HUNT IN A BIG GAME RESERVATION 



ON THE ESTATE OF COUNT JOSEF POTOCKI IN VOLHYNIA, RUSSIA 



By \A^ alter Winans 



Mr. Winans is not only a man with expert knowledge of the art of shooting but is also as 

 evidenced in his book, Deer Breeding, a power in the preservation and propagation of game 

 animals especially of the larger deer. He has devoted much thought and money to the subject 

 on his estate at Surrenden Park, Pluckley, Kent. Among recent results of his work he has 

 obtained a fertile breed from crossing the red deer, wapiti and Altai deer. This triple cross 

 known in Germany as Cervus winayisis has taken its place among other species in the deer 

 forests of the German Emperor and in other game preserves. — The Editor. 



THROUGH the courte-sy of Count 

 Josef Potocki I was allowed two 

 days' shooting in his game 

 preserve of Pilowin, where there is a 

 greater variety of different species of big 

 game than an^j-where else in the world. 



Count Potocki in 1901 conceived the 

 idea of fencing in a very large tract of 

 forest on one of his estates in order to 

 preserve the elk (Alces alces or Alces 

 palmatus as it is known in Russia) 

 which is a near relative of the American 

 moose. This European elk is gradually 

 being exterminated and it was to insure 

 the safety of the remnant that Count 

 Potocki made the reservation. 



Pilowin is fortunately a part of the 

 original habitat of the elk, having just 

 the swampy spots these animals love. 

 The beauty of the Pilowin forest is in- 

 creased by the great clumps of yellow 

 azalea that grow there, plants not known 

 anywhere else in the neighborhood. It 

 is supposed that when the Cossacks 

 camped in the forest in one of their raids 

 some three hundred years ago, the seeds 

 of this species of azalea common on the 

 Russian steppes were scattered from 

 the horses' fodder. 



After starting the reservation Count 

 Potocki began to infroduce all the sorts 

 of deer that would thrive in the climate, 

 which is very severe in winter. Thus 

 he now has wapiti (Cervus wapiti), 

 Caucasian deer (Cervus caucasicus), han- 

 gul (Cervus cashmiricus) , maral (Cervus 



elaphus maral), Chinese Thian Shan 

 wapiti — in fact he is now turning in 

 every species of large deer that he can 

 get. He has not introduced any Euro- 

 pean red deer (Cervus elaphus) or fallow 

 deer (Dama dama) as he wants to have 

 large animals only. The forest contains 

 a certain number of roe deer (Capreolus 

 vulgaris) and he has tried turning into it 

 Siberian roe (Capreolus pygargus) but 

 these latter died off, although some of 

 the roe that I saw I think must have 

 crossed with the Siberian deer. The 

 Siberian roe is very difficult to keep. I 

 have tried several in my place in Kent, 

 and all have died. 



Year by year the Count has increased 

 the area of the ground fenced in so that 

 it now consists of some 32,000 acres. 

 The past year in inclosing some extra 

 ground, he was fortunate enough to 

 include a herd of wild elk, which will be 

 of great help in crossing the blood of 

 those already inclosed. 



In 1905 Count Potocki received three 

 aurochs ^ (Bison bonasus) from His Im- 

 perial Majesty the Emperor of Russia, 

 from the Imperial Preserves of Nielo- 

 wicz and in 1906 he imported a pair of 

 x\merican buffalo (Bison bison). All 

 these species of big game including the 



1 The name "aurochs" properly belongs to 

 the European wild ox (Bos primigenius) which 

 became extinct in the early part of the seven- 

 teenth century, After its disappearance the 

 name was transferred to the European bison 

 {Bison bonasus). 



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