ANALYSIS OF THE HUNTING THERIOFAUNA OF THE KHUST FOREST RESEARCH FARM, VELIKOBYCHKIV AND DOVZHAN FOREST RESEARCH FARMS

Abstract

The forests of Zakarpattia Oblast are unique for Ukraine. Productive and very valuable forest ecosystems grow here, and animals of various species, including hunting species, live here. There are quite a lot of scientific publications on the hunting fauna of the Zakarpattia region. However, there are few modern analytical materials and there is a need for them.
In this article, we present the data for the species composition of hunting animals of the Velikobychkiv and Dovzhan forest hunting farms and the Khust forest research farm. The information was collected during 2021–2022. The species diversity of fur animals of the Red Book of Ukraine (2021) was analyzed. It was established that the brown bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758), the wildcat (Felis silvestris Linnaeus, 1777), the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx Linnaeus, 1758), the European otter (Lutra lutra Linnaeus, 1758), the European polecat (Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758), live permanently on the studied objects. These species require additional research and any materials on their distribution and population size are always very valuable.
We collected the materials for this article by processing statistical databases and Internet resources. The records were carried out by the questionnaire and survey method, by the noise run method, at the places of winter feeding, on the routes, by prints and traces of vital activity. A comparative analysis of hunting theriofauna was conducted for three objects of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" in the Zakarpattia region. It was established that the region is characterized by a slightly higher representation of ungulates and fur-bearing mammals. It was established that the region is characterized by a slightly higher representation of ungulates and fur-bearing mammals. The species diversity of ungulates in all studied farms is the same and is represented by three hunting species: red deer (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus Linnaeus, 1758), wild boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758). Another four species, which are characteristic of Zakarpattia Oblast, do not occur here. These are fallow deer (Dama dama Linnaeus, 1758), mouflon (Ovis orientalis musimon Pallas, 1811), sika deer (Cervus nippon Temminck, 1838), European bison (Bos bonasus Linnaeus, 1758).
The diversity of fur animals does not differ significantly by farm: the largest number of species is found in the territory of the Velikobychkiv forest hunting farm (13 species), the smallest - in the Dovzhansky forest hunting farm (11 species). 12 species are common in the Khust forestry research farm. The region is characterized by the presence of 19 types of fur animals from the "hunting" category.
In total, in 2021–2022, 16 species of hunting animals were registered on the territory of three farms, including species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine (2021).
Therefore, only 62 % of species from the “hunting” category inhabiting the Zakarpattia region are typical in the studied area. However, it is very valuable that such valuable species as brown bear, lynx, forest cat, and river otter live here. Considering this, this area has a high value as a location where endangered species can be preserved.