Hunt for the “king”

Five bison will be brought to Lviv oblast in October as part of the project “Restoration of the Bison Population in the Eastern Ukrainian Carpathians.” Entered in the Red Book of Ukraine and the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species, this rare cleft-footed species will now have a small chance for salvation in the Carpathians. Official statistics indicate that in 1995 there were 659 bison and 10 years later — 313. According to unofficial sources, there are fewer than 250 animals in Ukraine.

The number of hunters in officers’ uniforms and poachers has dangerously increased during the years of independence. They constitute the main obstacle for environmentalists and researchers, says biologist Oksana MARYSKEVYCH, who is a project coordinator and senior research fellow at the Institute of Carpathian Ecology at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. In the following interview she discusses the uncontrolled performance of ecological, hunting, and forestry authorities, corruption in this sphere, and the legalization of fashionable commercial hunting.

Dr. Maryskevych, bison are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine as a “vulnerable species that in the nearest future may be placed in the category of extinct species if the factors affecting their situation remain unchanged.” Why did you choose Lviv oblast for your pilot project to restore the bison population?

Maryskevych: In the past 15 years the bison population in the Ukrainian Carpathians, particularly in Lviv oblast, has dramatically decreased, although the same is true of the rest of Ukraine. Naturally, the main reason is poaching. According to the Action Plan for the Preservation and Restoration of Bison to the Fauna of Ukraine, there were 313 bison in 8 subpopulations in 2005, with 206 on the plains, 107 in the mountains, including the Bukovynian subpopulation of 94 animals in Chernivtsi oblast, and only 13 in Lviv oblast. At the same time, the subpopulation in the Polish Eastern Carpathians, the Eastern Beskyds, numbers more than 180.

Would you please briefly describe the project?

Maryskevych: A project with the tentative name “Carpathian Bison” has been underway in such Carpathian countries as Poland, Slovakia, and Romania. Its idea is to build transboundary bison populations in the Carpathians. Our project, “Restoration of the Bison Population in the Eastern Ukrainian Carpathians,” is co-funded by the Large Herbivore Foundation (Holland) that has already funded similar projects in Eurasia (Russia and Mongolia) and Africa. This is the foundation’s first project in Ukraine, and it is being carried out on the territory of the National Park Preserve (NPP) “Skole Beskyds.”

Our project was launched in 2005. We built an open-air cage in the first phase (2005-06). This year, marking the second phase, we expect the delivery of the animals, and in 2008-09 the bison will be ready to leave their cage and be released. Actually, during the two years they spend in the cage they will be visible from an observation tower. Considering that the NPP’s Maidan forestry area is located not far from the spas at Truskavets and Skhidnytsia, there are bound to be people who want to watch the bison. Explanatory work will have to be carried out and boards set up. The landscape is very scenic there: forests, meadows, crystal clear brooks and streams. The open cage occupies an area of almost three hectares. We want to help the Maidan bison subpopulation restore its numbers; in 1989 there were more than 40 animals.

I remember that the Polish and Ukrainian publics were shocked by the news that a bison cow was killed on Jan. 12, 2006, in the Ukrainian sector (Turka raion, Lviv oblast) of the international biosphere preserve Eastern Carpathians. How do you assess this incident? Is poaching an impediment to your project?

Maryskevych: These poachers aren’t ordinary people but high-ranking officials. So far nothing has been done about this and the reason is simple: not every hunter, even a licensed one, can afford to do any hunting in this zone. The thing is that this area in Lviv oblast belongs to the Dynamo Physical Culture and Sports Society, which was founded by people from various power structures, such the militia, Prosecutor’s Office, State Border Guard Service, SBU, and so on. They will never act against each other; they regard such things as corporate matters. In this particular case, Section 21 of the Regulations on the Border Regime was violated. It says in black and white that hunting in this area is prohibited; game preserves can be set up here but only for breeding purposes. We know that hunting is done there. The Polish side says three bison bulls and a cow vanished in January, and there were cases of people hunting a bear and deer that were coming from the Polish side. Animals know nothing about national borders. When this happened, letters signed by Academician Mykhailo Holubets, director of the Institute of Carpathian Ecology, were sent to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources. The State Border Guard Service replied that it has nothing to do with these incidents.

Compared to 313 surviving bison, there are about half a million officially registered hunters in Ukraine. It is possibly that even the noble objective of your project — to restore the bison population in the Ukrainian Carpathians — won’t stop them. Do you think you stand a chance of carrying it out in today’s Ukrainian realities?

Maryskevych: This is a pilot project. We know that we are taking certain risks; it’s a kind of test for us. If this project fails, Europe will lose between 20,000 and 25,000 euros because a bison costs an average of 1,500-2,000 euros. I should say that our legislation is good, except that similar laws are observed in EU countries and violators are fined differently: about 5,000 euros for killing a bison in Europe. If any official is caught red-handed anywhere abroad, this would mean immediate dismissal from his post.

As far as I know, five bison were supposed to be delivered from Holland at the beginning of 2007. Why aren’t they here yet?

Maryskevych: The term of delivery was postponed until April or May, but then there were cases of a cattle disease known as bluetongue, and this automatically closed Ukraine’s border to the bison. Besides, May was already hot, and high temperatures are bad for bison. I think that it’s very good that they didn’t bring the bison, especially in view of this year’s abnormal heat wave that affected even the mountainous areas of Lviv oblast. We plan to bring the animals in October.

What role do bison play in ecosystems?

Maryskevych: First of all, they support landscape and biological diversity. In the Ukrainian Carpathians the scale of mowing the mountain valleys (polonynas) and forest clearings has considerably decreased after the liquidation of collective farms. These territories are growing over with forests. The biological diversity of the Carpathian flora is centered in open territories, so it is necessary to use natural methods to prevent the reduction of their percentage in the mountain landscape. Bison are also an important link in trophic chains and ensure the stability of highland ecosystems. A bison fears neither bears nor wolves. He is the real king of Carpathian wildlife.

If this project is a success, we will make further moves. We’ll have to closely collaborate with the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine and the State Forestry Committee of Ukraine. We have this type of cooperation in Lviv oblast. Chernivtsi oblast is next. There the situation with the bison subpopulation is far more favorable than in Lviv oblast. There are no bison in Zakarpattia and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.