Paul White
@p_aulwhite
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Special interest in transhumance pastoralism, and how shepherds coexist with large predators by utilising livestock guardian dogs.
Transylvania
Joined January 2021
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A Transylvanian shepherdess. Noémi and her sister were open grazing with their flock guarded by several livestock guardian dogs. Before approaching shepherds I always ask them if their dogs bite. She reassured me that they wouldn't.
#Transylvania
#sheep
#flock
#farming
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Free grazing without fencing in a valley with many wolves and bears. He has no gun and his only defence is his livestock guardian dogs and that small axe head fixed to the top of his staff.
#Transylvania
#farming
#coexistence
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After five and a half years of searching this is my first ever capture of a lynx on camera trap! My biggest challenge so far has been how to list it, Carpathian lynx (L. l. carpathicus) or Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx)?
#transylvania
#wildlife
#trailcam
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Brown bear (Ursus arctos) - Just take a look at this large unit! What a beauty and appeared on the scene (captured on the same camera trap) just 22 minutes before the wolves in my previous tweet.
#Transylvania
#camtrap
#trailcam
#trailcamera
#cameratrap
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Welcome to Max, the latest addition to our family. He is a Ciobănesc Românesc Bălan (landrace) livestock guardian dog (LGD), and we picked him up today directly from the shepherd's sheepfold. 1/
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Adult European brown bear, and what a beautiful individual! Wild fruit and nuts have been available in abundance this year, allowing plenty of body fat to be layered in preparation for the long winter sleep.
#ursusarctos
#transylvania
#coexistence
#nature
#wildlife
#cameratrap
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So I moved my camera to a new location and within 24 hours was rewarded with this lovely footage of a European brown bear. It is obviously thin which is usual in spring after the long winter months.
#Transylvania
#bears
#nature
#wildlife
#camtrap
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Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra) There was heavy rainfall this morning which is always a good time to see salamanders.
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1. "Until the cows come home" At one point the herd became quite orderly following this leader along the centre of the road. The queue of cows extended all the way back to that pink gate in the distance.
#cows
#dairy
#farming
#Transylvania
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Donkeys are regularly seen with shepherds in Romania. They compliment the deterrence provided by livestock guardian dogs (LGD) from depredations by wolves. What you can't see in this photo are the 10+ LGD's surrounding the flock. So what role does the donkey play? 1/4
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I can watch these everyday occurrences 'until the cows come home'! Cow grazes all day on meadow, then led to edge of village. Cow walks home with herd, then peels off as knows where home is. Waits to be let in. Walks to stall for fresh water and more food.
#Transylvania
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European wildcat (Felis silvestris) - So so happy with this footage!
#wildlife
#Transylvania
#Romania
#cameratrap
#trailcamera
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This is one of my favourite valleys for watching livestock guardian dogs at work. Here there are many wolves and bears and at this time of year there are several shepherd groups and herdsmen concentrated in the lower valley, free grazing without fencing. 1/
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A passing shepherd with what most carry for self protection, small axe head with long shaft. The livestock guardian dogs do most of the heavy lifting when protecting sheep from bears, but the shepherds wade in too to back up their dogs when required.
#sheep
#farming
#Transylvania
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Very happy to pick up two Eurasian wolves (Canis lupus lupus) on one of our camera traps yesterday morning. I can see that the first wolf has an injury to its right hind leg.
#Transylvania
#wildlife
#predator
#trailcamera
#cameratrap
#trailcam
#camtrap
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I found this beaver dam in the forest, probably the widest I have seen.
#Transylvania
#wildlife
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The transhumance shepherds are now starting their grazing season down in the lower valleys and the weather is warm and dry (above 20 degrees Celsius). All photos in this thread were taken this morning.
#1
#Transylvania
#farming
#shepherd
#sheep
#sustainable
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1. Scything grass by hand is an art, but unfortunately this is slowly being replaced by mechanisation. This farmer sharpened his blade regularly and kept his stone in a holster on his belt for easy access.
#sustainability
#grass
#farming
#Transylvania
#scythe
#hay
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This is Melike with her six week old pup, a goat kid and Vihar a male Sarplaninac livestock guardian dog.
#LGD
#goat
#sheep
#farming
#Transylvania
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This afternoon we went to a meadow where we know transhumance shepherds often begin their season. We were a little early to see them but Laura spotted 2 yearling brown bear cubs foraging next to a river. We scanned the treeline behind them and as predicted saw the..... 1/
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These cows have a 24/7 human and livestock guardian dog presence to protect them from both wolves and bears. At night they are gathered and enclosed within an electric fence next to the herdsman's mobile accommodation.
#Transylvania
#LGD
#Kangal
#farming
#coexistence
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Passing flock with livestock guardian dogs. This dog engaged quickly. I took this photo at close to 200mm on my zoom lens so I was not particularly close. The shepherd told me not to come any closer because she will bite. The body language says it all really.
#Transylvania
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1. I never thought we would ever participate in a dog show, but heard that shepherds were meeting from all over the country at Bran (yes, where said castle is situated associated with Bram Stoker's novel!) and this would be a great opportunity to do some networking.
#Transylvania
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I cannot over emphasise how unusual this scene is for April. These are transhumant shepherds grazing their flock in the high pastures. Normally they would still be in the lower valleys, but due to good rainfall and lots of sunshine the grass is growing well. 1/2
#Transylvania
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1.Sheep receive bad press for overgrazing when left static for long periods of time behind fencing, but these transhumance shepherds prove rotational grazing maintains both a sustainable living for them and biodiverse meadows full of fruit and wild flowers.
#farming
#Transylvania
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Evening grazing on pasture completely surrounded by forest. You must trust your livestock guardian dogs in low light as this is when bears move more freely, and remember these shepherds never carry guns. There's lots of wolves in this valley too.
#Transhumance
#sheep
#farming
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The gathering cow herd. I filmed this early one morning, around 6.30am in September 2016. Villagers open their gates and let their cows onto the street. They then make their way to the meadows to graze.
#Transylvania
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Very happy with this footage of a brown bear in snow (April 5th 2023).
#Transylvania
#Romania
#ursusarctos
#wildlife
#camtrap
#trailcamera
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Shepherds sleep next to the sheepfold in small boxes as the sheep are penned overnight for their safety from bears and wolves. Livestock guardian dogs will warn approaching predators which in turn wakes the shepherd who immediately jumps up from the box to assist his dogs.
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Working horses having a few days off. There's no fences in this valley, so it's interesting that they stay close to the village.
#Transylvania
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Cow returns home from meadow and opens gate to property. Apologies for my rather excited narration. (September 2016)
#Transylvania
#farming
@DavidSoulsby11
@WerkGrob
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The road network in Romania has been upgraded dramatically since joining the EU. However, traffic has increased in volume and speed. For those that still travel by horse and cart the alternative rural network of tracks across fields is often the safer and more peaceful option.
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Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos). For any mammal walking this trail it's hard to avoid brushing against the overhanging branches, and the scent left behind leaves a lot of information for the next animal passing.
#cameratrap
#trailcam
#wildlife
#Transylvania
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Transhumant shepherd groups are now returning to the lower valleys.
#Transylvania
#sheep
#farming
#Transhumance
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Front right paw print of a European brown bear discovered on a track between agricultural fields this afternoon. See how the bear's claws have sliced through the mud.
#Transylvania
#tracking
#tracks
#bears
#nature
#wildlife
#fauna
#coexistence
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Here are a few photos from a series of high meadows where I took the fire salamander shots yesterday. That post raised a few questions so I will try and answer some of them in this thread. These meadows / pastures are located inside the forest and are connected by corridors 1/
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I don't want you thinking that we only go out in fair weather 🙂Today has been pretty wet and murky and it was hard going walking up this slippery, muddy incline. No problem for this bear however, with built in crampons.
#Transylvania
#wildlife
#tracking
#track
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This is Zorro our Sarplaninac livestock guardian dog. His ability to detect what's going on around us in the forest is quite incredible and he can differentiate between what is harmless or potentially harmful. That said we are not complacent, and do carry bear spray.
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Walking with Shepherds 1/ Some livestock guardian dogs blend in perfectly with the sheep. A surprise in waiting for any predator thinking of entering the flock!
#Transhumance
#Transylvania
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This shepherd is taking his flock to drink. He takes the higher ground so he can see what's going on. This is a vulnerable period because these riparian thickets offer corridors, shade and water to predators too, all the way from the forest that can be seen in the distance. 1/
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Well I can honestly say today has been one of our best for tracking in snow. We found tracks of wolf, bear and lynx all on the same trail. Zorro was with us of course and started things off when he found a small tree that had been scent marked by a wolf.
#Transylvania
#winter
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It's hard to imagine but both bears and livestock access water using the same forest corridor. The sheep were guarded by several livestock guardian dogs (LGD) and I've added some bear footage at the end to demonstrate the direction of travel. The water source is ...1/2
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Just when you thought the bears must be sleeping. These tracks are recent as were not on the forest trail yesterday and there's only a light dusting of snow on them. It was -6°C in the forest this morning. Not a big bear, but big enough.
#Transylvania
#tracking
#nature
#wildlife
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I know I have been posting rather a lot of Zorro today, but I just couldn't resist this one of him tearing past one of the trail cameras.
#Sarplaninac
#snow
#winter
#Transylvania
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Cows returning to the village for evening milking. When the pastoralist passes and says a single word to me through the car window, the word simply means "health". This is a traditional greeting in some rural village communities.
#Transylvania
#farming
#cows
#dairy
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1. This was a completely chance encounter with Daniel and his new stallion also called Zorro! We have been friends on social media for several years but have never met in person.
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Raiding bears are most active under the cover of darkness and are (at this time of year) approaching the sheepfold most nights. As a result Tibor's dogs try and rest when they can, mostly during the day.
#lgd
#livestockguardiandog
#transylvania
#coexist
#farming
#sheepfarming
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This shepherd popped into a nearby village for some food. He had a piece of bread in his right hand and an onion in his left. The reason I stopped and asked to take his photograph was really due to his impressive leather belt. (April 2015)
#Transylvania
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Livestock guardian dog puppy already displaying the correct stance to an approaching stranger.
#LGD
#Transylvania
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Young transhumance shepherd deep in thought (June 2020). Maybe he was making a tough decision because I recently discovered that he now lives and works in Germany.
#Transylvania
#sheep
#farming
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So this was the third day in a row that we went to the remote valley with the horses running free, but today it looked completely different as was full of people, horses and vehicles. There was a fair on with lots of buying and selling!
#Transylvania
#horse
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This was one determined brown bear with a level of interest in my camera trap not experienced before! (Sound up!) I'm not sure if this was simply curiosity, but whatever the reason this video includes eyes, puffing, saliva and claws!
#camtrap
#trailcamera
#Transylvania
#wildlife
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Max is only 9 weeks old and he is already doing what he was born to do.
#LGD
#LivestockGuardianDog
#puppy
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The Sándor family hosted me to watch them making artisan cheese in their kitchen parlour. All milk comes from their own cows, sheep and goats. (Homoródalmási Kézműves Sajtok) 1/
#Transylvania
#bio
#food
#sustainability
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I don't know much about bats and although I've caught them before on camera trap, never one this big. It was very quick so I have slowed the footage down to 25% of original speed. Does anyone know what species this is?
#bats
#Transylvania
#camtrap
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Spotted! Brown bear cub with sow on hay meadow (June 2018).
#Transylvania
#bears
#wildlife
#coexistence
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It's hard to believe that transhumance shepherds are grazing their flocks here, but they are. I am standing on a meadow where I found the bear track and you can see a meadow upper left and another lower centre right. All these meadows are connected by corridors.
#coexistence
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I am a sucker for a nice horse photo, but with the added sidelight I just had to stop!
#Transylvania
#portrait
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Sarplaninac livestock guardian dog puppy at 3 weeks old. She already barks and advances when she sees a stranger 🙂. Her name in English is Lioness.
#LGD
#Transylvania
#sheep
#farming
#coexistence
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Most sheep and goats are wintered in large barns over winter and fed with hay and corn. So what's going on here? Shepherds tell me their livestock become restless cooped up for long periods of time so they take them out occasionally to stretch their legs.
#Transylvania
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The honey truck with 60 portable beehives (30 on each side. Throughout the season they move the bees to areas with different crops and trees which gives several varieties of honey.
#Transylvania
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Hay balers are rapidly taking over from the traditional practice of loose hay gathering. I took this image in Sept 2011 which often involved several members of the family from different generations. Here one family is helping another. Usually accompanied with plenty of banter.
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This shepherd could not have sat in a more interesting position when I spotted him this afternoon. There's a river that runs along the edge of this meadow and that's the work of a beaver just above his head.
#pastoralism
#beaver
#shepherd
#coexistence
#farming
#Transylvania
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Market cart park. I liked the co-operation going on here between the villagers who placed grass at the rear of each cart for the horses to munch whilst they shopped at the market. I bought some work trousers and ate lángos with cheese and garlic. A most satisfying afternoon.
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Young brown bear on meadow this evening. I believe it was male approximately 18 months old. The adults are courting now, so it was probably moved on recently by its mother. It was foraging nicely and also dug into an ants nest.
#Transylvania
#wildlife
#coexistence
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I learn something new everyday. Apparently there are only 4 mobile farrier services in the whole of Romania and Sandor owns one of them. Very professional guy working with one apprentice. I have already started a separate thread for the video clips that I took today.
#horses
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The timeless beauty of Transylvania. How much do you think this scene has changed in the last hundred years?
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1. Melinda with some of the livestock guardian dogs that protect their sheep and goats in wolf and bear country.
#ladieswithlivestock
#Transylvania
#farming
#dogs
#sheepfarming
#LGD
#Livestockguardiandog
#coexistence
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1. This was from this morning. One of the biggest bears that I have encountered in a long time. There was no wind but the tree was swaying under the weight, then this big head appeared chewing on nuts I believe.
#bears
#nature
#wildlife
#Transylvania
#coexistence
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1. The transhumance grazing season is now in full swing. The lower valleys are lined with shepherds and their flocks of sheep and livestock guardian dogs.
#Transylvania
#farming
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Melike playing with a Jagdterrier overseen by one of the male Sarplaninac livestock guardian dogs.
#LGD
#Transylvania
#coexistence
#sheep
#farming
#dogs
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Eurasian brown bear sow with 3 cubs. The large male bear in my previous video was nearby at this time which probably accounts for this family's nervousness.
#wildlife
#transylvania
#trailcam
#Tech4Wildlife
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This was the smallest dog in the team, but this is a herding dog and not a livestock guardian.
#farming
#Transylvania
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