Feldhamster baby boom in the Leipzig zoo: excitement for lively offspring!

Feldhamster baby boom in the Leipzig zoo: excitement for lively offspring!

in the Leipzig zoo, things are currently going well - and that's not just due to the elephants and tigers! There is also a lot of excitement about the small field hamsters who cheerfully produce offspring in the breeding station of the zoo. The zookeepers Vivien and Tina are in the process of preparing the hamster babies for the move to their new home. The first throw of the year is developing extremely splendidly, and the small rodents are already very independent, but are still looking for the proximity of their mom.

Before the big move, however, there are still a few preparations: First, the gender of each hamster must be checked. In the first count, however, a small hamster girl is missing - only five out of six is found. But after a thorough search, the nurses discover the missing animal in a cozy corner under the straw. The little hamster is weighed and classified as relatively heavy for his age. Finally, all six siblings-two boys and four girls-move into their new home in the zoo, while the mother hamster can recover.

a trend that gives hope

The breeding of the field hamster is not only a nice sight in the zoo, but is also part of an important species protection project. The stock hamster's stocks in Germany decreased by 99 percent, these small animals are classified worldwide on the Red List of IUCN as threatened with extinction. All the more important are the initiatives such as the pilot project of the Workerative Field Hamster Protection of NABU Saxony, which is operated in cooperation with the Leipzig Zoo, the Bergzoo Halle and the Berlin Zoo. From 2024 you will start the offspring of Feldhamstern in Germany.

The first release in 2024 was a complete success: 71 Feldhamster could be released back to freedom. In 2025, the release is expected almost three times as many hamsters, which gives hope for the future of kind. In May of the current year, 15 other field hamsters were successfully released.

together strong for the Feldhamster

But the breeders and the zoos alone are not important. Local farmers play a crucial role in the restoration of sustainable habitats for the field hamster. You have to manage your areas "field hamster -friendly" to support the release. These include cultivation methods such as the cultivation of various cultures in stripes or creating flower strips. The absence of harmful pesticides is also of great importance.

The goal is clear: to create additional protected habitats and to expand the hamster -friendly fields that are currently growing to 55 hectares. These areas are secured with electrical fences against predators such as foxes and are regularly monitored. In the long term, however, it must also be ensured that the new field hamster areas are connected by corridors in order to maximize the exchange between the populations.

Overall, the commitment in the Leipzig Zoo and the cooperation with farmers show: If everyone works together, we can not only save the little field hamsters, but also make a whole way to bloom.

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OrtLeipzig, Deutschland
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