Poland in September (Spotted souslik)
Hello,
In september, I will be in Poland for 2 weeks. I already found quite some information in the reports, but have some specific questions. Our itinerary isn’t set yet, but Bieszcady will be in it, and the area of Lublin too. So:
- I read the area of Lublin is good for Spotted souslik. I will be in that area for 1-2 days, does anybody has detailed information about this species in that area?
- Is Chamois easy in the Tatra mountains in Poland, or are they easier to see in Slovakia? Any locations?
Thanks a lot!
Simon
2 Comments
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Kirt
Chamois are very easy to meet both in Polish and Slovak Tatras, it seems to me easier in Slovak part. If you do 2-3 days of hiking in either of the parts, you’re close to certain to see them. For seeing chamois it’s much better to be still in the mountains in the late evening – on the other hand of course this can only be considered if the weather is stable as in case of unstable weather you should go as early as possible. From my personal not necessarily statistically significant experience, I’ve met many chamois in the area of Kasprowy Wierch (e.g. green trail down to Kuźnice) as long as you are there in the evening (during the day it’s overflooded with tourists). In Slovak part I’ve heard about Jahnaci Stit giving very good chances (I was there only once so hard to say, but indeed I’ve met two groups then. Please not that, at least if going up to the top, this is a lower-difficult trail category).
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heavenlyjane
My information on seeing Tatra chamois is a bit old, but there is so little information available, I think it will be useful.
In the summer of 2012, we hired a guide through the Slovak Wildlife Society. It took months to get a response but we were contacted by the head of the Tatra chamois monitoring group (a British ex-pat whose name escapes me), who took us out for the day in return for a generous donation to the organization. We were staying in the High Tatras at the fabulous Horský Hotel Popradské Pleso. The guide took us to the Low Tatra National Park, where there was a herd that was easier to spot because the mountainside was open pasture. The High Tatras are evergreen forest giving way to subalpine skree (not a lot of meadow).
We took a ski lift to the top of the mountain to get us closer to our goal. It might have been the ski lift near Hotel Liptov at Demänovská Dolina – but I could be wrong. It took hours and hours of tracking because chamois are shy creatures that prefer remote slopes. However in the end, we spotted the herd of about 20 animals that eventually grazed its way over where we were sitting. It was a great thrill for our young daughters. We spent a couple of hours watching them before they moved off in a direction way from our route home.
At the time of our trip, Slovakia was a better place for seeing Tatra chamois than Poland. I cannot say if that still is true. I do believe you will have a hard time finding these guys without a guide. The guide we used had just completed a surveillance a month prior, so he had a fairly good idea where to look first. Even so I really thought it was going to be a bust.
Hope this helps. They are elusive beasts but well worth the effort.
You can start this this link: http://slovakwildlife.org.