According to scientists, planet Earth is the only place in the universe on which life exists. Since it has a large area, the living creatures occupy their niches in nature. And, of course, they are looking for places where they will be most comfortable. So, Ukraine has rich flora and fauna. About animals whose range affects the territory of this country, read the article.
Few numbers
Ukraine is a country in which you can meet animals of 28 thousand species. More than six hundred species, or rather 690, are vertebrate creatures. These include mammals, whose number is measured by 100 species, birds (350 species of them in Ukraine), reptiles (there are more than 20 of them). Amphibians are only 19 species out of 28 thousand, fish - 90 species of marine and 110 freshwater.
As for insects and simple organisms, their group is the largest. The arachnid class is a rather large group, which includes more than 3300 species. Other insects make up 20, 000 species. The simplest in Ukraine, one and a half thousand, and worms - seven hundred species.
The most common animals in Ukraine
As mentioned earlier, the animals of Ukraine are a very large group. What species are most common in this country? So, there are many predators. These include representatives of the wolf family, foxes, martens, lynxes. Other animals of Ukraine are artiodactyls. Their group is formed by moose and wild boars, roe deer and mouflon. Wild sheep have the same name. Rodents that are common in this country are gophers, jerboas, hamsters and field mice.
The animals of Ukraine are not only predators and artiodactyls. In this country, a large number of fish, such as pike, carps, perches, breams, are found. And the birds common here are owls and partridges, gulls and black grouse. Thus, the fauna of Ukraine is very diverse, and in the country you can meet representatives of many species of the animal world.
A large number of dangerous creatures live on the territory of this state. Some of them are poisonous, while others are also very small. These include vipers, tarantulas and karakurt, as well as scolopendra. Thus, not all animals of Ukraine are “cute” and “fluffy”. A description of all of them can take a very long time, so it will not be presented in this article. However, people who are going to visit the forests and mountains of Ukraine, it is important to study all the dangers that may lie in wait for them.
Classification of animals by natural zones
The animals of Ukraine are a rather large group. Their resettlement depends on the nature zone in which they are distributed. So, what animals of Ukraine live in different places of this country?
- In Polesie, you can often find wild boars, martens, wolves, roe deers and foxes. Previously, even brown bears lived here, but now their range has moved to the most remote areas. Beavers, otters and minks are a valuable fur resource. These animals can also be found in Polesie. Dangerous snakes such as vipers are found in this natural area along with nimble lizards and pond frogs.
- In the forest-steppe region, where forest and steppe animal species are adjacent. These include field mice, field voles, dormouse and roe deer, as well as ferrets, hamsters and mole rats.
- In the steppes, rodents, for example jerboas and gophers, as well as himranchik, are most often found. Birds that typically inhabit the steppe zones rarely live in the Ukrainian steppes. These include bustard, crane, stone eagle, as well as strep.
- Representatives of the fauna such as the mountain ferret and snow vole live and breed in the Carpathians. Lynxes, hazel grouse, black grouse and capercaillie are found in the mountain forest zone. Roe deer, martens, squirrels, wild boars, hawks, golden eagles and foxes - all these animals live in any region of the Carpathian mountains. Even the rarest wild cat lives here.
Symbols of Ukraine
It is known that almost every state has its own symbols. Very often these are any animals or plants. In Russia it is a bear, and in France, for example, a rooster. Most often, the appearance of an animal symbol in a country is due to the fact that this creature is often mentioned in folk traditions, tales and legends.
Ukraine has no animal symbol. Even after the popular elections of mascot animals, the inhabitants of the country did not come to a consensus. The fact is that theoretically the symbol of this state can be a horse or a round, a cuckoo or a crane, a stork or a nightingale, a swallow or a whist.
All these animal symbols of Ukraine are found in the works of folklore of this country. However, with the same success, fairy tales and songs composed by Ukrainians mention wolves and bears, hens and hares. One state cannot possess several animal symbols. At the same time, not all of these representatives are generally recognized, but this is a prerequisite for choosing a country symbol.
The best option is the falcon of the Rurikovich. From ancient times it was depicted on the state emblem in a schematic form. Currently, he has transformed into a trident.
Problems of the fauna of Ukraine
Currently, people are developing technology, creating new devices and machines. Due to stormy activity, people destroy the natural habitat of many animals, so their populations begin to decline, and species - to disappear. In Ukraine, a large number of fauna representatives are registered, which are listed in the Red Book.
History of the Red Book of Ukraine
The Ukrainian Red Book is an official document. On its pages you can find materials about all animals and plants that are on the verge of extinction, are also very rare and almost never occur in the wild. Working with this document, scientists are developing measures used to conserve populations of many organisms.
What is the story of the Red Book? Some plants and animals of Ukraine first got into it in 1980. Then the document was published in one volume. However, fourteen years later, the Red Book appeared in two parts. One of them was devoted to the animal kingdom, and the other to the vegetable one. The circulation of both volumes was about seven and a half thousand copies.
The latest edition, which went out of print in 2009, included almost 550 species of animals, more precisely 542, and 826 species of mushrooms and plants.
What animals are in the Red Book of Ukraine?
In Ukraine there is a huge number of animals that have been listed in the Red Book. All of them are included in different categories. Each of them indicates a certain degree of danger. For example, endangered are those animals that are about to disappear from the face of the Earth. The restored ones were once on the verge of extinction, but now their situation is improving.
Animals listed in the Red Book of Ukraine are rodents, predators, and bats, for example, an ordinary henchman, an ermine, and a small supper. Their groups make up most of the list. Less species of artiodactyls and artiodactyls, insectivores and pinnipeds, cetaceans and hares, such as bison, hares and azovka, are in danger.
