5 eagle owls have simply been launched within the Danube Delta rewilding panorama in Ukraine, as a part of an ongoing reintroduction programme. The releases signify a major step ahead within the programme, which goals to re-establish a viable inhabitants of the birds within the panorama and improve the general well being of the delta ecosystem.
New releases take flight
5 Eurasian eagle owls have been launched within the Danube Delta rewilding panorama in Ukraine, as a part of an ongoing reintroduction programme supporting the comeback of this iconic and ecologically essential species. That is the most important single-batch launch of eagle owls for the reason that programme kicked off in 2019.
The reintroduction programme, which is overseen by the Rewilding Ukraine workforce and funded by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, follows a optimistic feasibility examine carried out utilizing IUCN pointers. The goal is to re-establish a viable inhabitants of the owls – that are apex predators – within the panorama. Fifteen owls have now been launched by means of the programme, with additional releases within the pipeline. The primary ten birds, all sourced from Odessa Zoo, have been launched between 2019 and 2021.
Oleksandr Kurakin / Rewilding Europe
In direction of a more healthy delta panorama
As keystone predators, eagle owls play an important function sustaining the well being of ecosystems. They’re significantly helpful in controlling rodent populations, which might improve considerably if the owls disappear. Because the variety of eagle owls resident within the Danube Delta grows, the birds will assist to regulate the realm’s burgeoning inhabitants of rats. This, in flip, will profit most of the different chook species that breed right here, because the rodents eat a lot of their eggs yearly.
Eagle owls maintain cultural significance in Ukraine as they function in most of the nation’s fairy tales. As they grow to be extra widespread within the delta, they need to additionally assist to draw extra guests, benefitting native communities by boosting the realm’s growing nature-based financial system. Regardless of the affect of the continued battle in Ukraine, rewilding efforts within the Danube Delta proceed. This newest launch of eagle owls demonstrates resilience and hope for restoring the area’s biodiversity – and finally attracting worldwide guests – even in these difficult instances.
Whereas Ukraine was as soon as residence to a thriving eagle owl inhabitants, the birds at the moment are restricted to the Polyissa area within the north and Donbass area within the east. Their decline is basically as a result of a pre-1969 eradication marketing campaign, in addition to nest disturbance, the historic use of pesticides, and collisions with energy strains. Within the Danube Delta, the place the species was not often seen previous to the reintroduction programme, these threats are not an element. Eagle owls choose to remain throughout the identical territory, except they’re compelled to go away as a result of meals shortages, or if they’re pushed out by different owls. This makes pure recolonisation of the delta by birds from different elements of Ukraine extremely unlikely.
Journey into the wild
The 5 owls which have simply been launched originated from Limpopo Zoo, situated within the Lviv area within the west of Ukraine. Previous to their launch, they have been moved to Odessa Zoo to adapt to wild situations in a managed setting.
Following their keep at Odessa Zoo, the owls have been transferred to a newly constructed adaptation enclosure close to Vylkove within the Danube Delta, the place they spent a number of weeks acclimatising to the realm.
Oleksandr Kurakin / Rewilding Europe
Protecting monitor
As with earlier releases, the Rewilding Ukraine workforce will monitor the motion and behavior of a few of the just lately launched owls utilizing GPS transmitters. The knowledge gathered will assist to tell future rewilding efforts. Whereas the transmitters fitted to beforehand launched birds have now stopped functioning, the native rewilding workforce stay cautiously optimistic concerning the outlook for the birds within the panorama.
“Folks have reported listening to the owls within the Ukrainian and Romanian elements of the delta,” says Rewilding Ukraine area officer Oleksandr Gaidash. “So we all know for sure that a few of the launched birds have survived and stay within the space. Eagle owls start to breed of their second or third 12 months, so indicators of inhabitants development will hopefully grow to be obvious transferring forwards.”
Invaluable assist
Rewilding Europe’s work in our rewilding landscapes is supported by a variety of extremely valued companions. We’d significantly wish to acknowledge these offering core funding – notably the Ecological Restoration Fund, the Dutch Postcode Lottery, WWF-Netherlands, and Arcadia. Their longstanding assist performs a crucial function in enabling us to ship and scale up rewilding affect.
