Forest witch from Belovezhskaya Pushcha (11 photos)

When she was born, she greatly upset her father. After all, Jerzy Kossak already had a beautiful daughter, and he really wanted a son. But later the girl grew up so amazing that she was worth ten sons.





Simone Kossak (1943 - 2007) was not only a girl, but also with a defect - a cleft lip. Which also did not add self-confidence. The parents tried to reveal their daughter’s talents in some area of art, but the drawings came out crooked, Simone did not learn to sing, nor did she learn to perform on stage or read poetry.



An attempt to enroll in acting classes after school failed. The girl spent only a year at the university taking a philology course. And Simone thought about becoming closer to animals. After all, they love with unconditional love and do not give marks for beauty or ability to draw.

A student of the Faculty of Biology at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow was offered to gain practical experience in Bialowieza, a small town that opened the gates to the wonderful world of the Bialowieza Forest Nature Reserve.





And it was love... Publications about animals came out one after another. The young specialist quickly climbed the career ladder. And one day she was offered, as they say, work in the field - not in a comfortable urban environment, but in a forester’s house without running water or electricity.

New home and native environment



And the girl not only agreed to live, she wanted to live in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. After all, here you can observe animals in their native environment, no theory.

Upon arrival, Simone was disappointed. Whose name was Lech Wilczek. The nature photographer had already occupied half of the house, and he was not attracted by the prospect of communicating and running a common household with a refined young lady.

Binding Toad



But the strained relationship turned romantic. And largely thanks to Lech, the world learned about Simon. And an unusual matchmaker, a wild pig, helped bring the couple together. Lech brought a pig, which for some reason was left without a family, from the forest, and named it Zhabka. Simone got involved in care and education. Soon an opening was cut between the apartments, and then a heartfelt connection was formed between people.



Zhabka grew up to be a corpulent lady, weighed over 200 kg and behaved like an ordinary dog. Later, twin elk calves Pepsi and Cola, a peacock, a rat Kanalya and an amazingly intelligent raven Korasik appeared in the house of a strange couple. The cunning bird became an infernal and dangerous guardian of the forest. The raven robbed half the population of the region. When people found out where their things were going, they began to come to the hermits and complain. A stern warning of punishment was enough: the bird flew away and returned with the necessary thing.



The zoopsychologist also had a girlfriend - a lynx, who often came to the house and played around with the woman, as if she were not a dangerous predator, but a harmless domestic cat.

Witch



The turning point in Simone's mind was a warning from the herd of roe deer that she had raised. Animals often accompanied her during forest walks. And one day they began to worry and scream loudly. The woman found tracks and fresh droppings of a lynx. So the pupils warned their “mother” about the danger. Simone herself called herself an animal psychologist, but joked that 300 years ago she would have long been burned at the stake for her ability to communicate with animals.



The woman became a professor and was awarded several awards. But she didn’t do her job because of regalia, fame or money. She really loved nature, fought against inhumane methods of research, and physically suffered when trees were cut down.



The forest fairy tale of the good witch lasted 35 years. Simone died in 2007 due to a serious illness. But she remained in history as an example of kindness, sincerity and deep devotion.passion for the chosen business.