Exchange between Jagiełło and Vitold Kiejstutowicz,
or Polish wisent to Lithuania and Lithuanian to Poland
In May this year there was the first new Lowland animals exchange between the Polish Bison Breeding Centre in Niepołomice, and Lithuanian Center in Panevéźys-Pašiliu located not far from Krekanava.
Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitold in 1419 built a wooden church in Krekanava, where actually stands the most impressive religious building of the area. These are the areas mentioned in the Sienkiewicz trilogy. About 9 km east is located the village Mitruny belonged to the family of Miss Oleńka Billewiczówna featured in "The Deluge". Somewhere in the neighborhood there is also the famous mansion in Lubicz, visited by Colonel Andrzej Kmicic.
Part of this historically rich area has been protected as a Regional Park Krekanava. The forest of the Park where very long clashes between the Bolsheviks and Lithuanian partisans took place, actually the herd of Lithuanian bison has at the disposal the rich wetland meadows surrounded by coniferous forests and torfmoos.
A beautiful couple from Niepołomice: bull POZORANT and cow POLALFA were exchanged on the male GIRUKAS and female GINA from Lithuania. Traditionally, as befits the bulls from Niepołomice, POZORANT showed high activity during transport, but after unloading in the enclosure in Lithuania clearly feel well, what cannot be said about the people involved in the action and struggling with unimaginable amounts of aggressive mosquitoes from the surrounding swamps. Lithuanian pair was unusually quiet, these bison are very tame, tolerate presence of people caring for them what proves their confidence in these people. Instantly, without any problem GIRIUKAS and GINA have been loaded into crates and transported to Niepołomice, where in the middle of the forest, the former hunting ground of King Wladysław Jagiełło, were placed in the quarantine enclosure.
This almost historical exchange between Lithuania and Poland coincided with the 600-year anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, reminiscent of the Polish - Lithuanian alliance.
Text: Łukasz Poławski
Fot. Tomasz Fedorczuk and Łukasz Poławski