Результати реінтродукції степового бабака (Marmota bobak Mull. 1776 (Rodentia, Sciuridae)) у південних районах правобережної України

Abstract

This paper analyses marmot ( Marmota bobak Mull.) reintroduction field study, taking place in the Ukrainian steppe, where this species lived in a wild in the past. In most cases, the attempts to reintroduce marmots were unsuccessful in different regions of Ukraine, including Odessa, Mykolayiv, and Vinnytsia regions. Here we present the data regarding the marmot introduction in Odessa, Mykolayiv, and Vinnytsia regions of Ukraine. The works on the migration of a marmot were analyzed. Family areas of the steppe marmot were marked on the maps using the GPS navigator. Also, publications on this topic were analyzed and included in this paper. In the period from 1986 to 2005 303 individuals were brought to the Odessa region, which were released in 6 districts. At the time of the researching marmots were preserved only in the Lyubashevsky district in three parts of the steppe. Settlement of steppe marmot marked south of s.Ivanovka (9 families). Another colony formed on the steep slopes opposite the village. Yanishevka (10 families). Also, animals are found along the ravine-beam system of the town of Kodyma between the villages of Stepanovka and Antonovka (more than 20 families). Within 24 years from 1978 to 2002, 376 individuals were resettled in three waves in the territory of the Nikolaev region. During researching only one marmot colony was found. Family plots are also located on the right bank of the r. Kodyma, 10 km from the Odessa region, on a slope 100 m wide between the villages of Krivoe Ozero and Syrovo. Marmot settled almost all suitable places and settled on economic gardens. The colony has 15 family sites. Repeated releases of marmots in the Vinnitsa region also did not give a positive result. At the present time there are several families in the gully system north of the village Murovani kurylivtsy. We consider the individual causes of failures in the settlement of marmots. The proposed measures for the protection and rational use of the marmot population in Ukraine.