Wildlife in Ukraine

[facetrock]

   I have been to Ukraine 3 times. I never noticed much for birds there other than English Sparrows which I think now are worldwide and pigeons. There were also billions of crows or ravens. I seen one rabbit but no squirels, not even in parks with alot of trees. I went on a bus trip way out in the countryside to a church and on the way there I hardly saw a bird. Living in Western Wisconsin I am used to seeing wildlife daily. Whats the deal?
One more thing do they have poisonous snakes there?

[Daveman]

Have no clue about poisonous snakes but I have seen squirrels all over Crimea and in parks in Kharkiv. They look very funky actually. Wild hairdo's.  They have this long hair coming off their ears that make them look like some mutant punk rock devotees.   

i haven't seen a rabbit there. Now, I don't know whether true or not, but I've heard stories that the wildlife situation up near Chernobyl (of course without the intrusion of people in the area for obvious reasons) has flourished well beyond what anyone thought would be possible.   

[JR]

Yeah, except that the one up that way really are "mutant punk rock squirrels"

[GoodOlBoy]

I have seen squirrels all over Crimea and in parks in Kharkiv. They look very funky actually. Wild hairdo's.  They have this long hair coming off their ears that make them look like some mutant punk rock devotees.   

Yeah Daveman.

I saw them in the Omsk forest also.

They looked like this:


GOB

[Daveman]

HAHAHA GOB,

Yep, that's them!  I think they all were a little too close to Chernobyl... Man they look weird. 

[OlgaH]

Yeah Daveman.

I saw them in the Omsk forest also.

They looked like this:


GOB

That is Sciurus vulgaris Eurasian red squirrel   

[Sculpto]

these squirrels live next door to me 

[facetrock]

   Olga are there poisonous snakes in Ukraine......I would rather face two dozen GCGs than a poisonous snake. I really dont like snakes

[Sculpto]

hmmm didn't appear last time.. here are my neighbors.. I hope..

[Mir]

I seen one rabbit but no squirels, not even in parks with alot of trees.

Are you sure? Red squirrels are everywhere in the parks.
Yes wild rabbits are rather rare.

[OlgaH]

   Olga are there poisonous snakes in Ukraine......I would rather face two dozen GCGs than a poisonous snake. I really dont like snakes

Vipera nikolskii (Gadyuka Nikolskogo)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_nikolskii

Vipera ursini (Styepnaya Gadyuka)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_ursinii


Other snakes
Coronella (Medyanka), but in Russia and Ukraine only Coronella austriaca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronella

Coluber caspius (zheltobryuhy poloz)


Grass Snake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_Snake

I love snakes, but with venomous snakes of course you should be very careful. My Robert was in shock when I was showing him photos of cottonmouth that I took in our ditch, the snake was just two feet from me and she was about 3 feet long

[Sculpto]

http://www.nature.org.ua/nr98/englv/pressure/fauna/index.htm

[Shadow]

Wildlife in UUkraine might be more used to man as predator, and there for be a bit more shy.

[Sculpto]

its a really good point Shadow.. according to some other sites I was looking at there are supposedly still wolves in Ukraine.. but it would appear they are pretty good at hiding..

[Ooooops]

May be because "whatever moves can be turned into "salo"?   

[GoodBrew]

facetrock,

I noticed the same thing my first trip to Ukraine on the drive from Kiev to Sumy.  Four plus hours drive through the wheat fields and it seemed like nothing was moving other than a few birds.  No roadkill either. 

Now, I don't know whether true or not, but I've heard stories that the wildlife situation up near Chernobyl (of course without the intrusion of people in the area for obvious reasons) has flourished well beyond what anyone thought would be possible.   

<Excerpt>

Chernobyl Area Becomes Wildlife Haven

By DOUGLAS BIRCH
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 7, 2007; 6:45 PM

PARISHEV, Ukraine -- Two decades after an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant sent clouds of radioactive particles drifting over the fields near her home, Maria Urupa says the wilderness is encroaching. Packs of wolves have eaten two of her dogs, the 73-year-old says, and wild boar trample through her cornfield. And she says fox, rabbits and snakes infest the meadows near her tumbledown cottage.

"I've seen a lot of wild animals here," says Urupa, one of about 300 mostly elderly residents who insist on living in Chernobyl's contaminated evacuation zone.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060701315.html

[GoodOlBoy]

GOB personally enjoyed this article years ago about Chernobyl:

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chapter1.html

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chapter2.html

There is a total of 27 chapters with A LOT of stark reality photos of what the aftermath of a nuclear disaster looks like!

Good news for KIEV that the "wind" was blowing North that night!

Bad news for everybody else.  :evil:


GOB

[GoodBrew]

Skip to about the 5:30 mark for a brief discussion of post-Chernobyl wildlife in the irradiated zone.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A62au7Avq1E[/youtube]

[Kuna]

I've seen squirrels in Globy Park in Dnepr but the most common wildlife is commonly known as "The Devushka".

I found this on "Kuna-Wiki" recently...  

The devushka is a mysterious beast often sought as a trophy by aging and unrealistic western men.  She is perhaps the greatest prize for men who've lost all faith in women from their own hometowns.

The Devushka can be divided into three distinct genus, the blonde, the brunette and the less common redhead.  All are prone to wearing very high heels and short skirts when young, though as they mature they will often seek out more practical attire.  

No matter their age, it's rare to see one outside of the house without makeup, even though many are incredibly beautiful even without the 45 - 90 minutes preparation required before venturing outdoors.

The Devushka has been known to be dangerous at times, especially when her beauty, poise, domestic prowess and sometimes flirty behaviour is mistaken as her only qualities. The Devushka is also often highly intelligent, fiercely determined and at times prone to stubborn behaviour.  

The best advice to less experienced handlers is to proceed with extreme caution.

Comprehensive genus catalogues can be found at:

http://bride.ru
http://freepersonals.ru
and
http://elenasmodels.com

[Boethius]

Shadow is right, wildlife mostly avoids large industrial centres.  But if you've been in the forests, you will see a wide variety of wildlife in Ukraine.  Deer, because it was forbidden to hunt them, wild boars all over (they are hunted because of the damage they cause to crops), moose, fox, rabbits and yes, wolves, mostly now around Chernobyl' because there are no people there. 

There are also many types of birds.  Owls, nightingales, eagles (mostly in Southern Ukraine and the Crimea), storks, turtle doves, swans, ducks, geese.

[ECOCKS]

Over the last few years, the hunting activities I have heard of involved deer, wolves and boar/pigs. Birds seem more scarce than I would have expected in a city with so many parks and statues and like someone commented earlier there is less roadkill although there are also fewer cars and household pets per capita.

[OlgaH]

Hunting in Ukraine

http://www.safari.kiev.ua/about_hunting.html

[Sculpto]

ummm..

[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1O4CdPTKapU&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1O4CdPTKapU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

[aikorob]

http://englishrussia.com/?p=2869#more-2869


I ain't going in the water!

[Missouri-Hunter]

I'd have thought they'd have European Starlings everywhere, because we have a huge population of them over here. (I think they were first introduced here in the 1800s). I shoot them every chance I get though.