In the heart of the Białowieża Forest Lodge
The Paradise Named Żydzinca
“Once I crossed the threshold, I realized that I was amidst trees and animals. So, I speak on their behalf. Although I majored in biology, it was only during the few years spent in the forest that I learned to understand the language of animals. Looking back, if I were in the past, being burnt at the stake as a witch wouldn’t have been surprising,” reflects Simona Kossak. In 1971, a special envoy from the magazine ‘Prazekrój’ visited the sacred grounds of Kossak and photographer Lech Wilczek, located at the heart of the primeval Białowieża Forest.
Six kilometers away from the town of Białowieża in Poland, in the center of the forest, there is a nature reserve. Currently covered in thick new snow, this place is called “Żydzinca.” In a beautiful clearing stands a forest lodge with a barn next to a large tree, adorned with rough-carved chairs and round oak tables. During the warm season, all meals can be enjoyed in this place, lit by candles from ancient candle holders. Jumping out from the inner hedge is Jabka, a domesticated female pig playing the role of a “dangerous dog.” Hępnia, an affection-seeking donkey, leisurely approaches to welcome guests. Trol, born between a boxer mother and a German Shepherd father, is a creature possessing beauty, intelligence, and the kindness of the heart. Before I reach the porch, the crow Kolaszek pecks at my ankles and attempts to steal my pen from the pocket. Fortunately, he accepts bribes and returns the pen in exchange for eggs. Greeting me at the entrance are the zoologist Simona Kossak and the renowned photographer Lech Wilczek, who has written numerous animal albums. Half of the forest lodge is adorned with Kossak’s family belongings, such as beautiful furniture and paintings from the Cossack ship in Krakow, along with old weapons. The other half showcases a collection of clocks and lamps from Warsaw. Two owl eyes scrutinize the newcomer, perhaps suspecting a mouse in the pocket. In Żydzinca, where the clock hands have stopped, no one is in a hurry. It is a haven of tranquility, an oasis to soothe the nerves and cleanse the mind and body.
Two Paths to Białowieża
Simona Kossak earned her degree in zoology from Jagiellonian University in Krakow in 1970, with a focus on psychology and animal ethics (the study of animal behavior). Her dream was to settle in the then-wild Fursky Valley in the Bieszczady Mountains. Promised a position as a curator in a yet-to-be-established museum within a yet-to-be-established national park, Simona, an ardent lover of the Bieszczady mountains, spent the past decade visiting the region during vacations. Packed suitcase in hand, after a few hours on a train, she disembarked in Białowieża in the winter of February 1, 1971, and began working at the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Moving into the guest room, she quietly continued to dream of the Bieszczady.
One day, however, Barbara Ewa Wisłmwek, a linguist and later a close friend, told her, “Dear Simona, I think Żydzinca will be a fascinating place for you. It might be a bit spooky, but you have tremendous courage. Please go and see this wonderful place.”
Arriving at this mystical place on a beautiful frosty night, Simona leaped off the sled, ran up to the lodge porch, and shouted the famous words that would later become a Pepsi-Cola advertisement in Poland, “This is it!”
The next day, since the forest lodge was within the grounds of the Białowieża National Park, she approached the office of the head of the Białowieża National Park, requesting a residence for staff. Initially skeptical of her, given the slender woman who commuted willingly, summer or winter, for the six kilometers, Jozef Buzin, the park director’s engineer, eventually agreed. However, he also conveyed that the renowned Warsaw photographer Lech Wilczek also expressed a desire to live in Żydzinca. On her name day, March 24, Simona moved in. About two weeks later, a neighbor moved into the second floor of the house.
Lech Wilczek’s first visit to Białowieża was in 1952, when bison were released into the forest after World War II. It was then that he saw Żydzinca.
Raised with birds and animals since childhood, similar to Simona Kossak in Krakow, Lech, during his student years, published a series of photographic observations of the animal world. His debut photograph, featuring a ladybug sitting on a poppy seed, was used in an advertisement for “Przekrój” magazine. Subsequent photo collections included “No Two Eggs Are Alike,” “Many Mushrooms,” “Colorful Encounters,” “Hamsters,” and “Kuba” (depicting the friendship and playfulness of a small raccoon and an owl). To create these photo collections, Lech, fueled by his passion for fish, set up a massive aquarium in his Warsaw workshop, maintaining it for 11 years without changing the water, thinning the plants, or replenishing evaporating water. Interestingly, around the same time, Simona, yet to meet Lech, conducted fish observations in her own tank for her master’s thesis. His next photo collection was “Spots and Stripes on Rhabdornis and Colorado Potato Beetle.” Lech’s books are already educating the second generation of children, and he currently serves as staff at the Białowieża Geological and Botanical Station of the University of Warsaw.
A Place Where Wild Boars Become Everyone’s Favorite
Simona already had one owl and three hornbills, but Lech brought four more owls in a basket. This marked the beginning of their joint care. Subsequently, Simona became busy with running the farm and working at the Mammal Research Institute, losing the time to visit her hometown of Krakow, let alone the Bieszczady mountains. On the other hand, Lech, dissatisfied with Warsaw, confessed to reporters that Białowieża was like a hidden retreat for him. Unlike many others, he never pondered any additional philosophy for his life decisions. He simply wanted to rear wildlife in its natural habitat, observe it, and capture it in photographs—a desire surprisingly shared by Simona.
Previously, around 2 to 3 years ago, there were one snowy owl and four horned owls, owned by Lech, in Żydzinca. (By the way, one night, all five of them went to the nature reserve and never returned.) Later, there were three Eurasian magpies, which struggled considerably to adapt. Simona released them into the forest one day, but they returned. Accompanied by the caretaker, they shuttled back and forth to Żydzinca until one day they finally flew off independently. Around the same time, there were also young hedgehogs raised at the lodge and a young nightingale brought from Krakow.
However, Lech was not content with just that. One day, he departed towards Warsaw, as he had previously stated. On the first day of spring in 1972, he summoned Simona to Żydzinca. When something suddenly began snorting at their feet, it turned out that Lech hadn’t gone to Warsaw but rather to the Institute of Ecology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Jeckanuf-Leischny, near Warsaw. There, he received a one-day-old female pig. This adorable little wild boar was named Jabka (meaning frog), and Lech and Simona took turns sleeping with Jabka in the same room every other night. Since that spring was quite cold, the little one slept at the foot of the bed. When left alone, Jabka became quite grumpy. Growing up, she started stealing things for fun, teasing her owners, and running away. Wagging her tail like a dog, she went for walks in the forest, and increasingly often, she cuddled with her owners, demanding to be petted in return. Jabka grew quickly. Today, this large creature with a friendly demeanor remains kind to her owners. In their presence, she is rather reserved, but it is not advisable to enter Żydzinca’s territory without an appointment. Jabka serves as the sanctuary’s unofficial guardian and harbors a devilish hostility towards strangers, especially women.
In April 1973, Janusz Kochietski, the caretaker of the Poznań Zoo, visited Żydzinca and offered this advice: “You need a donkey.”
So, when transporting bison to Poznań, Lech also loaded a donkey onto the truck and brought it to Żydzinca. The arriving donkey, still unaware that it would be called Hepnia (as it made a strange sound resembling “hep-hep” when walking), immediately got into an argument with Jabka. Seeking protection, Jabka rushed to the new resident Reszek. To this day, these two “ladies” don’t particularly like each other. Hepnia, who was fond of travel from the start, initially insisted on returning to Poznań, and Reszek had to catch Hepnia with a lasso. However, later, she longed for overseas adventures. Hepnia tried to escape to the Soviet Union twice. Each time, kind Soviet border guards, adhering to good neighborly relations (both animals, especially cows, don’t care much about borders), ceremoniously handed Hepnia back, and she politely accepted the return. On the second occasion, she stood in the “middle of nowhere” and had no intention of moving forward or backward. So, Simona had to lean forward, grab Hepnia’s ears, and give her a light slap on her large head. Eventually, Hepnia came back. And this incident occurred on International Women’s Day.
The most delightful memory from the 1973/74 season was the deer named Pipenka (she used to make a “peep” sound when she was little). Whenever the women of Żydzinca returned from work, she was always by Simona’s side. She also cooperated willingly with the camera lens. After observing her for a while, Simona released her into the forest, but she kept coming back multiple times.
Among mammals, monkeys shine intellectually, and among birds, crows shine intellectually. However, there’s one key difference—crows have the ability to turn that intelligence into mischief. Wild crows are generally timid, but Corasek, Lech’s favorite pet crow, is a fully tamed thief. He steals anything and everything within reach, causing trouble by tearing and destroying. Guests at Żydzinca who didn’t cover their cars were in danger of having their wipers and rubber seals torn by Corasek’s beak. He once stole color film from a British filming crew and carried it to the barn’s roof. Corasek, the cunning thief, sneaks into nearby pants, grabbing the pants with his beak and poking the legs before swiftly flying away. He instills fear in all animals, but remarkably, he fears Jabka. He torments chickens and rides on Hepnia’s back. Lumberjacks and woodworkers in the area must always keep an eye on their chainsaws. Otherwise, Corasek might grab screws or ignition plugs, or even steal their lunches. Despite all this, he is well-liked by the locals. Since everyone around here is easygoing, this winged thief might not get away with such pranks in other places for too long. When his caretaker goes to Białowieża on a motorcycle, summer or winter, Corasek always sits on her head or the rear seat, simply watching her go.
When Lech walks along Białowieża’s main street, he may happen to see Corasek flying in—a spectacular sight. Locals are accustomed to this spectacle. The crow descends, perches on Lech’s shoulder, and nestles against his face. When a photographer goes to the Białowieża forest for nature observation, he looks like Saint Francis. Running alongside him is Jabka, followed by Hepnia, and Corasek circles above the three.
Troll is one of the gentlest dogs on Earth. As Simona puts it, this large specimen of the “Shepbox” (Polish “Wilbok”) breed started his bird-loving career as a puppy in the Cossack family in Krakow, where he ate a small parrot. He received a mild punishment, and since then, he has become overly gentle. When a foolish rooster teases Troll, Troll gives him a light punishment. It happens about once a quarter, and everything becomes idyllic again. Restored to dignity, Troll becomes lively once more.
At dinner, Simona jokingly remarks, “Lech loves our animals, but I think he likes me a little too.”
“But I have a motorcycle and there’s love. Plus, only 4 kilometers away, there are plenty of other women,” retorts Lech.
What are the two of them working on? One project involves a photo collection about crows (entitled “Ballad of the Crow / Ballada o kruku”), and the other, of course, is a photo collection about the most beautiful wild boars. Additionally, they are compiling a comprehensive work titled “People, Forests, and Animals (O ludziach, lasach i zwierzętach),” inspired by the monumental photo collection “Białowieża Forest (Puszcza Białowieska).” Using the lens for observation and the pen for documentation, they are crafting this comprehensive piece. Moreover, they are in the process of preparing a fascinating scientific essay on the self-healing abilities of animals, which is bound to impact changes in human therapeutic methods.
Christmas Eve in Żydzinca
Every Christmas Eve, the two of them decorate the spruce tree that grows in front of their house. Rowanberries, lard, apples, dried fruits, and anything that birds and wildlife might enjoy are hung on its branches. Additionally, they prepare a haystack deep in the primeval forest for the deer passing through Żydzinca.
At the dinner table, the now giant Jabka (standing on her hind legs like a dog) receives a basket decorated with pine branches (refer to the photo!) containing bread, acorns, and apples. Hepnia gets an additional two kilograms of apples, along with plenty of carrots and oats. The owl receives two mice, Corasek the crow gets eggs with mayonnaise, and he’s gently tapped on the head to prevent overgrowth. On the other hand, Troll participates alone in the Christmas Eve feast and eats anything on the table.
On Christmas Eve night, what dreams might the animals be having? We cannot know all of their dreams. Corasek is waiting for summer to arrive when eggs become more affordable. In exchange for eggs, he will probably return my car keys, which he casually stole from the table. That’s what I read in his eyes.
Simona Kosak
Biologist, professor of forest science. A legendary guardian of the fauna and flora of Białowieża Forest and an advocate for a deeper understanding of nature. A daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of the renowned Kosak family. For her work at the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Forest Research Institute in Białowieża, she initially commuted to Żydzinca on a Comar motorcycle and later a small Fiat. She was born in 1943 and passed away in 2007.
Lech Wilczek
Photographer and naturalist. Published books and photo collections on various themes, including owls and raccoons, magpies and cats, mushrooms, Syrian hamsters, aquarium fish, crows and badgers, and Białowieża Forest. Born in 1930, he became a resident of Żydzinca in 1971.
