Pleasing breeding success: Feldhamster return to northern Saxony!

Pleasing breeding success: Feldhamster return to northern Saxony!

In May 2025, the second year of release of an important species protection project began to save the field hamster threatened by extinction. A total of 179 field hamsters were successfully released on two specifically selected fields in northern Saxony. This project, which is carried out by the Leipzig Zoo in cooperation with the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology (L fulg) and the district office in North Saxony, already shows the first successes: The first young animals could be spotted in the fields with the help of wild cameras.

The zoo -owned station of the Leipzig breeding station has so far reported 9 throws with a total of 15 healthy young animals. Although the nests are only opened after two to three weeks so as not to disturb the mother animal, a comprehensive analysis of throwing size, gender ratio and health check is carried out. Project manager Thomas Liebenstein expressed the hope that the number of young animals will continue to increase in the coming weeks.

European funding for species protection

From October 1, 2025, the Feldhamster Protection Project Life4hamstersaxony will receive financial support from the European Union. The total volume of the project amounts to an impressive 12.2 million euros, of which 75% are borne by the EU. This funding is particularly important to ensure the long-term stability of the field hamster population in Central Germany and the entire biodiversity of the region. Zoo Director Prof. Jörg Junhold emphasizes the importance of this support for the future of the Feldhamster.

The project application was submitted in autumn 2024 and benefited from the excellent cooperation between the working group for cooperative field hamster protection, which has existed since 2008. This initiative is crucial for the success of the application and the implementation of the protective measures that benefit both the species and the ecosystem.

public information and transfer

In order to raise awareness of the endangered field hamster and offer further information, there are extensive resources on the website of the LFulG and on the website of the zoos Leipzig and at lanu.de . These platforms offer detailed insights into the state of field hamster population and the importance of species protection measures in Saxony.