Leipzig Zoo releases 70 field hamsters into the wild for the first time

Two years after the start of a breeding program, Leipzig Zoo plans to release 70 field hamsters into the wild for the first time in May. The first animals from the station came from the Delitzsch area and were to become the starting point for a new Saxon hamster population, explained Zoo Director Jörg Junhold. The project is part of a separate conservation strategy for the endangered field hamsters, which was presented on Friday.

The breeding project at Leipzig Zoo was developed in collaboration with the "Cooperative Field Hamster Conservation in the Free State of Saxony" working group, regional farmers and the Free State of Saxony. The program is to be continued over the next few years, said Environment Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens).

In May, some of the young animals are to be moved to a 30-hectare field in northern Saxony. The area will be enclosed by an electric fence to provide protection from predators. The field has already been planted with hamster-friendly vegetation for several years and is not used by farmers. In addition, the field hamsters are given pre-drilled, tube-like burrows and a starter ration of food, said Ariel Jacken, senior curator at Leipzig Zoo and supervisor of the breeding project.

All those involved worked closely together to create attractive areas for the future populations of the small mammals. "Neither authorities, associations, zoos nor individual stakeholders can save the European hamster alone. It can only be done together," said Zoo Director Junhold.

In the fall, the first mapping of the model area will be carried out to observe the development of the field hamsters released into the wild.