Enclosures with swimming pools for wild animals will appear in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve

June 21, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Enclosures with pools for animals and birds will appear in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve by the end of the current year. The reserve has begun implementing the project "Expansion of enclosures for keeping wild animals in the village of Domzheritsy," Viktor Moskalev, deputy director of the specially protected natural area, told a BELTA correspondent. The new enclosures will be located on an area of 12 hectares, while the area of the old ones does not exceed 1 hectare. It is expected that 15 species of animals and birds inhabiting the reserve will be presented here - from wild boars and foxes to bears and lynxes. Designers have taken care to ensure that the animals have enough space in the new enclosures, and even provided pools for those who enjoy water procedures. The territory of the enclosures, from which the ecological trail, familiar to many tourists who have visited the reserve, begins, will be modernly landscaped. The project has undergone an environmental assessment, and the work itself will be carried out with minimal interference in nature, as it is a specially protected area, emphasized Viktor Moskalev. Construction is planned to be completed by the end of the current year. Its total cost is over Br4 billion. The Berezinsky State Reserve is included in the world network of biosphere reserves within the framework of UNESCO's international program "Man and the Biosphere" and is a member of the Federation of Nature and National Parks of Europe, and is included in the List of European Key Ornithological and Botanical Territories. The rich flora of the reserve includes about 800 species of higher vascular plants, 216 species of mosses, 317 species of algae, 463 species of fungi, and 238 species of lichens. 56 species of mammals have been recorded here, including the European bison, brown bear, lynx, badger, and otter. All European predators are represented. The avifauna of the reserve includes 230 species of birds. The animal world is complemented by 34 species of fish, 11 species of amphibians, 5 species of reptiles, and over 4,000 species of invertebrates, of which more than 3,000 are insects. The Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve is one of the few protected natural areas in Central and Eastern Europe with such exceptionally high ecological value.-0-