A Trip to Pilawin, the Deer-park of Count Joseph Potocki in Volhynia, RussiaLydekker, Richard
History
A Trip to Pilawin, the Deer-park of Count Joseph Potocki in Volhynia, Russia
Lydekker, Richard
Game reserves; Pilawin (Volhynia, Ukraine)
Continuing the chronicle of our own doings, it remains to mention that
a couple of days before our departure Mr. Sokalski, at the Count’s
suggestion, very kindly arranged a series of “beats” in order that
we might be afforded the best possible opportunity of seeing the
denizens of the preserve; and these formed one of the most interesting
episodes of our visit.
[Illustration: A BIG WAPITI.]
Roedeer were, of course, put up in large numbers; and among these one
buck was noticed with beautifully “pearled” antlers. We were fortunate
in getting a splendid view of the best stag of the Yenisei wapiti, when
the features referred to above were duly noted. Between two of the
“drives” we came accidentally upon the biggest herd of American wapiti,
with the finest stag in the park among them. When first seen they were
feeding in an open glade, but as the morning was rapidly becoming
hot, they almost immediately betook themselves to a shady part of the
forest, where it was a charming sight to watch them lie down one after
the other, with the master-stag (who had been calling loudly) in the
midst. Soon afterwards three full-grown cow elk broke covert; advancing
with a long swinging trot to the side where I was standing, and then
halting to look around, as if undecided which course to take. There was
something almost ghost-like in their appearance as they first loomed
into view out of the thick covert, and then vanished.
The great event was, however, reserved for the afternoon, when, after
the twin elk calves had been driven out of one piece of forest and some
of the wapiti out of another, the six bison, with the four Europeans
leading and the Americans in the rear, burst out into the open in a
heavy, lumbering gallop, which literally shook the earth, close to
where my daughter was standing. It was indeed a magnificent spectacle.
The “hustling” which the animals underwent during the drives made them
somewhat fierce, with the result that two of the watchers had to spend
the night on a shooting-stage.
In regard to the Pilawin preserve as a whole, there seems little doubt
that it will ultimately prove a complete success, and form a unique
centre of interest to sportsmen and naturalists alike.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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