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Protect field hamsters: Breeding station to save rodents from extinction

2022-06-22T14:35:54.358Z


European hamsters are threatened with extinction throughout Europe. Leipzig Zoo has now opened a breeding station to save the rodents.


European hamsters are threatened with extinction throughout Europe.

Leipzig Zoo has now opened a breeding station to save the rodents.

Leipzig – The European hamster is one of the animal species threatened with extinction – not only in Germany, but throughout Europe.

The rodents have been on the international Red List of the World Conservation Union IUCN since 2020.

In some federal states, the field hamster has almost completely disappeared in the wild, including in Saxony.

In order to save the native species, the Leipzig Zoo and the Saxon Ministry of the Environment have opened a new breeding station.

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Hamsters are threatened with extinction.

© Leipzig Zoo

Protect field hamsters: Breeding station to save rodents from extinction

To protect the European hamster, there are already a number of projects by the federal government and nature conservation organizations to improve the population of wild animals in Germany.

With its new breeding station, Zoo Leipzig also wants to help save the endangered field hamster in Saxony.

The zoo has been running the breeding station since April in order to preserve the gene pool for future release projects.

Now the “Noah's Ark” has officially been put into operation.

"We have to act, otherwise the hamster will die out.

The population in Saxony is already below the detection limit,” emphasizes zoo director Jörg Junhold.

"As a cultural successor and steppe dweller, the field hamster is closely linked to agriculture.

Whereas it used to be found on almost every field, today it has largely disappeared due to the way it is farmed,” explains State Secretary Gerd Lippold.

Extreme weather events and long periods of drought are other reasons why habitats are changing and animals can no longer adapt to the ecosystem.

Protect field hamsters: 40 animals from Thuringia have already moved in

The first 40 hamsters have already moved into their new home after going through a period of quarantine and a health check.

The animals come from Thuringia, but in future rodents from all over central Germany can be taken in.

In order to research the gene pool of the formerly connected Central German hamster population and to be able to secure it in the long term, the team at the breeding station carries out genetic analyses.

The aim is to set up a scientifically managed studbook in order to preserve the hamster population as best as possible.

Protect field hamsters: the enclosure system provides space and peace

In the coming years, the first offspring are to be released into the wild.

Therefore, the matings at Leipzig Zoo have already begun.

A sophisticated enclosure system that connects several areas with tubes ensures that the rodents have enough space and rest.

Because hamsters are loners.

“We do everything so that the hamsters can settle in well and reproduce successfully.

It's about nothing less than preserving their species, otherwise a piece of biodiversity will disappear again," emphasize Gerd Lippold and Jörg Junhold.

List of rubrics: © Zoo Leipzig

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2022-06-22

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