Iberian Wolf Expeditions are completed for the Winter season 2018. What an adventure!
During the Winter season we were able to survey about 675 km2 (27 5km x 5km grid cells) of our Montesinho study area, in Vinhais and Bragança municipalities. We conducted surveys in different habitats that occur in the area: the high diversity found both in mountain areas and valleys include forests (pine, oak, chestnut) Mediterranean vegetation, riparian vegetation and a lot more.
We got to work in sunny, rainy and snowy days. So, our Expeditions covered all possible weather conditions in the cold Winter. Our preliminary results allowed us to confirm Iberian wolf Canis lupus signatus presence in 6 grid cells in different locations, especially in the northern part of our study area, suggesting the occurrence of at least 3 to 4 wolf pack territories.
We also surveyed for wild prey species. We got positive results for the presence of the three main Iberian wolf prey species in Portugal: wild boar Sus scrofa, European roe deer Capreolus capreolus and red deer Cervus elaphus!
Check out a small sample of our Winter season field work in the photo gallery bellow.
The experimental design of our Scientific program includes surveys to cover the four seasons of the year. Spring is already here, but the Summer (September) and Autumn (November) Expeditions are still open for registration!
All of our field methods are non-invasive and we try to ensure as little disturbance as possible. They include scats/footprint surveys, camera trapping and snow tracking when possible. During summer surveys (September) there will be an extra effort to try to confirm breeding sites with howling stations (by September the pups should be around 3-4 months old and we have higher chances of obtaining a howling response).
Don’t miss the opportunity of joining us in our Iberian Wolf Expeditions!