It's an agonizing death that can drag on for weeks, ”says Viktor Hawrylenko.

The director of the legendary Askania Nowa steppe reserve stands in front of the crooked body of a dead crane.

Today for the ninth time.

Also this spring around 20,000 of the large birds were migrating north here, in the south of Ukraine, when they ingested the poison.

“Look, some are landing there.

But how!

No healthy crane lands like this. "

Gerhard Gnauck

Political correspondent for Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania based in Warsaw.

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    Hawrylenko and his numerous employees have picked up 800 dead cranes and some birds of prey in Askania and the surrounding area since January.

    Soon they suspected poisoned grains of grain used by farmers in the area to fight field mice.

    In March, according to the zoologist, laboratory evidence was obtained that the cranes had died of the poison (active ingredient Brodifacoum), which is apparently produced in China and approved in Ukraine.

    It is hoped that the substance will be banned and 25 criminal proceedings have been initiated.

    The "granary of Europe"

    In Ukraine, once known as the “granary of Europe”, agriculture is currently experiencing an upswing after the turmoil after the fall of the Wall. That makes it particularly difficult to take action against large agrarians, says Hawrylenko. His interests are different from her: Askania Nowa is the oldest steppe reserve in the world and the largest in Europe, as well as a biosphere reserve and the seat of a research institute. The cranes spend the night on the damp meadows of Askania, in the surrounding area they fetch food. Spring, with its lush greenery not yet scorched by the steppe sun, is the best time to visit this area. There is a hotel and a new Orthodox church with golden domes in the village.

    Fortunately, Hawrylenko can tell of other things than dead birds. On the car ride through the seemingly endless open-air enclosures, which cover around 23 square kilometers, a troop of saiga antelopes clatter past, then zebras, then a herd of mouflons. The American bison have also had young that still cling very closely to the mother animals. If you book the “photo safari” in Askania for the equivalent of just under eight euros, you will see these and many other animals in the open-air enclosures in two hours.

    A botanical garden is also part of the park. At its heart, however, are the stables and aviaries, which are mainly used in winter and can be visited on foot like a zoo. “Animal breeding is our salvation,” says Hawrylenko. “That way we can sell a lot of specimens to zoological gardens. Since 2014, the state has only paid our employees' salaries, electricity and medication for sick animals. "

    Among other things, the Przewalski horse is bred here. This tough Eurasian wild horse was almost extinct in the middle of the 20th century, but could be saved, mainly thanks to Askania Nowa. Most recently, horses of this type were settled in the wasteland around the Chernobyl reactor ruins. The saiga, an antelope with a trunk-like nose, was also at risk. "For three years now, China has been funding saiga breeding in three locations in the Ukraine," reports the director. Apparently the Chinese wanted to increase their own antelope populations in this way in the future. You can tell by looking at Hawrylenko that he would like to work more closely with partners abroad. But with the tight budget, trips abroad are not possible.