Henryk Okarma (; born 12 November 1959) is a Polish biologist, professor of life sciences. His main areas of expertise are research on predatory mammals, especially

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

, invasive species and research on hunting biology. He is an academic teacher at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

, long-time director of the Institute of

Wildlife Conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...

of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...

and a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Biography

Okarma was born in Nysa and spent his childhood and youth in

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...

, where he obtained his university entrance qualification. In 1983 he graduated from the Jagiellonian University in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. There he completed his doctoral studies, which ended in 1989 with a doctorate in Biology - Animal Ecology. From 1989 to 1996 he worked in the Department of Mammalian Research of the

Białowieża Białowieża is a village in Poland's Podlaskie Voivodeship, in the middle of the Białowieża Forest, to which it gave its name. The village is some east of Hajnówka and southeast of the province capital, Białystok. Location Białowieża i ...

. In 1996 he habilitated at the Faculty of

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

in the field of forest ecology in Forestry Sciences. From 1997 he worked at the Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kracow, until 2003 as an associate professor. In 2003 he received the title of professor of

Biosciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, t ...

. In the Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences he leads a team for the ecology of large predators and was the director of the institute from 2002 to 2018. Since 2004 he has also been working in the Department of Hunting Research at the Institute of Environmental Sciences of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In 2013 he was elected a Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Faculty II of Bio- and Agricultural Sciences of PAN. Okarma speaks English, so Sven Herzog, in co-authorship with Okarma, could write the "Handbook Wolf" in German language, in which effective management plans are suggested.

Publications

* Henryk Okarma: Białowieża 1992 * Henryk Okarma: , Świebodzin 1997 * Henryk Okarma: Parey Buchverlag, Berlin 1997 * P. Brzuski, Henryk Okarma: (The wolf in the area of western Poland). Polski Związek Łowiecki, Warszawa 1997 * Henryk Okarma, Wlodzimierz Jedrzejewski, Bogumiła Jędrzejewska, Sabina Nowak: Kraków 1998 * Henryk Okarma: Grands Espaces, Orleans 1998 * Henryk Okarma: ''Ryś.'' Oficyna Edytorska "Wydawnictwo Świat", Warszawa 2000 * Henryk Okarma: Uitgeverij de Kei, Amersfoort, The Netherland 2000 * Henryk Okarma: ''Canis lupus Linne, 1758. Wilk.'' In: Z. Głowaciński (Hrsg.): DWRiL 2001 * M. Wolsan, Henryk Okarma: ''Felis silvestris Schreber, 1775. Żbik.'' In: Z. Głowaciński (Hrsg.): DWRiL 2001 * M. Wolsan, Henryk Okarma: ''Lynx (Felis) lynx (Linne, 1758). Ryś.'' In: Z. Głowaciński (Hrsg.): DWRiL 2001 * Henryk Okarma, D. Langwald: Parey Buchverlag, Berlin 2002 * Henryk Okarma, A. Tomek: Wydawnictwo H2O, Kraków 2008 * Henryk Okarma, K. Schmidt: ''Ryś.'' Wydawnictwo H2O, Kraków 2013 * Henryk Okarma: Wydawnictwo H2O, Kraków 2015 * Henryk Okarma, Sven Herzog: Kosmos-Verlag, Stuttgart 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okarma, Henryk 1959 births Living people Academic staff of Jagiellonian University Academic staff of the University of Warsaw Members of the Polish Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the Polish Academy of Sciences Jagiellonian University alumni Polish biologists