The crucial role of wild animals in wetland ecosystems and the services they provide

A family of three European hamsters was released into the wild in the protected Tarutino steppe in the south of Odesa oblast as part of the cooperation of the Kyiv Zoo, Rewilding Ukraine, and the Tarutino steppe nature and ethnographic park. Hamsters, along with other herbivores reintroduced to the region through rewilding efforts, should restore food chains and enrich the steppe fauna.

The arrival of 20 more kulan on the Tarutino Steppe is part of a long-term reintroduction programme. The animals will fill an important ecological niche and enhance biodiversity.

3 red deers and 3 fallow deers settled on the Ermakiv island in the Danube Biosphere Reserve as part of the partnership between Rewilding Ukraine and Feldman Ecopark. Animals will complement the natural grazing on the island and promote eco-tourism in the region.

A group of steppe marmots, translocated to the Tarutino Steppe in 2020, are acclimatising well to their new home. Their release into the wild, which is part of a long-term reintroduction programme, is helping to create a more ecologically complex steppe environment.

An ongoing eagle owl reintroduction programme has just seen three juvenile birds released in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta. As part of scaled-up rewilding efforts in the delta, the programme should boost trophic complexity and reestablish a viable local population of the species.

As part of a vision for a wilder Danube Delta, a herd of 20 kulan were translocated yesterday to the Tarutino Steppe in Ukraine. Their eventual release into the wild will enhance biodiversity, reduce wildfire risk and boost nature-based tourism.