In search of wolves in north-east Poland

"There it is, can you see it?" says my guide, Artur. I strain my eyes through the murky grey light of the forest, in order to get a better glimpse. Suddenly the innocuous-looking brown splodge that I'd initially mistaken for a log lifts up its head and sniffs the damp air. After nearly a week of scouring the Polish countryside, finally, here I am, face to face with the big bad wolf.

It is hard to believe that this is the creature that has struck fear into the hearts of small children the world over; up close and personal it is a truly magnificent sight.

As he sits there looking resplendent in his heavy fur coat, his coal-black nose constantly quivering from a barrage of scents that waft his way, I'm struck by the similarity to a domestic dog. At any moment I expect to see his owner come strolling into the clearing with a stick for him to fetch.

Until now I had only imagined a wolf in the context of the Great American Outdoors; perched on a rocky outcrop, lifting its head to howl up at a full moon. It never occurred to me that I would find one in north-east Poland - just a few hours' flight from London.

My wolf-tracking quest had begun almost a week ago, in Bialowieza National Park, about three hours' drive from Warsaw. I had arranged to meet Artur in the town of Hajnowka, which lies on the edge of Bialowieza forest. Pulling up at our rendezvous point, I spotted him immediately - dressed from head to toe in camouflage green, topped off by a fabulous furry hunter's hat.

Before heading out in search of the wolves, Artur had given me a brief history of Bialowieza. This vast swathe of primeval lowland forest is one of the last of its kind in Europe. In prehistoric times, most of central Europe would have looked like this; huge tracts of land covered by massive oak, elm and spruce trees, where wildlife ruled the roost. While human expansion has banished many creatures to the fringes of our planet, Bialowieza is one of the few places in Europe where you can still find wild wolves. Indeed, it's home to many other species that are all but extinct elsewhere in this continent including beavers, bison, elk and even lynx.

While Western Europeans are only just discovering this naturalistic treasure trove, the Russians knew about Bialowieza centuries ago. It was a favourite hunting destination for the Tsars at the beginning of the 19th century - and the Polish kings way before that. Back then this area was teeming with wolves, but gradually the hunters gained the upper hand; a decade or so ago, they had all but disappeared. Thankfully, however, wolf-hunting is now banned in Poland and the numbers are climbing again.

In the whole of Bialowieza forest, which comprises an area of 160,000 hectares - straddling Poland and nearby Belarus - there are maybe two or three packs with 12 wolves each. Spotting one can be a bit of a needle and haystack job, unless you're accompanied by someone with Artur's know-how. The man has four degrees to his name (in forestry and environmental science, among other subjects) and knows Bialowieza intimately. This is where he began guiding 10 years ago, before moving to Biebrza ("be-eb-ja"), an area of forest and wetland about three hours further north-west. It was here that we would eventually find the fabled wolves, on the second half of the trip.

Our expedition started with a train ride into the forest just outside Hajnowka. This whole area is laced with narrow-gauge tracks, which were built under orders of the German army in 1916, to make it easier to extract timber. Around 50,000 Polish, French and Russian prisoners of war laid the rails, which were subsequently used by hunters.

As we trundled slowly along the track, with the smell of moist earth and pine needles wafting in through the open windows, Artur pointed out some of the sights: "See those gouges dug into the earth; they're made by wild boar digging for seeds."

Clattering along, ever deeper into the forest, I spied the female and her youngster who were responsible for making the mess foraging around in the bushes nearby, tails swishing constantly. Artur's knowledge of the natural world was astounding. Where I saw only "trees", he saw pines and spruces. One of the things you learn quickly here is to open your eyes. Signs of life are all around.

You can see quite a lot of wildlife from the "comfort" of the train, but to find the wolves you need to be on foot. "You can't just come here and expect to see one," said Artur, in the fluent American-English he learnt while studying at the University of Minnesota. "You need to spend time, work hard and have a bit of luck."

Having dispensed with the train, we headed into the forest on foot to look for signs of the wolves. As we crunched and crackled our way through the leaf-litter, it reminded me of scenes from The Blair Witch Project. To the untrained eye, Bialowieza is a seemingly endless mass of ancient oak trees and birches that poke and prod you as you walk past, snagging your clothes. Even more unnerving was the perpetual mist that draped itself over the trees like a giant cobweb, shrouding everything in an eerie half-light.

While I tried (breathlessly) to keep up, Artur told me some signs to look out for. "Keep your eye on soft patches of ground - that's where you will see paw prints. Another thing to watch for are droppings; if they're fresh, you know that the wolf is nearby." After a few hours spent rummaging about on the forest floor, Artur gestured me over to a patch of mud that lay at an intersection of two trails. "There are a couple of tracks here, but they're pretty old; I don't think we'll find anything here today."

With the light fading fast, we called it a day. Night is theoretically the best time to catch these nocturnal creatures in action, but I didn't fancy wandering around the woods in the pitch black. The sound of branches creaking in the wind was making me nervous enough already.

Instead, we headed to a nearby restaurant for a delicious venison steak. Restauracja Carska ("Tsar's Restaurant") is a fascinating eatery housed in a former railway station at Towarowa. Built in the late 19th century by the Russian Tsar Alexander, for his son, Nicholas II, the main dining area is located in the old waiting room.

Stuffed animals' heads line the white-painted walls and at the back of the restaurant you'll find the platform and railway line still intact, along with the old signal levers and even a freight car. As the manager, Katja, explained during an impromptu guided tour, the whole thing was built as a hunting lodge for the Russian royals, who came here with parties of friends to shoot as much game as they could find. After spending a few more days vainly scouring Bialowieza for signs of the elusive wolves, we decided to head up to Biebrza - where our luck finally changed. The terrain here is much more conducive to tracking; it has open, sandy areas and marshland, as well as the deep, lowland forest that the wolves love so much. After less than an hour Artur struck gold, in the form of a paw print. "There are more heading off over there," he whispered. "This could be it. Stay silent."

Tiptoeing along, trying to avoid treading on any twigs, Artur became like a man possessed. While examining the bushes for any bits of fur left behind, he stumbled across the skeleton of some unfortunate creature that had ended up as lunch for a pack of hungry canines; it looked like some sinister pagan offering to the forest god.

Further on, the trail became even warmer. "They must be close," he declared, nudging a pile of wolf poo with a stick. Then it happened: my first sighting of a real, wild wolf. Squatting on my haunches, I stared in awe at the magnificent male. Suddenly a large female emerged into the clearing to join her partner, both of them surveying their territory nonchalantly.

"They must be the alpha pair," said Artur. "The females are generally about 20 per cent smaller than the males."

We sat there, bewitched, as more of them emerged from the woods - underlings, evidently, judging by the way they were bowing and scraping around the first two. They trotted around the clearing, rummaging about in the leaf-litter, and I could hear yelps and squeals as over-zealous youngsters dished out playful nips.

I could easily have stayed there for hours, transfixed. But the wolves had other ideas. Without warning, the alpha male was up on his feet, heading off to attend to more important matters. It was a shame that my encounter with these kings of the forest was so brief - but searching for them had been half the fun. All that was left now was to find our way back to the car...

TRAVELLER'S GUIDE

GETTING THERE

Flights to Warsaw are available with LOT Polish Airlines (0845 601 0949; www.lot.com) from Heathrow and Manchester. Wizz Air (00 48 22 351 9499; www.wizzair.com) also flies from Luton, Glasgow and Liverpool; British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com) from Heathrow; and easyJet (0905 821 0905; www.easyJet.com) from Luton. To reduce the impact on the environment, you can buy an "offset" from Equiclimate (0845 456 0170; www.ebico.co.uk) or Pure (020-7382 7815; www.puretrust.org.uk). The money is used to reduce the output of carbon dioxide.

VISITING THERE

For more information on guided trips in the Bialowieza National Park and Biebrza wetlands, visit: www.biebrza-explorer.pl or call 00 48 604 065 162

EATING & DRINKING

Restauracja Carska, Ul Stacja Towarowa 4, Bialowieza (00 48 856 812 119; www.restauracjacarska.pl).

MORE INFORMATION

Polish National Tourist Office: 08700 675 010; www.visitpoland.org.

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