The Bison Hillock blog

The Tarcu Mountains, in the Southern Carpathians, are home to an ambitious nature conservation initiative, with the ideal in mind that a magnificent wilderness area can drive the well-being of its gatekeepers. As part of a network of initiatives for making Europe a wilder place, we strive to help the comeback of the legendary bison into the wild; the bison here will be the first to roam free in the area, since their disappearance in the 18th century. Through the reintroduction of this animal in an ecosystem they belong to, ecological processes will be restored naturally. Through this journal you will have the chance to get to know the joys and day to day challenges of working in the Bison Hillock, though our eyes, WWF-Rewilding rangers and research interns. You can always come pay us a visit in and around Armenis commune in Romania.

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December 1st in Armeniș with ideas for the next centenary

WWF Romania, the Bison Hillock Association (AMZA) and the Armeniș City Hall organised on December 1st the Festival of Ideas at the Cultural House in the locality where a series of workshops took place in parallel, coordinated by experts from all over the country, with the intention to be continued in the future.

The organisers wanted a special event that sparked the imagination of locals with new opportunities for personal and professional development. The event was the best opportunity for the entire community to come together to find the best investment ideas in the future.

"We chose to celebrate the Romanian national day and Centenary through a festival of ideas to plant seeds for the next 100 years," said Matei Miculescu, vice-president of the Bison Hillock Association (AMZA).

Raffles with prizes, interesting personal and professional development courses accompanied by good food have delights the guests and visitors.

To show to tourists the meaning of hospitality in Banat Alexandra Stoica, an architect and with initiative, actively involved at the Architects Order of Romania, organised an interior design workshop. She has rich experience in Calup's patrimony regeneration projects, Adopt a Roşia Montană House and Forgotten Monuments. Alexandra inspired people how to turn their home, cabin or barn into a welcoming space where unique memories can be born.

How can you tell the world that you have a beautiful business, delicious products or great ideas? Alina Floroi has enabled people to think about how to promote their businesses online easily and efficiently and how to be courageous in entrepreneurial action. Alina sparked the imagination of young entrepreneurs in Braşov in many projects linked to education, art, technology. Laborazon is where she created wonders with curious and courageous people. In addition, Alina is an old acquaintance of the Bison Hillock, and always returns here with pleasure.

For those interested in pragmatic ideas for a safe income and how to put them into practice, the entrepreneurial course supported by Ben Mehedin, Community Manager for the Adept Transilvania Foundation, was perfect. Ben has experience in working with small farmers and producers, in the area dear to Prince Charles, in Sighişoara - Târnava Mare, with the identification of opportunities to obtain additional income in the traditional household and small farms.

Milos Kznaric chef at Craft Rooftop & Restaurant and Dante Pizzeria & Restaurant in Timișoara, prepared a varied and unique menu. Milos has a passion for theater and senses; he rethinks Italian specialities and combines them in interesting menus.

The children enjoyed the music course run by Astarte Cîrstea and the photography workshop with the mobile phone supported by Bianca Stefanuţ.

The Ideas Festival was created by young WWF team practitioners who have been present in the community in recent months, along with the Armeniș City Hall and AMZA. The event took place under a new Erasmus + project (Community Innovation Laboratory).

Text and photos: Bianca Ștefanuț

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The wildest Taskforce says goodbye to the Bison Hillock

As winter descends in the villages and the first snowflakes fill the air the Taskforce’s work comes to a close this week.

Before the first three members left for home the entire team made a visit to Bucharest to share their experience with the colleagues in the capital. Three productive and informative presentations took place and the people working on other projects that are based in the office had a proper taste of the field work done in these past four months, along with a celebratory taste of the local spirit: răchie and sweets.

Some of the hard numbers that materialised over these few months of working in the Bison Hillock include:

·      68 direct observationsof bison behavior

·      589 Camera Trap videoswhich were categorised, recording 12 bison behaviorsaccording to bison rewilding monitoring protocols (Deju R., Dr., Catanoiu S., Dr., 2016)

·      86 hamletsevaluated and used to create a preliminary risk index based on usage (haystacks, fruit trees, fencing, previous debarking)

·      6 plots of1000 m2measured each debarked by bison in summer-fall 2018

·      3496 undamaged treesand 127debarked treesrecorded

·      5 data collection apps(Android and iOS) that are bringing the protocols to life

·      25 bilingual articles

·      12 Film in the Barn movie nightsthat took place in all 4 villages: Sat Bătrână, Armeniș, Sub Margine, Feneș and inspired an average of 15 children per screening

Not to mention creating a bison social structuretree based on direct observations conducted over the course of September – November.

Also, building a bilingual destination websiteand creating video interviewsabout the taskforce, volunteers, special guests and locals was a way to reveal the message that conservation is a joint effort and dependent on human factors, in the community and beyond.

Next steps will be to unify all data into a dashboard with the assistance of ESRI specialists. The dashboard will then act as a processing motor that will help predict behavior, nutrition, distribution of bison and other factors next year.

These results are a building block for future analysis of data and experiences that hopefully will fuel the next endeavors that will lead to a successful rewilding programme that brings new sustainable opportunities for the gatekeepers to the wild, the local community.

As a wrap-up and celebration, the team will host a Festival of Ideas on the 1stof December, also the Romanian National Day, that will strengthen the bonds with the locals.  A variety of courses and workshops voted by the people of the community will be facilitated by specialists from all over the country. The evening will end with a presentation of the Taskforce, a raffle, live music, good company and food.

Overall, the four months spent in the Bison Hillock were a complex experience where everyone involved learned important aspects involving conservation, rural rhythm, and self-development. It was what a wild innovation lab should be like – pioneering initiative, full of surprises, pushing limits wholeheartedly with optimism and solidarity.

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Meet the team - Nicolo

Nicolo is from Milano, he has a degree in Environmental Engineering and he’s specialised in spatial analysis and GIS software.

He also makes the best pasta and pizza in a 200 km radius and is always there when you need a hand with figuring out where the bison roam.

Role in the Taskforce

My role in the Taskforce is to help the team with GIS analysis. I gather data from them and then attribute geographical and spatial information to then build more precise maps to study a variety of things, between which discover which are the hot spots where bison like to roam. I also worked closely with ESRI to develop and implement some smartphone applications which are used by my colleagues to collect data in the field and make the entire process easier and more effective.

Impressions

I think this project is very new and stimulating, building something from the beginning and every day discovering something new. Actually, the reason I came here is to understand what does field work mean and see where the data I use and analyse comes from.

Hey world!

I would like to invite everyone here because it’s a very particular, typical, unique place where you can see and live experiences that you can’t live anywhere else in the world.

Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț & Ariane Serruys

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Wilderness and cultural explorers

Tristian and Sebastian, our two bison whisperers that have until now tracked and analysed the behaviours and group patterns of the bison were joined by our GIS expert Nicolo on a three-day camping mission. They were looking to find individuals and herds which have not yet been encountered as frequently as the others and also to discover how they are moving now that winter is is on their doorstep.

Sebastian is confident that the warm weather that lingered on brought extra nourishment to the bison and their calves born this year and gives then an extra chance of getting passed winter in top shape.

Nicolo found the experience beautiful and was very glad to have seen two separate groups of bison, one of 6 and one of seven individuals roaming free and undisturbed.

The rest of the team focused their efforts on marking the trails through villages and forests in search of the perfect view, legend or sweet apple they could find.

When not working the Taskforce is welcomed by the community to take part in their celebrations and traditions.

Praznicul (feast) – is such a religious tradition in which one family opens their home to extended family and close friends to celebrate the patron saint of the house. The team was invited to rejoice with food and drinks at the Barack family on Sf. Dumitru day, their house patron saint.

After holding light candles and saying the prayer Our Father everyone began to happily talk and eat and rejoice.

Getting to know the community, establishing a bond of trust and heartfelt sympathy is what builds collaborations and helps everyone involved in conservation understand the importance of safeguarding wildlife.

Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț, Nicolo Capella, Sebastian Fall

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The souls of Armeniș - Ilie’s passion came true

There is a Romanian saying: “Omul sfințește locul” – “The person blesses the place”; and indeed, there are people who through their personality, candour and devotion act as pillars for their community and make it a better place.

He remembers childhood on the hills of Armenis and Sub Margine, an idyllic and quiet period that unfortunately many children today do not have the chance to experience, being trapped in the meanders of technology and not balancing nature with virtual play.

He discovered his passion for eyebrow shaping at a young age. Positive thinking and hard work helped him to create his own way and enjoy every day of his new career.

Interactions with volunteers from the Bison Hillock gave him many interesting conversations and inspiring new perspectives on community development.

What he recommends to everyone is to be optimistic and everything will be in your favour.

Follow our channels to receive the latest news from the Bison Hillock and hear the valuable stories these humble and passionate people share from their souls. 

The Bison Hillock Blog /Jurnal din Magura Zimbrilor

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Text and video: Bianca Ștefanuț

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Marking the future

The entire team worked on marking the trails identified by Catalin and Danne that will place the Bison Hillock and Armeniș region on the map not only for its bison, but also for its beautiful rural and wild landscapes.

Biking and hiking trails will lead curious travellers via the picturesque villages of Sub Margine and Sat Bătrân where fields of maize and pumpkins colour the landscape.

For the more adventurous nature trails lead deep into the forest in search of legends such as the Mark of the bison.

Which type of experience would you go on? Would it be on foot or on two wheels?

Let us know by writing an e-mail at [email protected]

Film in the barn took place in Sat Batran, a full classroom of kids from all villages came to enjoy the heartwarming story of Brother Bear, learning about friendship and the beauty and importance of nature. 

Continue following our channels for more action in the Bison Hillock.

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Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț, Tristian Herbert, Ariane Serruys, Nicolo Capella

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Meet the team - Sebastian

Sebastian has joined the Taskforce from Sweden to contribute to the project with his wilderness guiding skills, biology and wildlife management background. He’s always ready to lift the spirits of the team with a joke in an American accent, climb a tree or pitch a tent.

Skillset

My skillset is more practical than theoretical.I have skills within how to navigate into the wild, the ability to track and get close to animals. I have tracked and observed many animals as part of my profession and as a hobby as well. I also have knowledge of being in the field, in wilderness areas, knowing where to pitch a tent and build hides.

Impressions about the project

The project is focused a lot on the community because bringing together the field of conservation with the community. Which is what conservation is like, you need to be backed up by the local community for things to work. And a lot of effort is going into it here and it’s very interesting to see. My background is not in that, it’s in being out in the field tracking animals, but I think the project is doing a very good job with that.

Role in the taskforce

I am up in the field up to three days a week and we sleep either in tents or in the rangers hut. We basically try to track and find the bison and get some good obervations in order to identify them, identify behavior, group dynamics, movement patterns, and also the most important I think, see the new generation of calfs and see what kind of growth in the population.

Future plans

It’s a long road to get to where you want to in life, but working for two major organisations such as WWF and Rewilding Europe it’s kind of a jumpstart in career within conservation and wildlife management. And I think it will absolutely help me in reaching that goal.

Hey World! A lot of people dream of getting into this business. Search wherever you can for these opportunities and do what you can where you are and in the end you will end up in a beautiful place, doing meaningful things like we do here in the Bison Hillock.

Text: Bianca Ștefanuț & Sebastian Fall

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț & Tristian Herbert

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Exploring Romania, sharing the beauty of the Bison Hillock

The Taskforce use some of their time to explore Romania, this is essential in understanding the wider picture, getting to know the people and diversity of Romania and spreading information about the Bison Hillock.

A part of the team spent a few days in the Danube Delta kayaking through the mangroves among herons, wagtails and sandpipers.

The weekend took the team on an excursion to Bucegi mountains in the Malaiesti cabin where the association EduCab set up a public library dedicated to readers and lovers of the mountains. What better way to pass a stormy day in the mountains than with a cup’o’tea and reading about the Bison Hillock, a scary story by Edgar Allan Poe, or a National Geographic article?

Work-wise, last week Nico joined the team in the field tracking bison and taking a closer look into how the data he is processing is being collected. He and Ariane worked on mapping hamlet locations and compiled attributes, building a risk index to identify which hamlet is more prone to possible damages by bison. The next step will be setting up an alert system using GPS signals to be better prepared in case of possible wildlife conflicts.

The past sessions of Film in the barn brought more than 25 eager children from all the villages to watch a movie and find out more about the wilderness in the area. The most recent Film in the barn had a thematic pumpkin carving session that was a real delight for the kids.

Stay tuned for more news from the Bison Hillock on our official channels.

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Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț, Sebastian Björn Fall, Tristian Herbert

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Meet the team - Astarte

Astarte graduated veterinary medicine this year in Bucharest and has already a history in the Bison Hillock coming here in the past two years to find out more about bison and writing her bachelors thesis on bison calves. 

She loves music and is always prepared to sing and hit the road to find the next adventure.

Why did you return to the Bison Hillock?

I chose to come back because it’s a beautiful place and the people are amazing and also the study I am working on here is unique, I never came across it before.

Your role in the Taskforce

My role is to study the nutrition of the bison what’s their impact in the forest through seedling and debarking and making a correlation between this impact and what I find in the feces I collect in the forest.

Challenges and rewards

I think most challenging is being so close with wild animals and working in the forest. Working in the field for so many days at a time regardless of the type of weather. The rewarding part is that being in nature makes me happy even though sometimes it’s not easy to adapt to the circumstances.

Hey team! I’m happy to have you around and thank you for your help and who knows, maybe we’ll have other challenges together.

The region

I was raised in Muntenia, not far from here, but the traditions there are very different. I started to compare the two regions. They have beautiful dances, the most difficult from Romania. Their traditional clothing, the colours are beautiful. I don’t like the food as I’m used to sour soups and they don’t have them here.

Future plans

Studying the nutrition of the bison and being here in the field will allow me to write and publish papers that will help me in my future career as a vet.  

Hey world! It’s autumn, it’s beautiful here, leaves are falling, time is passing…come visit the Bison Hillock!

Want to find out about our wilderness guide and GIS expert? Stay tuned for the next posts! 

Text: Bianca Ștefănuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefănuț & Cătălin Gavrilă 

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Picture perfect autumn days

Autumn settled in nicely in the Bison Hillock with a myriad of colours and locals busily gathering fruits and vegetables.

Rural life is picture perfect, especially when a photographer points his sharp eyes and curious lens towards the local people and gets wonderful shots of their routine.  WWF friend and professional photographer Dan Dinu, visited the area to capture the beauty of these people and the hard work they are doing, keeping traditions alive.

Ariane and Astarte teamed up again to gather as much information as possible about the nutrition of the bison assessing the types of trees they debark and collecting feces samples to dry and take for analysis in a laboratory.

While the bison proved elusive to Sebastian in the past week, Tristian managed to observe them for a couple of minutes and note important behavior that leads to deciphering their group dynamic and state of health. The two have developed intricate and useful family trees to determine bonds between bison.  Seb and Tristian also have their own language and listening to them talk about The Gate, Hunter’s Glade or other locations sounds like a fiction novel and is entertaining as well as fascinating.

Nico is constantly collating data from his colleagues to geographically determine the hot spots where bison roam. In the past week he analysed and compared GPS signals from two of the bison groups to discover if they are independent or travel together. The group pertaining to Tirunes seems to explore the high forests while the other group seems to prefer the meadows.

Nico is also working on an updated landcover map of the area with data from the forestry district which will allow a comparison with the landcover before the bison arrived, in 2012 and thus a better understanding of what tree species are in the bison’s area of interest. This comparison of the natural landcover classification alongside the monitoring of the bison’s position allows us to predict how they will move in the next months.

The past two movie nights were a delight for the children of all the villages, the team bringing them to Armenis and Sub Margine to enjoy nature documentaries and animations with lots of home-made apple crumble and cookies on the side. 

Stay tuned to find out more about the Bison Hillock team and their work by following the hashtag: #bisonhillocklive 

Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț & Sebastian Björn Fall

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Meet the team - Danne

In the following weeks, you’ll get the chance to find out more about each member of the diverse team that set out to take the Bison Hillock by storm and know it inside and out. We guarantee you’ll find each of their roles challenging and rewarding.

Danne van Roon is from the Netherlands and graduated as a theoretical physicist and theoretical chemist and joined the Taskforce in order to get back to nature and discover the practicalities of life in the field.

Impressions about the project

I really appreciate the project that introduces European bison, bison bonasus, in the Carpathian Mountains, it really grounds me. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, it allows me to study nature, not only in theory but also with my senses. Biology might be a different domain from what I studied, but I am really enjoying this experience.

Role in the Taskforce

In the Taskforce no role is confined entirely to its own domain, but what I am doing is mainly work on development of ecotourism, where I look into what might be points of interest for potential tourists. The work includes scouting trails, then clearing them, which is very down to earth. Apart from that, as I mentioned, it’s all very much connected. I really like the diversity of everything, to help with what other people are doing, like research of the bison behavior, but also to go into the forest to determine the vegetation.

Future plans

I appreciate working on real-life problems for a change, as I have done mainly theory until now. It’s good to see how difficult things can be in practice rather than on paper. Also, here I am working in and with nature, which I wanted to do for a long time. It might well prove to be an eye opener for me, to change direction in life to a field that allows me to work outdoors more than what I have done previously.

Hey World!

Visit the area and see it. It’s quite splendid out there. All the people sitting in front of your computer, of course I don’t know you, but one thing I can recommend to you is go out. Leave your laptop, telephone or whatever computer and go out for a while. It is becalming and fun, I’m loving it. I think this would be true for many people. So, close the computer after reading this and go out.

Keep an eye out and discover what the rest of the Taskforce is up to in the Bison Hillock by following our hashtag: #bisonhillocklive and our channels.

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Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț & Daniel Mîrlea

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Adrenaline and teamwork

The diverse skill-set of the Taskforce has proven its value again and again within the project but also when it comes to coming together to help each-other and build something special.

Over the weekend, a part of the team lent a hand to Cătălin and the Bike Attack team who organised the sixth edition of the mountain bike event Metal Enduro, an Enduro World Series (EWS) qualifier. Our expert in building trails and super team mate, Cătălin, is one of the founders of Bike Attack Reșița and one of the few who worked hard and made de dream of having an Enduro event in Romania, and Banat especially, a reality.

Why was this team effort important?

Because everyone shares the same values and wants to build upon the beauty of nature in this region, bringing eco-friendly sports and recreational activities that enrich the region in a sustainable way. Armeniș and its potential to host numerous bike tracks will hopefully soon follow in the footsteps of Reșița and together create a hot-spot for this nature-friendly, healthy and alluring hobby and competition driven sport.

Helping build trails, supervising tricky curves, taking photos and communicating on the event were the main ways the team assisted with the event.

Success was crowned with the smiles of participants and the organising team and many applause to the brave and fast ones who managed to get a winning score.

You can find out more about Metal Enduro on their website.

In the meantime, Sebastian stuck around to show 6 Danish tourists the region and had several encounters with bison. In total he saw 17 bison and that’s significant data to add to the growing information he and Tristian are gathering about each individual animal.

This week, the Taskforce pushes forward with field work on tracking bison and building trails while conscientiously uploading all data via the apps that will bind everything together in order to obtain a cohesive outcome.

You can keep up with the latest news from WWF-România and the Bison Hillock on our channels.

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Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț & Sebastian Björn Fall

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Builders, gatherers and teachers

Intense work has been done in the past two weeks in the Bison Hillock with the entire team focusing on their specific tasks and coming together to deliver teamwork in an array of situations, from facilitating nature clubs to volunteering to build trails for the mountain biking competition from Reșița Metal Enduro, and preparing the weekly Film in the barn event for children in Feneș.  

Building hides It’s difficult to glance into the unaltered behaviour of wild animals and finding better ways to be in heart of wilderness is essential to the research the Taskforce is doing.

Sebastian and Tristian have constructed several hides that permit them to see without being seen. Sturdy constructions made out of branches blend perfectly in the surroundings and offer their eager eyes a chance to come close to the majestic bison.

They spend long hours, from morning ‘till night, quietly and attentively scanning the landscape for any movement that can indicate the presence of wildlife. The footage is precious.

Gathering samples

Exploring the region and following in the footsteps of bison allows the Taskforce to collect fresh feces that will be then dried and analysed in the laboratory. Along the way the team also discovers fresh tracks pertaining to bison, but also other woodland creatures such as the brown bear and red deer.

Nature clubs

There are no boring days in the Bison Hillock.  If you’re not gazing through the leaves you are collecting data on seedling dispersal and faces, or you are in a classroom with about 10 primary school students talking about wildlife, community development and project management.

Active Youth for Wilderness and Bison (Tineri Activi pentru Natură Sălbatică și Zimbri) is a string of five nature clubs open in five high schools in Romania's South Western Carpathians. These clubs, with the help of teachers and special guests, enable children to explore and better understand the natural world around them while acquiring and practicing a set of skills such as team work, public speaking, creativity and project management. Developing an awareness of the benefits and potential threats against wilderness areas from a young age will help ensure how future generations will manage precious resources. First meeting of this year started in "Sf. Dimitrie" high school, in Teregova and continued in Școala Gimnazială Armeniș, Școala Primară Feneș, Școala Gimnazială Densuș și Școala Gimnazială Sarmizegetusa (jud. Hunedoara).

There are about 20 children in each club, and the projects they came up with to develop in this school year vary from developing an after school programme for underprivileged kids to a community festival to reducing pollution.

Keep an eye out on our channels to see how things evolve in the Bison Hillock and share the excitement with the world.

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Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț, Tristian Herbert & Astarte Cîrstea

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All paths lead to the bison

While a part of the team was getting closer to discovering the bison’s secrets last week, another part of the team worked hard at clearing the trail that will lead many curious tourists from Feneș to the Tara observatory. Using sheers, hoes, and other gardening equipment the team spent two days in the warm September sun preparing the path which will be soon marked and described on the Bison Hillock ecotourism website.

In between digging trails and building sandboxes with Danne, Nicolo finished updating the applications used by the team for collecting data and training several members of the Taskforce into the complexities of GIS and Story Maps. Essential knowledge that will be used extensively in the following months.

Astarte and Ariane were busy collecting feces samples, finding fresh debarking and visiting hamlets on the White River valleys and ridges. Astarte then attentively proceeded to dry the feces and collate all the data.  

The week concluded with a group meeting where also the ranger Matei participated and each member recounted their experience, building on each-others knowledge of the bison to create links between the footage and the profiles of all the bison. This is essential in developing future research, understanding their hierarchy and their habits.

Another successful Film in the Barn took place in Sub Margine on Saturday and the team, after placing the test sandboxes on the European Road to see what animals use it as crossing paths, went for a gorgeous hike in the Natural Park of Domogled-Valea Cernei.  

More about our busy Taskforce to come soon so keep an eye out on our blog and our channels: 

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Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț & Astarte Cîrstea

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Camping with bison

Tristan and Sebastian spent 4 days camping in the rouged terrain of the Bison Hillock last week with the mission to track and analyse bison behaviour.  Their patience and determination was fruitful and the multiple encounters delivered precious information about the hierarchy of two groups and the habits of three males which are roaming alone.

Cora and Tara joined the two for a couple of nights to help spy from the hides. Multiple pairs of eyes saw 17 individual bison in total and a matriarch, by the name of Mildred, was identified in one of the groups. The same group has 4 bison calves, one of which is no older than a month.

They all returned with more than 30 minutes of filmed footage which contained mating behaviour, the Flehmen response (when a male rises his upper lip to better smell the air) and the calves running around and seeming healthy. Photos and video content from strategically placed camera traps was also abundent. The camera traps picked up other animals as well as: a bear, martins and red deer.

One of the challenges expressed by Tristian was permanently keeping focus on the surroundings to increase bison sightings. Tristian learned that this time of year the entire group is hard to see as they are spread out on a wide area, with food more abundant but once the season changes they will become a more compact herd.

Sebastian found it easier than expected to find bison, as they followed the signals given by the three bison who have collars, but mostly tracked them by their fresh feces and tracks.

“The biggest reward was to see the animals so close and personal in their own habitat. Being out there, spending many nights in tents from the get go, that is also a reward in itself.” confirmed Sebastian and added that he just barely scratched the surface of a new animal, the bison behaviour, tracking and adding this new animal to his knowledge.

He also pointed out that this new terrain – deciduous mountainous terrain – offers some challenges as finding good water sources and appropriate camping sites are a bit difficult, but nonetheless it makes for a great learning experience.

More nights and days will be spent camping, so stay tuned to find out the latest news about the Taskforce’s experience in the Bison Hillock

Text: Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos: Sebastian Björn Fall

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Meet the team: Ariane

In the following months, you’ll get the chance to find out more about each member of the diverse team that set out to explore the Bison Hillock and know it inside and out. We guarantee you’ll find each of their roles challenging and rewarding.

Ariane is passionate about conservation and the value of reintroducing wildlife to the ecosystem and the positive effect it can have on the local community. Her wonderful voice brightened many nights by the fire and her thirst for having a good time brings a positive vibe to the Taskforce. 

Background

I’m from Belgium, and I have a Bachelor degree in Agro and Biotechnology, specialisation Animal Care, and a Master of Science in Global Wildlife Health and Conservation. I have volunteering experience in a bird and wildlife rehabilitation center in Ostend, Belgium, where I’m from.

Why this internship?

I’m very interested in rewilding, and the bison is such an important flagship species – imagine a Europe without European bison! It’s like Africa without elephants – and this youth volunteering internship will give me essential hands-on experience in wildlife reintroduction.

Skills

I think I have good skills for this internship because of my background, because I have a Masters degree in wildlife conservation and I feel like I have at least the theoretical knowledge that needs to be applied here to do a good job and I am very keen to learn, I think I am always looking for an opportunity to improve myself and get better at what I’m aspiring to be – a conservationist.

Hey world!                       I’ve experienced first-hand how the Carpathian Mountains are, this nature is incredible. It’s so nice that people are making an effort to preserve it and I think it’s important that everyone tries to do their best, just do whatever you can, even if it’s a small thing like buying ecological washing liquid! Or just anything you can to protect the environment in any way you can think of, because a world without beautiful nature would be devastating.

Impressions

People from all over Europe come together, it’s a very international team and it’s really nice to see how everyone is coming from a different background but trying to work together. I also think it’s interesting to be in the middle of the action and see all the different challenges that need to be faced in order to make this project successful. One of our challenges is involving the local community, and it’s very rewarding to see we’re succeeding. For example, with our Film in the barn project we’ve managed to get local kids more involved by showing them documentaries about nature and I think they really appreciate that.

Role in the Taskforce

My role in the taskforce is mitigating human wildlife conflict. I’m doing this by visiting hamlets in the area which are used by local people; these hamlets usually have very big fruit orchards and we have to make an inventory of what every hamlet has, in terms of fruit trees or anything that can be eaten or destroyed by bison, so that we can better prevent and act on potential human-wildlife conflict situations in the future.

Hey team! Working in a team can be quite challenging and I think one of the most important things that I have learnt so far is communication. You just need to be able to communicate to each other about what is going on, I think that’s very important to make sure everything goes well.

Looking towards the future

I’m positive that this internship will help me in my future career, as it gives me the opportunity to experience an important conservation project firsthand, and I think it’s going to help me get an insight into conservation projects in general and also see how I can best apply all the theoretical knowledge I have from my Masters in real life.

Text: Ariane Serruys and Bianca Ștefanuț

Photos:  Daniel Mîrlea and Astarte Cîrstea

[bisonhillock]

Travelling, camping and new experiences

Last week a part of the team travelled to Bucharest where Nicolo had the chance to discuss in depth about GIS and the apps developed for the project with our partners at ESRI. 

Astarte and Oana visited a laboratory in order to arrange the next phase of analysis of the bison faeces in order to interpret the types of food they consume.

While some were exploring the urban jungle of the capital, Tristian and Sebastian were immersing themselves in the bison habitat by camping out and arranging several hides to catch a glimpse of wildlife. They got lucky several times, having very close encounters with the bison and assessing their behaviour.

The rest of the team, Danne, Ariane, Bianca and Cătălin and two volunteers from Germany, Tara and Cora, explored the hills on the Timiș river in search of the legend of the bison mark. Along the way they discovered a wonderful path along the river, several gorgeous open spaces with views over the Armeniș valley and abandoned hamlets with plum and apple orchards.

Tara and Cora are recent biology graduates and will stay in the Bison Hillock until next week helping with bison observation, setting up Film in the barn and also with exploring new trails in the region.

The second evening of Film in the barn was again a success with children and adults alike coming to Barak’s family restaurant in Ameniș to enjoy cake and the Jungles episode of Planet Earth II series. The camera traps and short videos captured by Tristian and Sebastian offered a nice and educational introduction to the movie night with sightings of red deer, martens and bison showing the audience the abundance and diversity of wildlife in the area.

Curious to see what’s happening this week? Keep an eye out for posts on our channels:

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Text: Bianca Ștefănuț

Photos: Bianca Ștefanuț & Tristian Herbert