The Bryansk Forest Reserve has launched a project aimed at reviving the population of the speckled ground squirrel, which is listed in the Red Book of Russia.

Aleksander Nikitenkov, Director of the reserve, stated that after the successful recovery of the brown bear and bison populations, the reserve is ready to take up the task of returning the speckled ground squirrel to its historical habitat. This is reported by the official website of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The first step was the relocation of one hundred individuals from the only surviving wild population in the Lipetsk region to the territory of the reserve.

Zoologists will carefully monitor the development of the population. If successful, the experience will be scaled up to other regions of Central Russia where these animals used to live.