On the territory of Ukraine is located one of a kind deer farm "Lipcha". Not far from Khust there is a small village where a farm was organized on the basis of the former Michurin collective farm, where sika deer are bred. What kind of animals are these and how they got to Transcarpathia, we will consider in this article.
Description of the animal and its natural habitat
Sika deer are graceful animals, whose homeland is the eastern part of Russia. Broad-leaved forests spread in this region. Oaks are the most common trees in these places. In winter, deer eat acorns, looking for them under the snow layer. In the summer, their diet consists of all kinds of herbs, as well as foliage of shrubs and low trees.
Since sika deer live in the Far East, they often go to the sea coast. Here they do not disdain to eat seaweed, crabs or fish that were washed ashore during the surf.
Animals have a slim and graceful physique. Females are significantly inferior in size to males, whose body can reach 2 m in length. The weight of an adult exceeds 130 kg. Sika deer have branched horns. Color changes depending on the season. In summer it is spotted, in winter it is monophonic.
This is a species of deer, which in the natural environment lives exclusively in the Primorsky Territory, where their number is not more than 1000 animals. Animals often become prey for wolves. Such cases most often occur in the spring, when after wintering the body is weakened and the deer is not able to quickly escape from the predator. Fawns are attacked by bears, tigers, lynxes, foxes and raccoon dogs.
Deer Farm "Lipcha"
The farm occupies about 57 hectares. This is a protected part of the forest that is under protection. It is here that the Manchu sika deer live. The first individuals were brought here in 1987, but in the early 2000s, these animals were on the verge of death. In 2003, the deer farm "Agromria" received a "new breath". Now there are 140-150 sika deer.
In summer, animals prefer to go to the forest, eating natural food for them, but in winter they have to be taken care of. To feed a large herd, farming needs to stock up 15 tons of feed and 10 tons of hay.
What is deer bred for?
A deer farm exists not only with funds received from visitors. Deer breeding is quite profitable. Every year, farmers cut off antlers (young horns) and hand them over to pharmacists. In the future, they are used to prepare the medicine - Pantocrine.
This drug is used for the general strengthening of the immune system, with neurosthenia, neurosis, anemia, to normalize the digestive and metabolic processes.
Antlers grow in deer very quickly. During the day, they can increase by a couple of centimeters. It will take some months, and they will again be ready for cutting.
