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The Reintroduction of Red Deer in Studen Kladenets Reserve Goes Successfully
The team of New Thracian Gold (NTG) monitors with photo traps the released into the wild Red Deer in Hunting Reserve "Studen Kladenets" (Eastern Rhodopes). The young male deer on the picture has been seen repeatedly on this photo trap during the last two weeks.
In 2012, fifteen Red Deer were translocated to "Studen Kladenets". After getting acclimatized in a fenced area the animals were released into the wild. Today they inhabit the territory of the Hunting reserve and the hunting guards and NTG experts monitor their migrations. We expect an additional 15 animals to be translocated to Studen kladenets in the autumn of 2013. Introducing a few groups in successive years is a good procedure to establish a viable Red Deer population.
New Thracian Gold project works jointly with the and National Hunting and Fishing Association - Union of Hunters and Anglers in Bulgaria on the reintroduction of the Red Deer population in the Eastern Rhodopes. The aim of this reintroduction project is to have a new population of at least 50 free-living red deer within ten years time in this part of the Eastern Rhodopes.
The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is one of the largest deer species. It inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of Western Asia, and Central Asia and Atlas Mountains in Africa. The Red Deer is one of the characteristic wild animals to be found on paintings in ancient Thracian tombs. Unfortunately, in recent times it got almost exterminated in our region as a result of poaching. Only a few dozen Deer managed to escape extermination in border areas of Eastern and Western Rhodope Mountains and in the state hunting reserve Zhenda.
See here more about the NTG effort on the reintroduction of the Red Deer: http://newthraciangold.eu/cmspage.php?lng=en&id=183
