Around 1920, the last of the European bison living at liberty died in the forests of Białowieża. In 1990, there were 750 bison living in Poland again, even becoming so rampant in the woods that as many as fifty-seven had to be shot.
Also the population of beavers has been rebuilt with success in Poland. Down to as little as 1,000 in 1980 it has recovered to number 20,000 animal today. Wolves represent another wildilfe species which feels at home in Poland (1,000 specimens), along with bears (more than eighty), and lynxes (three hundret). You might even meet one of these big cats just beyond Warsaw city limits, in Kampinos Forest, where some ten to twenty lynxes hunt for prey.
Poland is loved by storks. A fourth of the world's population of white storks set up their nests on Polish barns, chimneys, or highvoltage posts. they may spend the winter in Africa, but in spring they always return to their nests of the preceding year. According to Polish ornithologists, there are over 40,000 storks appearing annually in this country.
Also the populations of black storks and ravens are regenerating. Beside that, many species already extinct in Western Europe have found refuge here in Poland. The most famous of those is the aquatic warbler, an inconspicuous little bird. Nowhere else in the world does it still appear in such numbers as in the Biebrza Marshes. But even here, it is threatened by extinction. High in the mountains. there live two most unusual creatures: The Tatra pine vole and the Carpathian newt. Amonng all vertebrates to be found in Poland, these are the only endemic animals, i.e. animals you may come across only within a limited area.
Unfortunately, though, Poland is not a wildlife paradise. In 1992, "The Red List of Animals Becoming Extinct or Threatened by Extinction in Poland" was published, enumerating some forty species of disappearing Polish vertebrates the future does not look any brighter. Animals which are incapable of getting over their fear of man and adjusting their habits, are dying out. Yet cranes, mute swans and otters, for instance, once under threat, have managed to overcome the psychological barrier, and adapt to unfavourably changed living conditions.
Some protected animals are also begin helped to keep up their numbers by state-owned animal farms - such as Polish horses, beavers, grey seals, or swamp turtles. Also zoological gardens are running breeding programs, making their contribution to the survival of European bison, European mink, otter, and white-tailed eagle.
Those who are not lucky enough to meet these or other natural rarities in Poland, will no doubt see vast amounts of birds, spot a roe deer stealing along a forrest duct, or catch a glimpse of the reddish brush of a fox, or, at least a squirrel. Any meadow has at least as much to offer as the shadow of a buzzard, the song of a lark, or the tracks of a hare on a field lane. There are over six-hundred vertebrates living in our country. And taking into account all animals, from the simplest worms up to eagle and bison, Poland is home to as many as 40,000 species.
Sportsmen and Explorers