display
Mainz (dpa / lrs) - Nature conservation experts in Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and France started a joint project on Thursday to save the European hamster, which is threatened with extinction.
With funds of two million euros over three and a half years, hamster burrows are to be recorded with the help of drones and possibilities for conservation breeding and reintroduction are to be scientifically explored.
The Franco-German project Cricetus (protection of the European hamster and biodiversity in the agricultural landscapes of the Upper Rhine) offers for the first time the opportunity to «prevent the disappearance of the hamster by joining forces», said Environment Minister Anne Spiegel (Greens).
The joint project will also provide answers to questions “why species have difficulties developing in natural surroundings”.
As an arable dweller, the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) relies on deep soils in order to build its buildings at a depth of more than a meter, explained the Rhineland-Palatinate Nature and Environment Foundation involved in the project.
However, due to early harvests and then defenseless fields, the hamster has fewer and fewer chances of surviving the threat from foxes and birds of prey.
"As an umbrella type for the field as a habitat, the European hamster is a sad example of the rapid disappearance of diversity in this complex structure."
display
The project is managed by the administration of the French department of Bas-Rhin.
Cricetus participants include experts in Baden Württemberg, the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for the Environment, the Groupe d'Étude et de Protection des Mammifères d'Alsace (GEPMA) and the Alsatian Chamber of Agriculture.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210128-99-207191 / 2