River crossing

I didn’t know that the bison is also known as the “wisent”. The reintroduction of bison to Eastern Europe started in the 1960s and saved the species from extinction. In Poland the population has been increasing around 15% annually. Yesterday evening, I’m writing this on Tuesday afternoon, we watched a large herd from a distance, and the one started to cross the River San, the grass being greener on the other side. Shortly after this the guides spotted a female bear and 2 cubs in the same meadow as the bison. None of us could spot them, even with the telescope, it was too dark. We watched their fuzzy thermal images on the tablet linked to the thermal camera.
It was a relatively quiet night, very rainy and the wolves were still taking cover in the forest. We saw several pine marten, many beavers both in and out of the water – their ponds are very close to the road, and more red foxes than I could count. We elected to get some sleep at 11pm. It’s the cold air in the van that makes us reluctant to keep going longer.
Today we have travelled north and staying in Maniów. A very different set up to the previous accommodation. Naturetrek rather undersold it. Its delightful, right in the middle of countryside with views to meadows potentially used by wolf, bear and bison. S and I elected to take the two hotel rooms and the others are in wooden lodges dotted about the grounds. Their downside is that you have to make your own fire, I didn’t fancy doing this at 2am. I also have Wi-Fi which I didn’t expect. Our hosts are charming and are preparing a home cooked meal for us at 4pm which will sustain us until the early hours. An extensive night safari is planned in search of the lynx, new intel suggesting a location the guides haven’t previously explored.