On safari in our own country
On 27 September the first visit to one of the living labs was planned. This excursion has been organised by PWN for consortium members. In the Kennemer dunes, some of the research for WildlifeNL will be carried out in the coming years. So it was time to explore this area with your own eyes. Zuid-Kennemerland National Park represents a so-called ‘urban’ nature reserve. Located right next to Haarlem and as part of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region, the area receives millions of visitors every year. So plenty of human-animal interactions take place within the park boundaries, but also outside them. Fallow deer cross the busy Zeeweg and can regularly be found in backyards of houses in Bloemendaal or Santpoort. Besides fallow deer, roe deer and rabbits, the main large grazers in the National Park are the Scottish Highlanders, Konik horses and, since 2007, a herd of wisents. And that is immediately the destination of the field visit, we are on a wisent safari!
After a short introduction and getting to know the PWN foresters and advisers, we set off for the Kraansvlak, led by Esther Rodriquez, biologist and project leade at PWN. Kraansvlak has long been private property and was not accessible to the public when PWN took over management of the area. This provided the opportunity to quietly introduce the first wisents here in 2007. The wisent, also known as the European bison, is Europe’s largest land mammal and became extinct in the wild early last century. Thanks to a successful breeding programme, the animal was reintroduced to the wild in Poland. From there, the wisent has slowly spread across Europe again.
Having arrived at the viewpoint, Esther explains that for a long time it was assumed that the wisent was a real forest animal. However, after introduction into the dune area of the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, it became clear that they also feel very much at home in the dunes. In fact, research using GPS transmitters and many students showed that the animals in this area mainly move in more open terrain and less in the forest.
We walk on and enter the ‘wisent area’. The area where the animals walk is over 300 hectares and is enclosed by a fence with live wire. The wisents otherwise walk freely and are not fed. One footpath runs through the area and is open outside the breedingseason (from September to March). We stop at a spot with open sand. This is a clear sign of the presence of the wisent herd. Indeed, wisents love to take a sand bath, both bulls, cows and calves do so daily. In doing so, they create more open sandy spots in the terrain, which in turn benefit other species such as insects and sand lizards. After sand bathing, they like to do some sanding on the nearest tree; the wisent hair can still be found there.
Because some of the herd’s animals wear GPS collars, Esther and the foresters know roughly where the herd is. We turn off the path and begin a steep climb and descent through the pine forest. It must be a bit adventurous! As we walk from the forest into the open dune, we see the first wisents in the distance. From a hill they watch us closely. Slowly more and more animals appear and even the calf shows itself. Binoculars and cameras are brought out. The bull in particular is impressive – this really is safari in our own country!
It was asked whether this is a true wildlife experience and why. For some, the tranquillity and unspoilt nature (off the tracks) play an important role, for others it is also the alert behaviour of animals. They behave ‘wild’. On the contrary, another also finds that the contrast between nature and urban environment contributes to the unique wildlife experience in the Netherlands. The area is surrounded by the racetrack and the apartment blocks of Zandvoort, yet so many special animals and plants live here. An example of how man and nature can still go together on a small piece of land.
Overlooking the wisents, project leader Ine Dorresteijn and postdoctoral researcher Irma Arts tell a little more about the WildlifeNL project and student Leanda shares the results of her research using a mind model. The mind model tells us more about how visitors experience an interaction with the large grazers in the area and what their reactions are. Some more ideas are exchanged and Tim van Dam from Smart Parks gives a short demonstration of the GPS collar worn by the wisents. This transmitter has been specially designed for this species as an ‘open collar’, so anyone can use this technology. Because the transmitter can also communicate via bluetooth and wifi, interaction with visitors (via their smartphones) can be examined even more accurately. After the explanation, we head back to the visitor centre on the road. Here, snacks and drinks await in the Foresters’ Office and a final chat is held. A nice conclusion to a successful first field visit!
This blog was written by Dr Myrthe Fonck, senior adviser on nature and recreation at PWN.
