Romania wildlife tracking & bearhide/?pair of rescued wolves?
Replies: 11 - Last Post: Sep 25, 2012 1:33 PM Last Post By: battybilly
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Romania wildlife tracking & bearhide/?pair of rescued wolves?
Hi all,I'm looking at visiting Transylvania soon and was thinking of some wildlife tracking. I'm mostly interested in tracking wolves but also bears (maybe lynx). What time of year is usually best for these big 3? I am thinking of visiting in October but I may end up visiting twice to manage to do everything.
Also any recommendations on a guide/expert for day walks? (i've found one which will prob use but interested in hearing reviews.)
Finally, I hear there is a bear hide and somewhere a sanctuary with 2 wolves there. How do I go about booking the hide (aparently need to book in advance) and is it easy to just turn up at sanctuary? (can't remember where either are but think it was written in book)
Cheers,
Ali
1
Hi....I never saw lynx, but have seen bears and wolves in both the Poiana Brasov and Busteni forests.
I would suggest get to Busteni and ask for a guide in one of the bars.
It'll be easier to organise - and probably cheaper, than in Brasov.
Brasov is a big city - whereas Busteni is just a small town (only about 20 minutes from Brasov by train).
Time of year.... Bears, between about April and October. Wolves.... Any time.
Best of luck with everything
3
Yep - seen wolves and bears.In fact the bears are incredibly small, not much bigger than a large dog.
We didn't go on any research thing - in fact we didn't even know the bears and wolves were close-by ! !
In Busteni, a guy in a bar asked if we'd like to see them. How could we say no?... Excactly.
We only paid a few Lei - I think it worked out at about €20 or so, altogether - not per person.
The wolves are vicious and scared of nowt, whereas the bears smell a human - and run away.
We didn't get that close to either of them, but saw both.
Busteni is truly beautiful, with a huge mountain as a back drop.
As Nike says.... Just do it ! !
4
That was really lucky, wolves are incredibly secretive. I think i'll stick to October tbh. Wondering how the movements of the farmers livestock (wherever that is and the times?) affects the wolves activity. Yours sounds good price! I need to get something soon after arriving as won't have much time.5
Hey Billy, you saw wolves? Then indeed you were very lucky! Normally you already should be very lucky if you hear one!I never saw one, i only saw bears at the edge of Brasov where it is very easy to spot them, but they were pretty big, and i wouldn't compare them with a large dog. On the mountain Gutai next to our village there are also wolves, so in winter at night i try to listen if i hear them, but no luck so far :)
The sanctuary you are talking about is in Zarnesti. Check out their website: http://www.ampbears.ro/en or fb: http://www.facebook.com/Bear.Sanctuary?ref=stream
Matthijs
6
The bears we saw were quite small - possible just a bit larger than a big dog.Yes - we saw wolves, quite a few of them. None near Poiana Brasov though, only in the hills at Busteni.
That's where we saw the bears as well.
Have you ever seen a lynx in the region? I haven't - and never even knew they lived there.
8
Did you see the wolves in winter timeYes - it was in December.
We drove from The UK to Romania (Satu Mare), then got a train to an orphanage in Busteni.
From there we did a day trip into the mountain forest close-by.
That was our first experience of seeing wolves in Romania.
We saw the bears in the summer (I think it was July). Same location.
10
I was in Busteni last summer in july/august, and made a hiking tour there, but didn't see any bears or wolves. There was a sign 'beware of bears' and I think I saw some tracks of bears (poo, claws in the trees, hair), so I think there might be bears in Busteni. However the biggest chance to see one would be closer to Brasov I think.
