Helping wolves in Bulgaria

Wolf Study and Conservation Program

Balkan Wildlife Society, Bulgaria
Progress report
October - December 2005

In October, we finally brought to Vlahi a new friend for our ambassador wolf, Vucho. This is an adult female wolf (5 years old) from the Sofia Zoo. She was the lowest ranking animal from a pack of 5 wolves. We decided to observe the changes of this female’s behavior caused by bringing her to our wolf enclosure and for this purpose we tasked a student from the Biology Faculty to observe the pack in the Zoo and particularly the female and later to observe the development of relations between the female and Vucho.

The work around the Large Carnivore Education Center is going on. We are continuing with the design and making of the materials. The building refurbishment is also making progress. But in spring we intend to start it intensively. In the mean time we expect to get a decision from a German foundation which may support the rest of the refurbishment work. If this happens, we will be able to bring the refurbishment work to a stage, which allows us to start equipping the center. 

This year we got another ambassador animal, which will live in an enclosure at Vlahi. This is a young bear called Medo. Medo was raised by someone with the intention of making him a circus bear. However, that man could not keep him anymore and had to give Medo away. We were contacted by the Local Authority of the Ministry of Environment. They asked us if we could take the bear (because none of the zoos wanted it). Our first reaction was that this would be impossible for us, because, as we explained to them, a very strong enclosure is needed for a bear. We thought it would be good to have an ambassador bear too, but it was impossible for us to ensure a suitable place for him to live. However, after telling Medo’s story to a Dutch organization they liked the idea of having him for public awareness and education purposes. Finally the Dutch Organization for Animal Protection and Alertis (also a Dutch Foundation) decided to share the costs and to support the building of a good enclosure for Medo. At the moment the enclosure is being constructed and will probably be ready in March. In the mean time Medo was accommodated in the Sofia Zoo and has already become a visitors’ favourite.

In December we already had the first snow and started doing snow-tracking. However, we did not have much success in finding tracks. We had better success at the beginning of 2006 when the real winter came.

Prepared by:

Elena Tsingarska - Sedefcheva 

(In November 2005 the Anglian Wolf Society sent £10,000 to the Balkan Wildlife Society to assist with refurbishment costs. It is estimated that this is about half what will eventually be needed but this donation puts Balkani in a stronger position to secure other funding to complete the project. The money we sent them came from you, the visitors and members, the people reading this newsletter. Thank you for your support.)