Another baby boom in Feldman Ecopark – a couple of bobak marmots, or steppe marmots, have recently gave birth to five kids. According to the veterinarians, the animals’ condition is fine. The newborns stay with their mother in a hole made of hay and straw, which is situated in the exposition enclosure for rodents. They appear from their ‘shelter’ rarely, but soon, when the kids grow up a little, the visitors will have a chance to look at the family’s fuss and bother.
“Little bobak marmots are born bare, blind and completely depend on their mother, whose milk they eat for almost six months, even after they start eating vegetables. But even grown-up children in the wild often live with their parents creating a big colony family. Now, the animal collection of Feldman Ecopark also has this family. It is especially pleasant considering that bobak marmots breed rarely in captivity,” the specialists tell.
It should be noted that the bobak marmot is the largest marmot among its congeners and one of the largest rodents in the world. Its natural habitat is in flat grass and forb steppes of Eurasia. In the past, it was widely spread from the Irtysh to the Danube, however, due to human activity during the recent 200 years, its natural habitat reduced significantly. In Ukraine, bobak marmots may be found in the isolated areas of Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts; and the animals need protection. Some countries have the special reintroduction programmes for the steppe marmots, which completely disappeared from the local ecosystem.
It should be reminded that the animal collection of Feldman Ecopark includes more than 2,000 animals of nearly 300 species, many of them are in the IUCN Red List.
It should be also reminded that the World Open Foundation for Animal Rehabilitation and Reintroduction (WOFARR) started its work in Ukraine. It is a global animal protection project in our country, which is implemented in the Social and Humanitarian Multi-Complex Feldman Ecopark. The Foundation’s national programmes include the projects aimed at the restoration of the Ukrainian Red Book species population, the rescue of bats, the reintroduction of rare animals in Ukraine. Among the international programmes carried out by the Foundation, there are the projects aimed at the preservation of the animal world of the rainforest, the protection of island and wetland animals, the preservation of rare animals in Eurasia, the reintroduction of rare animals in Europe and so on.
