago a citizen of Switzerland has shot bison there too. Something, probably, is bad to learn zoology in this country. After the incident occurred in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the foreign hunters are much deeper instructed, Nickolai Bambiza emphasized.
Victor KUKLOV, Nickolai DYM
December 21, 2006
Website "Saint Nickolai's Orthodox Parish in Bialowieza"
A new website of the Mammal Research Institute in Bialowieza
The Mammal Research Institute in the village of Bialowieza have got richer by a new website which can be observed by clicking the address www.zbs.bialowieza.pl. In comparison with the previous version, the new website is visually more attractive and is easier to navigate. The website is accessible in two Polish and English versions.
The Mammal Research Institute in the village of Bialowieza have got richer by a new website which can be observed by clicking the address www.zbs.bialowieza.pl. In comparison with the previous version, the new website is visually more attractive and is easier to navigate. The website is accessible in two Polish and English versions.
December 20, 2006
"Vecherniy Brest"
From Pushcha to Lapland
The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" plans to organize a steady flow of excursions to Lapland, to Santa Clause.
The idea was born after a Finish Santa Clause visited his Belarusian colleague, Grandfather Frost. Straight off after New Year's holidays, the employees of the tourism department of the Reserve will go on a tour of the return visit. They should develop an optimum route from Pushcha to the Finnish capital of Lapland, to examine the conditions for accommodation and meal and to define the cost of excursions. If the final price will not be very high for our citizens, all the wishing already shortly can go on a visit to Finland, with crossing a Polar circle.
The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" plans to organize a steady flow of excursions to Lapland, to Santa Clause.
The idea was born after a Finish Santa Clause visited his Belarusian colleague, Grandfather Frost. Straight off after New Year's holidays, the employees of the tourism department of the Reserve will go on a tour of the return visit. They should develop an optimum route from Pushcha to the Finnish capital of Lapland, to examine the conditions for accommodation and meal and to define the cost of excursions. If the final price will not be very high for our citizens, all the wishing already shortly can go on a visit to Finland, with crossing a Polar circle.
December 20, 2006
"Vecherniy Minsk" (The Evening Minsk) Newspaper, No 282
Bison-babies to be born on the eve of the winter
Abnormal warm weather set in December has brought some corrections into the life of flora and fauna programmed by nature. Such the anomaly naturally causes alarm by zoologists and biologists. But six small bison-babies express completely opposite opinion in this respect. They were born one and a half month ago in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and have come into the world contrary to law of nature. Warm weather has given chance of survival for the kids.
Nickolai Bambiza, director of the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" informed that for today a bison herd of the Reserve totals about 320 animals. Bison usually give birth to the young in May. As a rule, it makes 40 to 45 calves in the National Park. To be born in a wrong time, it doesn't happen often. However, these cases aren't unique, the interlocutor says. The fate of lately-born kids is usually sad they are weak and quickly perish with cold and snow because in this period their mothers are the most anxious about looking for food to themselves, instead of taking care about the calves.
Six kids are currently under permanent control by the Park's experts. According to Nickolai Bambiza, while warm weather lasted, little bison have got enough stronger and this fact allows to expect that they will normally survive the winter through.
BelTA Information Agency
Abnormal warm weather set in December has brought some corrections into the life of flora and fauna programmed by nature. Such the anomaly naturally causes alarm by zoologists and biologists. But six small bison-babies express completely opposite opinion in this respect. They were born one and a half month ago in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and have come into the world contrary to law of nature. Warm weather has given chance of survival for the kids.
Nickolai Bambiza, director of the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" informed that for today a bison herd of the Reserve totals about 320 animals. Bison usually give birth to the young in May. As a rule, it makes 40 to 45 calves in the National Park. To be born in a wrong time, it doesn't happen often. However, these cases aren't unique, the interlocutor says. The fate of lately-born kids is usually sad they are weak and quickly perish with cold and snow because in this period their mothers are the most anxious about looking for food to themselves, instead of taking care about the calves.
Six kids are currently under permanent control by the Park's experts. According to Nickolai Bambiza, while warm weather lasted, little bison have got enough stronger and this fact allows to expect that they will normally survive the winter through.
BelTA Information Agency
December 19, 2006
Website "Saint Nickolai's Orthodox Parish in Bialowieza"
Request for shooting forty bison in the Bialowieza Forest (Poland)
The National Park and the Ministry of Environment will request for sanction to make selective eliminate forty bison from a herd of the Bialowieza National Park (BNP) next year, Jozef Popiel, Director of the BNP informed. A request-letter is already complete.
A special commission which consists of some scientists engaged in the study on bison has give permission for elimination of such the amount of the animals. The commission has set criteria of the selection.
Ill and aggressive animals and too late born calves will be, first of all, the subject for elimination from the herd. If the Minister of Environment will give the sanction, extraction will be completed until the spring, as always under a strong control of the experts.
In 2006, under the Minister's sanction, thirty bison were eliminated from the herd. The number of the annually extracted animals remains more or less the same.
Jozef Popiel emphasized that the elimination of forty animals will threaten the population of bison from the Bialowieza by no means. This season seventy calves have been born in the Park. The director also underlined that elimination targets to preserve the herd in good conditions. He added that bison are currently the most suffering from parasites.
Over ten or even twenty bison "will be exported" abroad next year. Six bison were departed to France and two bison were delivered to Germany this year, Jozef Popiel informed.
The experts from the BNP consider if the herd will further continue the common tendency of development, about fife hundred bison will live in the Polish part the Bialowieza Forest in 2010, and even six hundred sixty animals if no elimination. This conclusion was announced in November during a meeting devoted to a program on protection of bison. About four hundred bison now live in the Polish part of the Forest.
The scientists emphasize over the many years that the Bialowieza Forest is too small to make home for such big quantity of bison and, therefore, they offer different projects the aim of which should become searching the new areas for bison - to move them to others woodlands or even to private nurseries.
One of the measures concerning the bison is a Bison program launched in 2003. In the framework of it, a project "Bison Land Bison Protection in the Bialowieza Forest" will be implemented.
Dorota Lawreszuk from the Mammal Research Institute of PAS in Bialowieza informed that the institute has got 956,000 Euros granted for these purposes from the European Union within the framework of the Program "LIFE Nature". The overall project costs 1.4 million Euros. On Tuesday the ceremony of signing of an appropriate project's agreement between the Bialowieza National Park, the Regional Management of State Forests in Bialystok, and the Foundation "Poland Green Lungs" was planned in the village of Bialowieza. However, because of formal reasons, the signing was rescheduled to another date.
The project "Bison Land" should be implemented till 2010. It includes different issues. Its main purpose is to develop a new approach for protection of bison, to improve the habitat conditions of these animals and to monitor the herd.
The source is "www.gazeta.pl"
The National Park and the Ministry of Environment will request for sanction to make selective eliminate forty bison from a herd of the Bialowieza National Park (BNP) next year, Jozef Popiel, Director of the BNP informed. A request-letter is already complete.
A special commission which consists of some scientists engaged in the study on bison has give permission for elimination of such the amount of the animals. The commission has set criteria of the selection.
Ill and aggressive animals and too late born calves will be, first of all, the subject for elimination from the herd. If the Minister of Environment will give the sanction, extraction will be completed until the spring, as always under a strong control of the experts.
In 2006, under the Minister's sanction, thirty bison were eliminated from the herd. The number of the annually extracted animals remains more or less the same.
Jozef Popiel emphasized that the elimination of forty animals will threaten the population of bison from the Bialowieza by no means. This season seventy calves have been born in the Park. The director also underlined that elimination targets to preserve the herd in good conditions. He added that bison are currently the most suffering from parasites.
Over ten or even twenty bison "will be exported" abroad next year. Six bison were departed to France and two bison were delivered to Germany this year, Jozef Popiel informed.
The experts from the BNP consider if the herd will further continue the common tendency of development, about fife hundred bison will live in the Polish part the Bialowieza Forest in 2010, and even six hundred sixty animals if no elimination. This conclusion was announced in November during a meeting devoted to a program on protection of bison. About four hundred bison now live in the Polish part of the Forest.
The scientists emphasize over the many years that the Bialowieza Forest is too small to make home for such big quantity of bison and, therefore, they offer different projects the aim of which should become searching the new areas for bison - to move them to others woodlands or even to private nurseries.
One of the measures concerning the bison is a Bison program launched in 2003. In the framework of it, a project "Bison Land Bison Protection in the Bialowieza Forest" will be implemented.
Dorota Lawreszuk from the Mammal Research Institute of PAS in Bialowieza informed that the institute has got 956,000 Euros granted for these purposes from the European Union within the framework of the Program "LIFE Nature". The overall project costs 1.4 million Euros. On Tuesday the ceremony of signing of an appropriate project's agreement between the Bialowieza National Park, the Regional Management of State Forests in Bialystok, and the Foundation "Poland Green Lungs" was planned in the village of Bialowieza. However, because of formal reasons, the signing was rescheduled to another date.
The project "Bison Land" should be implemented till 2010. It includes different issues. Its main purpose is to develop a new approach for protection of bison, to improve the habitat conditions of these animals and to monitor the herd.
The source is "www.gazeta.pl"
December 19, 2006
Website "Hunter.ru"
Polish bison and ravens to get into serious troubles in future, to be shot in large quantities
Polish bison and ravens are in expectation of serious troubles in 2007. In spite of the fact that they both are listed in a Red Data Book and are under strict governmental protection, a decision was accepted to shoot 120 black ravens in Wielkopolska province and 40 bison in the Bialowieza National Park of the Podlasie province in the new year.
Ravens will get under bullets because they have almost completely exterminated a population of hairs, having deprived the local hunters of their favourite business. From the forest officers, the ravens, having reproduced themselves in plenty, have exterminated almost all young hares, while the remained alive adult ones have migrated to the next woods.
As to wood giants - bison, the representatives of a special commission which has accepted a decision on extraction of 40 specimens have explained that the matter concerns only old, sick and too aggressive animals. This kind of "preventive" shooting are carried out every year. In 2006 licenses for extermination of 30 bison were given. 20 more ones were delivered abroad, in particular to Germany and France.
Deprived of natural enemies in the Polish National Park "Bialowieza", bison give birth for approximately 65 to 70 calves every year. By 2010 the total number of a herd of bison will reach 500 animals there and there will be a question on moving new giants to other regions of Poland, as bigger amount of animals will simply not find enough food in this National Park.
Since 2003 the program "Bison Land" on restoration of the population of these animals is under realization in Poland. 956,000 Euros are already allocated from funds of the European Union for this purpose.
Alexei Kartzev, ITAR-TASS reporter
The source: ami-tass.ru
Polish bison and ravens are in expectation of serious troubles in 2007. In spite of the fact that they both are listed in a Red Data Book and are under strict governmental protection, a decision was accepted to shoot 120 black ravens in Wielkopolska province and 40 bison in the Bialowieza National Park of the Podlasie province in the new year.
Ravens will get under bullets because they have almost completely exterminated a population of hairs, having deprived the local hunters of their favourite business. From the forest officers, the ravens, having reproduced themselves in plenty, have exterminated almost all young hares, while the remained alive adult ones have migrated to the next woods.
As to wood giants - bison, the representatives of a special commission which has accepted a decision on extraction of 40 specimens have explained that the matter concerns only old, sick and too aggressive animals. This kind of "preventive" shooting are carried out every year. In 2006 licenses for extermination of 30 bison were given. 20 more ones were delivered abroad, in particular to Germany and France.
Deprived of natural enemies in the Polish National Park "Bialowieza", bison give birth for approximately 65 to 70 calves every year. By 2010 the total number of a herd of bison will reach 500 animals there and there will be a question on moving new giants to other regions of Poland, as bigger amount of animals will simply not find enough food in this National Park.
Since 2003 the program "Bison Land" on restoration of the population of these animals is under realization in Poland. 956,000 Euros are already allocated from funds of the European Union for this purpose.
Alexei Kartzev, ITAR-TASS reporter
The source: ami-tass.ru
December 19, 2006
Website "Podlasie' Gate"
A Bison Land Project's inauguration to be postponed
Unfortunately, an inauguration of the Project "Bison Land - Bison Protection in Bialowieza Forest" will be held in the Mammal Research Department of the Polish Academy of Sciences in the village of Bialowieza only after a New Year.
It was primary informed that the official signing of an agreement and simultaneously the inauguration of the project will be held on December 19. Unfortunately, because of organizational reasons, it will take place already after a New Year.
The project is carried out within the framework of the European Union' Program "LIFE Nature". The purpose of the meeting is to sign the rules of partnerships between the members of the Project, i.e. between the Mammal Research Department of the PAS (Project's Coordinator) and other partners - the Bialowieza National Park, the Regional Management of State Forests in Bialystok, and the Foundation "Poland Green Lungs". The procedure of the signing will be combined with a project presentation.
Members of the Project Council, representatives of the Ministry of Environment and the Fund "EkoFundusz", regional and local authorities are also invited to the meeting.
The purpose of the project is to develop a new approach for protection of bison in the southeast part of the Podlasie province and raising nature protection measures in order to improve the habitat conditions of this species. The project also aims to popularize bison in the region and to mitigate potential conflicts between the bison presence and agriculture. The project is integrated into the Program "Bison" started since 2003.
"Life Nature" is a financial tool of the European Union which provides finances for activities in the field of nature protection in the areas covered by "Natura 2000". The Bison Land Project is one of few projects in Poland which have gained the support from this foundation. The Project's budget makes 1,381,700 Euro while the co-financing reaches 956,000 Euro. The Project's terms are actual for 2006 - 2010.
JM
Unfortunately, an inauguration of the Project "Bison Land - Bison Protection in Bialowieza Forest" will be held in the Mammal Research Department of the Polish Academy of Sciences in the village of Bialowieza only after a New Year.
It was primary informed that the official signing of an agreement and simultaneously the inauguration of the project will be held on December 19. Unfortunately, because of organizational reasons, it will take place already after a New Year.
The project is carried out within the framework of the European Union' Program "LIFE Nature". The purpose of the meeting is to sign the rules of partnerships between the members of the Project, i.e. between the Mammal Research Department of the PAS (Project's Coordinator) and other partners - the Bialowieza National Park, the Regional Management of State Forests in Bialystok, and the Foundation "Poland Green Lungs". The procedure of the signing will be combined with a project presentation.
Members of the Project Council, representatives of the Ministry of Environment and the Fund "EkoFundusz", regional and local authorities are also invited to the meeting.
The purpose of the project is to develop a new approach for protection of bison in the southeast part of the Podlasie province and raising nature protection measures in order to improve the habitat conditions of this species. The project also aims to popularize bison in the region and to mitigate potential conflicts between the bison presence and agriculture. The project is integrated into the Program "Bison" started since 2003.
"Life Nature" is a financial tool of the European Union which provides finances for activities in the field of nature protection in the areas covered by "Natura 2000". The Bison Land Project is one of few projects in Poland which have gained the support from this foundation. The Project's budget makes 1,381,700 Euro while the co-financing reaches 956,000 Euro. The Project's terms are actual for 2006 - 2010.
JM
December 12, 2006
Website "All-National TV"
A heathen stone to find in Belovezhskaya Pushcha
Local inhabitants kept its existence in secret for a long time. According to a popular belief, the moisture which is accumulating on the stone heals any illnesses.
A road to the sacred place goes deep into the Belovezhskaya Pushcha forest by thousand-year oak trees. The inhabitants of local villages only know about the location of the stone. In a holiday or a funeral the people go to this stone to get self-brightening up. Ivan Zamulko is one of the few people who know the road to the treasured place. He worked a forestry officer all the life in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and knows all of its secrets.
Ivan Zamulko, local inhabitant, says "This place was holding by the people in esteem both in an antiquity and up to now. As for the shape of the stone It could only be bowing down before it! According to a popular belief, water is accumulated here and our ancestors got healing here".
This stone is common among the others. Gifts and offering are not necessary here. The most important is to come with clear conscience. Its singularity consists in the form and content. It looks like a human body while the place is still of ritual importance.
Old local villagers tell two legends concerning this stone. The first is about a church which was on this site and vanished like the earth swallowed it up. The second tells that God Mother went down this stone during a Deluge. This hollow is a trace of her foot.
The local scientists were already exploring the stone place. They carried out measurements and chemical researches of the liquid in the deepening. They are sure this place goes back to a pre-Christian epoch. Slavic Yatviagi tribes were performing their rituals here in about V VI centuries. They worshipped pagan deities in those times.
Olga Trofimik, director of the Svisloch museum of local lore, history and economy, says "From generation to generation, regardless of the fact that the Christianity was accepted afterwards, some pagan relic and fetishes became a part of Christianity and are given esteem up to now. We respect for the ancestors in this way".
The people don't worship pagan deities any more here but they come here in hope to get recovered. The authorities of the Svisloch district are positive regarding the further visiting this place. The unique stone will belong to a list of sights of Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
A road to the sacred place goes deep into the Belovezhskaya Pushcha forest by thousand-year oak trees. The inhabitants of local villages only know about the location of the stone. In a holiday or a funeral the people go to this stone to get self-brightening up. Ivan Zamulko is one of the few people who know the road to the treasured place. He worked a forestry officer all the life in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and knows all of its secrets.
Ivan Zamulko, local inhabitant, says "This place was holding by the people in esteem both in an antiquity and up to now. As for the shape of the stone It could only be bowing down before it! According to a popular belief, water is accumulated here and our ancestors got healing here".
This stone is common among the others. Gifts and offering are not necessary here. The most important is to come with clear conscience. Its singularity consists in the form and content. It looks like a human body while the place is still of ritual importance.
Old local villagers tell two legends concerning this stone. The first is about a church which was on this site and vanished like the earth swallowed it up. The second tells that God Mother went down this stone during a Deluge. This hollow is a trace of her foot.
The local scientists were already exploring the stone place. They carried out measurements and chemical researches of the liquid in the deepening. They are sure this place goes back to a pre-Christian epoch. Slavic Yatviagi tribes were performing their rituals here in about V VI centuries. They worshipped pagan deities in those times.
Olga Trofimik, director of the Svisloch museum of local lore, history and economy, says "From generation to generation, regardless of the fact that the Christianity was accepted afterwards, some pagan relic and fetishes became a part of Christianity and are given esteem up to now. We respect for the ancestors in this way".
The people don't worship pagan deities any more here but they come here in hope to get recovered. The authorities of the Svisloch district are positive regarding the further visiting this place. The unique stone will belong to a list of sights of Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
December 11, 2006
Website of the Information Agency "BelTA"
Over 70 thousand tourists to visit an Estate of Grandfather Frost in Belovezhskaya Pushcha from beginning of this year
Over 70 thousand tourists from Belarus and foreign countries have visited a residence of Grandfather Frost in Belovezhskaya Pushcha from beginning of this year. About one and a half thousand tourists daily visit the sovereign of winter blizzards in the pre-New Year holidays. This information was given to a BelTA' reporter from the administration of the National Park.
The Grandfather Frost's residence is open for visiting all the year round. Three years have passed since the Grandfather Frost made his home in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. More than 170 thousand people visited the favourite fantastic hero for this period. They are basically children coming from all over corners of Belarus, and from Russia and Ukraine.
On the New Year's Eve a local climate is filled with spirit of the forthcoming celebration and the Grandfather Frost together with the Granddaughter Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) in chic attires meet the visitors.
It's noteworthy that the Grandfather Frost's estate lately becomes one of the indispensable "point" of wedding parties for the inhabitants of the Brest region. Only for last month the fantastic Grandfather wished two newly wedded couples to get a happy marriage.
Olga Kobyak, the city of Brest
Over 70 thousand tourists from Belarus and foreign countries have visited a residence of Grandfather Frost in Belovezhskaya Pushcha from beginning of this year. About one and a half thousand tourists daily visit the sovereign of winter blizzards in the pre-New Year holidays. This information was given to a BelTA' reporter from the administration of the National Park.
The Grandfather Frost's residence is open for visiting all the year round. Three years have passed since the Grandfather Frost made his home in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. More than 170 thousand people visited the favourite fantastic hero for this period. They are basically children coming from all over corners of Belarus, and from Russia and Ukraine.
On the New Year's Eve a local climate is filled with spirit of the forthcoming celebration and the Grandfather Frost together with the Granddaughter Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) in chic attires meet the visitors.
It's noteworthy that the Grandfather Frost's estate lately becomes one of the indispensable "point" of wedding parties for the inhabitants of the Brest region. Only for last month the fantastic Grandfather wished two newly wedded couples to get a happy marriage.
Olga Kobyak, the city of Brest
December 09, 2006
"Respublika" (The Republic) newspaper, No 227
Contours of the future
The city of BREST. Yesterday in the governmental residence Viskuli in Belovezhskaya Pushcha a two-day scientific and practical conference with participation of politicians, scientists including political ones and public figures from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine was come to the end. Oleg Proleskovskiy, Assistant of the President and Head of the Top-Ideological Department of the Administration of the President of Belarus, and Victor Alksnis, member of the Committee on CIS and Communications with Compatriots of the State Duma of Russian Federation, were among the participants. Quests for models of joint life and projects on economic cooperation of the neighboring countries in the new geopolitical conditions were a part of reports of the speakers. Constantin Sumar, Chairman of the Brest Executive Committee, has emphasized in his appeal an importance of strengthening of communications between former Soviet republics disconnected due to the Belovezha agreements.
Fedor MUCHA
The city of BREST. Yesterday in the governmental residence Viskuli in Belovezhskaya Pushcha a two-day scientific and practical conference with participation of politicians, scientists including political ones and public figures from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine was come to the end. Oleg Proleskovskiy, Assistant of the President and Head of the Top-Ideological Department of the Administration of the President of Belarus, and Victor Alksnis, member of the Committee on CIS and Communications with Compatriots of the State Duma of Russian Federation, were among the participants. Quests for models of joint life and projects on economic cooperation of the neighboring countries in the new geopolitical conditions were a part of reports of the speakers. Constantin Sumar, Chairman of the Brest Executive Committee, has emphasized in his appeal an importance of strengthening of communications between former Soviet republics disconnected due to the Belovezha agreements.
Fedor MUCHA
December 08, 2006
Website "Bialowieza National Park"
There are the latest winners of a Medal "Friend of Bison"
The new winners of a Medal "Friend of Bison" were announced at the ceremonial ending of the 85th celebration of the Bialowieza National Park on December 8, 2006 .
The medal is a characteristic of great achievements and recognition for the individual persons or institutions which have reached outstanding results in the field of science, education, management or publicity concerning restoration, keeping and protection of bison.
After bringing sixteen submitted candidature-offers up for discussion, a commission consisting of Master's-Engineer Jozef Popiel (Chairman), Professor Simona Kossak (Member) and Ph. Doctor Czeslaw Okolow (Secretary) has awarded the next five persons and institutions a 2006 medal "Friend of Bison". The following names became the recipients of the medal together with a rank and a statuette of bison made from bronze:
The Medal "Friend of Bison" is given by the Bialowieza National Park since 2004. 6 persons and 4 institutions were awarded this medal by now. The winners of the medal are the following:
As well as
There are enough of people in our country devoted all their life to bison. Many institutions also give a good name of the Bialowieza Forest's King and help care about it in the different ways. It gives optimism to look in the future and to trust that we shall get the next five official Friends in one year.
Anna Gierasimiuk
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The photos of the ceremony of rewarding can be found at the website of the Bialowieza National Park by clicking http://www.bpn.com.pl/aktualnosci/2006_94.htm
After bringing sixteen submitted candidature-offers up for discussion, a commission consisting of Master's-Engineer Jozef Popiel (Chairman), Professor Simona Kossak (Member) and Ph. Doctor Czeslaw Okolow (Secretary) has awarded the next five persons and institutions a 2006 medal "Friend of Bison". The following names became the recipients of the medal together with a rank and a statuette of bison made from bronze:
- Professor Janusz Gill is a winner for long-term researches of physiology of bison begun nearly fifty years ago. These researches have resulted in a monograph "Study on physiology of Bison" issued in Warsaw in 1999. There are no analogues to this edition world over.
- Veterinary doctor Mieczyslaw Hlawiczka is a winner for veterinary service of bison at the Centre of Bison Keeping in Pszczyn during several decades. Doctor Mieczyslaw Hlawiczka is actually a successor of his father Jozef Hlawiczka who supervised over the Centre of Bison Keeping in Pszczyn for many years.
- The Centre of Bison Keeping in Pszczyn is a winner on the occasion of 140the anniversary since the date of its establishment. The keeping of bison started there in 1865, after four bison were delivered from the Bialowieza Forest. Two bison from Pszczyn called Plebejer and Planta were of a key importance in restoration of the species Bison bonasus L. both in Poland and all over the world. In 1865 to 2003, 256 animals were taken out of Poland. 177 of them were delivered to 17 centres of bison keeping in Poland and 58 animals - to 32 centres abroad. The male Plisch which was taken out of Bialowieza 17th April of 1936 became a father of 45 calves and has played a significant role in restoration of bison in the Bialowieza Forest. A part of the founders of free-living populations in Bieszczady and Borecka Forest originated from Pszczyn.
- Master-Engineer Czeslaw Dolata is a winner for the leadership to manage the Centre of Bison Keeping in Pszczyn within 20 years (from 1982 to 2002) and an idea of continuation of bison keeping at this centre.
- Ph. Doctor Zygmunt Krzeminski is a winner for long-term coordination in the field of keeping and restoration of bison in Poland, in bodies of the Ministry of Forestry and Timber Industry and of the Ministry of Environment.
The Medal "Friend of Bison" is given by the Bialowieza National Park since 2004. 6 persons and 4 institutions were awarded this medal by now. The winners of the medal are the following:
- Professor Zdzislaw Pucek;
- Professor Malgorzata Krasinska;
- Ph. Doctor Zbigniew A. Krasinski;
- Wlodzimierz Piroznikow;
- Ph. Doctor Jan Raczynski;
- Sergiusz Wolkowycki.
As well as
- National Foundation of Environment Protection and Water Management,
- Foundation "EkoFundusz",
- the Bank "Pekao S.A",
- the Trade-mark "Bison" of the brewing company
There are enough of people in our country devoted all their life to bison. Many institutions also give a good name of the Bialowieza Forest's King and help care about it in the different ways. It gives optimism to look in the future and to trust that we shall get the next five official Friends in one year.
Anna Gierasimiuk
------------------
The photos of the ceremony of rewarding can be found at the website of the Bialowieza National Park by clicking http://www.bpn.com.pl/aktualnosci/2006_94.htm
December 08, 2006
Website "Vitebsk' Popular News"
Hunt for lynx to be begun. Requests from zoos or reserves for catching the animals can rescue them
The "Vitebsk' Popular News" already informed that the Rossonsky Game-Hunting Ground has got a sanction to shoot lynxes which are listed in a Red Data Book. The Ministry of Natural Resources and of Environment Protection has given "OK" to do this. A hunting manager of the Rossonsky forest enterprise commented upon the sanction for shooting as the following.
"These lovely "pussy-cats" consume not only wood-grouses but also hares and partridges literally to a full extent over three ten years. They don't balk to kill roe deer causing irreplaceable damage to fauna. During a period of the last year lynxes have eaten up about fifty wood-grouses covering only our Game-Hunting Ground. We are therefore under permission to exterminate ten animals of European lynx in order to keep the balance existed in nature. Terms of the elimination are also determined between December of this year and April 15, 2007", Frantz Vorslo, hunting manager of the Rossonsky forest enterprise, has told to the newspaper "Vitbichi".
He has noted that in case of appearance of requests from reserves or zoos the hunters are ready to catch these beautiful predators, instead of killing them. 40 animals of this species is registered in the Rossonsky district in all while 150 animals populate the Vitebsk region.
Yana IL'INA
The "Vitebsk' Popular News" already informed that the Rossonsky Game-Hunting Ground has got a sanction to shoot lynxes which are listed in a Red Data Book. The Ministry of Natural Resources and of Environment Protection has given "OK" to do this. A hunting manager of the Rossonsky forest enterprise commented upon the sanction for shooting as the following.
"These lovely "pussy-cats" consume not only wood-grouses but also hares and partridges literally to a full extent over three ten years. They don't balk to kill roe deer causing irreplaceable damage to fauna. During a period of the last year lynxes have eaten up about fifty wood-grouses covering only our Game-Hunting Ground. We are therefore under permission to exterminate ten animals of European lynx in order to keep the balance existed in nature. Terms of the elimination are also determined between December of this year and April 15, 2007", Frantz Vorslo, hunting manager of the Rossonsky forest enterprise, has told to the newspaper "Vitbichi".
He has noted that in case of appearance of requests from reserves or zoos the hunters are ready to catch these beautiful predators, instead of killing them. 40 animals of this species is registered in the Rossonsky district in all while 150 animals populate the Vitebsk region.
Yana IL'INA
December 04, 2006
Website "Tourism and Rest"
600 years from the beginning of forming of a protection status of Belovezhskaya Pushcha
In December, 2009 it will be 600 years since the beginning of forming of a protection status of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Belarusian and Polish scientists have come to this conclusion as a result of documentary researches they carried out.
A workshop, which purpose was summarizing laborious work on studying archival documents stored in Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, has taken place in the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" on last Friday. The first documentary record about hunting in Pushcha by Grand Dukes Witowt and Yagiello who made a stock of meat for an allied army and won Teutons in Grunwald battle is dated December, 1409. It is knowledge that the only great princes had the right to hunt in these woods and a system of "entrances" to Pushcha existed.
Jozef Popiel, Director of the Bialowieza National Park, Professor Bogumila Jedrzejewska and Master Tomasz Samojlik made their reports on the basis of archival documents. Professor Aleksandr Kovalen, Director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Professor of History Petr Lysenko, Professor Olga Levko, Professor Elena Kalechic and Dr. Aleksandr Dounar represented the flowers of the Belarusian science at the meeting. In their opinion, archeological researches in the Belarusian part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha strongly lag behind the ones on the Polish side because of "closeness" of the Reserve to a great extant.
A resolution accepted by the participants of the meeting finalized the discussion. A conclusion was drawn that December 11, 1409 should be counted the beginning of forming of a Pushcha's protection states. It was decided to offer this date for UNESCO to include it in a List of Memorial Dates. According to the head of the Department of Information of the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" Taiciya Skuratova, the accepted resolution will be submitted by heads of the Belarusian and Polish sectors of the Reserve to the Council of Europe during their visit to Brussels which is planned in the first quarter of 2007.
Elena TRIBULEVA
Source: "Vecherniy Brest" (The Evening Brest) Newspaper
In December, 2009 it will be 600 years since the beginning of forming of a protection status of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Belarusian and Polish scientists have come to this conclusion as a result of documentary researches they carried out.
A workshop, which purpose was summarizing laborious work on studying archival documents stored in Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, has taken place in the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" on last Friday. The first documentary record about hunting in Pushcha by Grand Dukes Witowt and Yagiello who made a stock of meat for an allied army and won Teutons in Grunwald battle is dated December, 1409. It is knowledge that the only great princes had the right to hunt in these woods and a system of "entrances" to Pushcha existed.
Jozef Popiel, Director of the Bialowieza National Park, Professor Bogumila Jedrzejewska and Master Tomasz Samojlik made their reports on the basis of archival documents. Professor Aleksandr Kovalen, Director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Professor of History Petr Lysenko, Professor Olga Levko, Professor Elena Kalechic and Dr. Aleksandr Dounar represented the flowers of the Belarusian science at the meeting. In their opinion, archeological researches in the Belarusian part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha strongly lag behind the ones on the Polish side because of "closeness" of the Reserve to a great extant.
A resolution accepted by the participants of the meeting finalized the discussion. A conclusion was drawn that December 11, 1409 should be counted the beginning of forming of a Pushcha's protection states. It was decided to offer this date for UNESCO to include it in a List of Memorial Dates. According to the head of the Department of Information of the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" Taiciya Skuratova, the accepted resolution will be submitted by heads of the Belarusian and Polish sectors of the Reserve to the Council of Europe during their visit to Brussels which is planned in the first quarter of 2007.
Elena TRIBULEVA
Source: "Vecherniy Brest" (The Evening Brest) Newspaper
December 03, 2006
"BelTA" News Agency Website
Belarusian Grandfather Frost and Finnish Santa Clause have met in Belovezhskaya Pushcha
The children and adults who today came to an estate of Grandfather Frost in Belovezhskaya Pushcha has got a double holiday. Two beloved fantastic heroes - Grandfather Frost and Santa Clause - met them at once there. The last one arrived from Lapland to visit his Belarusian colleague of all at some o'clock.
After survey of the Grandfather Frost's possession including Skarbnitsa (storehouse or Santa's grotto) where the letters sent by children and gifts are stored, Santa Clause ascertained that children are identical all over the world and have implicit belief in fairy tales and fantastic heroes. He also told that he like his Belarusian colleague annually receives thousands of children's messages. Besides, the visitor communicated to children who arrived to the estate.
According to Santa Clause, he was greatly surprised that his Belarusian colleague lives in such a magnificent wood as Belovezhskaya Pushcha and he is pleasant to see that so many children and adults visit Grandfather Frost. At parting Santa Clause congratulated all Belarusians with the coming New Year's holiday.
Olga KOBYAK, Brest city
After survey of the Grandfather Frost's possession including Skarbnitsa (storehouse or Santa's grotto) where the letters sent by children and gifts are stored, Santa Clause ascertained that children are identical all over the world and have implicit belief in fairy tales and fantastic heroes. He also told that he like his Belarusian colleague annually receives thousands of children's messages. Besides, the visitor communicated to children who arrived to the estate.
According to Santa Clause, he was greatly surprised that his Belarusian colleague lives in such a magnificent wood as Belovezhskaya Pushcha and he is pleasant to see that so many children and adults visit Grandfather Frost. At parting Santa Clause congratulated all Belarusians with the coming New Year's holiday.
Olga KOBYAK, Brest city
December 03, 2006
Website "Saint Nickolai's Orthodox Parish in Bialowieza"
A meeting of scientists devoted to a history of protection of the Bialowieza Forest
A meeting devoted to the date originating protection of the Bialowieza Forest was held in the village of Kamenyuki (Belarus). Nikolai Bambiza, Director of the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha", Jozef Popiel, Director of the Bialowieza National Park, Professor Aleksandr A. Kovalen, Director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, and his employees Professor Petr F. Lysenko, Professor Elena G. Kalechic and Dr. Aleksandr B. Dounar, as well as the visitors from Poland Dr. Czeslaw Okolow, Dr. Renata Krzysciak Kosinska (the Bialowieza National Park), Professor Bogumila Jedrzejewska and Tomasz Samojlik (the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences) have taken part in the meeting.
The majority of reports and presentations submitted to the meeting were grown from scientific investigations. The scientists working in both countries have together confirmed that an oldest reveled document concerning the Bialowieza Forest is a record from the Chronicle by Jan Dlugosz dated 1409 and a hunting of King Yagiello. This document is the first confirmation of the Great-King and Royal status of the Bialowieza Forest. 1409 can, therefore, be counted the origin of the history of protection of the Bialowieza Forest as a private property of the King and Great Prince Lithuanian.
2009 is scheduled to be 600th celebration of the first appearance of the Bialowieza Forest in the historical sources. For this time both parties will continue the study on the history of the Bialowieza Forest within the framework of an agreement signed in Kamenyuki. Both dipper knowledge of the past of the natural site the most valuable all over the world and closer cooperation between Poland and Belarus in the field of tourism and nature protection will be resulted from the joint work.
The source: www.zbs.bialowieza.pl
A meeting devoted to the date originating protection of the Bialowieza Forest was held in the village of Kamenyuki (Belarus). Nikolai Bambiza, Director of the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha", Jozef Popiel, Director of the Bialowieza National Park, Professor Aleksandr A. Kovalen, Director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, and his employees Professor Petr F. Lysenko, Professor Elena G. Kalechic and Dr. Aleksandr B. Dounar, as well as the visitors from Poland Dr. Czeslaw Okolow, Dr. Renata Krzysciak Kosinska (the Bialowieza National Park), Professor Bogumila Jedrzejewska and Tomasz Samojlik (the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences) have taken part in the meeting.
The majority of reports and presentations submitted to the meeting were grown from scientific investigations. The scientists working in both countries have together confirmed that an oldest reveled document concerning the Bialowieza Forest is a record from the Chronicle by Jan Dlugosz dated 1409 and a hunting of King Yagiello. This document is the first confirmation of the Great-King and Royal status of the Bialowieza Forest. 1409 can, therefore, be counted the origin of the history of protection of the Bialowieza Forest as a private property of the King and Great Prince Lithuanian.
2009 is scheduled to be 600th celebration of the first appearance of the Bialowieza Forest in the historical sources. For this time both parties will continue the study on the history of the Bialowieza Forest within the framework of an agreement signed in Kamenyuki. Both dipper knowledge of the past of the natural site the most valuable all over the world and closer cooperation between Poland and Belarus in the field of tourism and nature protection will be resulted from the joint work.
The source: www.zbs.bialowieza.pl
December 02, 2006
"Respublika" (The Republic) newspaper, No 222
A visitor from Lapland
Belovezhskaya Pushcha is waiting for a meeting with Santa Clause from Finland. The Scandinavian Santa Clause, first of the colleagues who were recently assembled in the city of Great Ustyug because of a birthday of Russian Grandfather Frost, has kept his word concerning necessity to visit a fantastic residence situated in the Pushcha's forests. All preparation works not only for the meeting of the visitor from Lapland arriving this Sunday but also for the numerous children wishing to receive gifts from him are completed here.
Fedor MUHA
Belovezhskaya Pushcha is waiting for a meeting with Santa Clause from Finland. The Scandinavian Santa Clause, first of the colleagues who were recently assembled in the city of Great Ustyug because of a birthday of Russian Grandfather Frost, has kept his word concerning necessity to visit a fantastic residence situated in the Pushcha's forests. All preparation works not only for the meeting of the visitor from Lapland arriving this Sunday but also for the numerous children wishing to receive gifts from him are completed here.
Fedor MUHA
December 01, 2006
"Vecherniy Brest"
A wood grouse's song
Polish ornithologists seriously meditated upon how "to lure" wood grouse (capercailye) into their forest. A rather big population of this bird was conserved in the Belarusian part of the Bialowieza Forest, while this species is extinct on the Polish side of the reserve for a long time ago.
This happened because, first of all, of absence of suitable habitats there. Wood grouse, as is well known, is a bird of careful behavior and prefers coniferous forest's areas as deeply-secluded as possible. Deciduous forests are the most part of the Polish side of the Forest. On Tuesday a team of the Polish scientists, among which two employees of the Bialowieza National Park (Poland) and a person working for doctor's degree from the Institute of Animal Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw were present, visited the Belarusian part of the Forest to learn about opportunities of restoration of natural habitats of wood grouse on both sides parted by the state border. The Poles visited three forest areas of the Belarusian Bialowieza Forest - Yasenskoe, Oshchepskoe and Yazvinskoe forest areas, the richest by pine forests on pit bogs. For the time present, the matter was about an attempt of restoration of the similar forest sites in Poland, thereby to enable an opportunity for wood grouse's population to move abroad.
Meanwhile, some years ago Polish scientists worked in the Gantsevichskiy timber enterprise for a rather long time and caught blackcock with the help of local huntsmen. The purpose was to settle this bird in the territory of the Bialowieza National Park. As to wood grouse, it was decided to act more delicately. It is meant that the birds will settle and will sing in those sites they want.
Elena TRIBULEVA
Polish ornithologists seriously meditated upon how "to lure" wood grouse (capercailye) into their forest. A rather big population of this bird was conserved in the Belarusian part of the Bialowieza Forest, while this species is extinct on the Polish side of the reserve for a long time ago.
This happened because, first of all, of absence of suitable habitats there. Wood grouse, as is well known, is a bird of careful behavior and prefers coniferous forest's areas as deeply-secluded as possible. Deciduous forests are the most part of the Polish side of the Forest. On Tuesday a team of the Polish scientists, among which two employees of the Bialowieza National Park (Poland) and a person working for doctor's degree from the Institute of Animal Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw were present, visited the Belarusian part of the Forest to learn about opportunities of restoration of natural habitats of wood grouse on both sides parted by the state border. The Poles visited three forest areas of the Belarusian Bialowieza Forest - Yasenskoe, Oshchepskoe and Yazvinskoe forest areas, the richest by pine forests on pit bogs. For the time present, the matter was about an attempt of restoration of the similar forest sites in Poland, thereby to enable an opportunity for wood grouse's population to move abroad.
Meanwhile, some years ago Polish scientists worked in the Gantsevichskiy timber enterprise for a rather long time and caught blackcock with the help of local huntsmen. The purpose was to settle this bird in the territory of the Bialowieza National Park. As to wood grouse, it was decided to act more delicately. It is meant that the birds will settle and will sing in those sites they want.
Elena TRIBULEVA