Diet, carcass weight (dressed weight) and kidney fat index (KFI) in wild boar populations were compared between two different lowland environments in south-western Poland. In the forest-farmland environment of the Lasy Śląskie forest (LS), fodder root crops and cereals made up 67.6 % of the dry weight (d.w.) of stomach content (n = 40). In the large compact forest of the Bory Dolnośląskie forest (BD), 69.6 % of the stomach content (n = 43) was made up of roots and browse. Piglets and older animals harvested in BD were significantly lighter than those harvested in LS (13.6 kg vs. 25.6 kg and 47.3 kg vs. 55.9 kg respectively). The KFI of piglets and older animals harvested in LS were significantly higher than those incorresponding age classes of wild boars from BD. The metabolized energy of stomach content amounted to 13.2 MJ/kg d.w. in LS and 8.9 MJ/kg d.w. in BD. This is probably the chief cause of the differences in carcass weight and KFI between the wild boars living in the compared study areas.
During the winter period 2006/2007, research was carried out on the distribution and number of black grouse in coniferous lowland forest, Bory Dolnośląskie and the Karkonosze Mountains in southwest Poland. During 27 workshops, more than 800 members of various hunting clubs and representatives of the local State Forest Service presented information about place i.e., forest compartments and date when black grouse was seen. Next, this information was put on forest maps. Birds that could be seen twice of more were arbitrarily excluded by time-space analysis. In Bory Dolnośląskie, a declining black grouse population was present in 12 hunting districts covering 50.5 thousands ha of forest. The estimate of this species was 60 birds, i.e., 1.18 birds per 1 000 ha. In the Karkonosze Mountains, increasing black grouse population occurred in 8 hunting districts within a forest area of 30.1 thousands ha. The black grouse number was estimated to 169 birds, i.e., 5.61 birds per 1 000 ha. In the heather-land of Bory Dolnośląskie, 200 artificial nests were distributed on transect lines between the habitat (A) where black grouse is still present and the one (B) where it disappeared, and 14 movable digital cameras with movement detector triggered by infrared sensor were temporarily located at randomly selected nests that were destroyed by predators. The picture analysis showed that raven (Corvus corax) destroyed 93.9% and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) 6.1% of the nests. All the nests were damaged within 7 days. The rate of nest damage was faster in habitat B. Population dynamics of lowland and mountain black grouse population is analysed and discussed.
A new method of wild boar, Sus scrofa (Linnaeus), census tentatively called the “Carpathian technique” was tested in Poland during February and March 2000–2004. This method is based on the relationship between absolute population density (N/1000 ha of forest) and a snow track index (T/Km x day-1). The absolute density of wild boar was estimated on the basis of 177 sampling plots, of 400–500 ha. Snow tracks of wild boar were counted along line transects with a total length of 4,442 km. High correlation (r=0.59 - 0.88) between the density of tracks counted along line transects (T/Km*day-1) and species density calculated from sampling plots (N/1000 ha) has been obtained. This relationship was employed to calculate the density of wild boar in 58 Forest Districts and 2 National Parks. In forest districts and National Parks, the lowest density of wild boar i.e. 0.49 animals/1000 ha of forest was recorded in Bieszczady Mountains, and the highest density (120.7 individuals/1000 ha) was recorded in the Myślibórz Forest District. Over respective regions (that includes several forest districts and the sampled National Parks), density of wild boar was the lowest in Carpathian and Sudety Mountains, near density = 4.06 animals/1000 ha, while in north-eastern and southern lowland regions density varied from 9.0 to 19.71 animals/1000 ha, respectively. The highest density (36.7 animals/1000 ha) was recorded in north-western lowland forest region.