Scattering of magnons by a two-dimensional topological Belavin–Polyakov soliton in an isotropic ferromagnet is studied analytically. It is shown that the problem of spin wave scattering by a soliton with an arbitrary value of the topological charge &ngr; can be analyzed completely in the longwave limit. General principles of the soliton–magnon interaction are studied, especially the relation between scattering and the behavior of the mode as the magnon wave vectorkapproaches zero. It is found that the scattering intensity has its maximum value for partial waves with the azimuthal numberm=0,±1,±2(m=&ngr;−1).Although the mode with the maximum scattering always passes to a local mode fork→0according to the general law, this fact is not crucial for the scattering intensity. In particular, the scattering intensity is stronger for a partial wave withm=−1for&ngr;=1(there is no local mode fork→0)than for a partial wave withm=+1(a local mode exists fork→0).©1998 American Institute of Physics.