Signs to draw drivers' attention to hamsters crossing the road have been erected near Szczebrzeszyn (Lublin Voivodeship). European hamsters are a species that is extremely endangered with extinction. More and more often they die under the wheels of cars.
“Slow down – hamsters!” – such warning signs will be seen by drivers driving on the district road near Szczebrzeszyn. Paweł Łapiński, director of the Lublin Landscape Parks Complex (ZLPK), talked about the details of the initiative.
– We are lucky that in the Lublin Voivodeship there are places where the number of European hamsters is still quite high, so we decided to consider protecting this species – he explained.
Łapiński emphasized that one of the greatest threats to these rodents are roads crossing fields, hence the mortality rate of hamsters in these places is very high. – The simplest way to protect them is to warn drivers that they may encounter a hamster crossing the road somewhere nearby. It is similar with hedgehogs and squirrels, which also fall victim to cars – added the director.
The naturalist also expressed hope that thanks to the new warning signs, there will be fewer collisions and, at the same time, awareness of this issue will increase among drivers.
– This is a big problem because most people see a hamster for the first time when it is dead on the road, as this animal leads a rather secretive lifestyle – Łapiński noted.
“These are the first such signs, perhaps there will be more”
Małgorzata Bielecka, manager of the Zamość branch of ZLPK, said that two new road signs are placed on the section of the district road between Deszkowice and Sąsiadka, near the border of the Szczebrzeszyński Landscape Park. Underneath the exclamation mark there was an inscription: “Slow down, hamsters!”
– These are the first such signs, perhaps there will be more. We'll see what the response will be. The national road between Wielącza and Zamość is also a major threat to hamsters, where we see quite a lot of dead hamsters – explained the expert.
In May and July this year. employees of the Lublin Landscape Park Complex conducted an inventory of these rodents in agricultural fields in the Szczebrzeszyński Landscape Park. – A total of 58 burrows were found. Hamsters are solitary animals; One animal inhabits one burrow, Bielecka added.
European hamster
The European hamster is a species that is extremely endangered with extinction. It is under strict protection in Poland and throughout the European Union. It should not be equated with the domestic hamster, they are separate species. Since the 1980s, the hamster's range in Poland has decreased by 75%. Currently, it is most abundant in the province. Lubelskie, Lesser Poland, Podkarpackie and Świętokrzyskie.
It reaches over 30 cm in length and weighs about 700 g. It has a red back and white spots on the sides. Its unique feature is its dark belly, as most mammals have a lighter underbelly than their back.
European hamster (katansk/wikipedia CC BY 3.0)katansk/wikipedia (CC BY 3.0)
This rodent is an “umbrella” species, i.e. one whose presence ensures the protection of a large group of organisms, contributing to the increase in the biodiversity of the ecosystem.
The most important reasons for the population decline and extinction of the European hamster include: constant perception as a pest, use of plant protection products, industrialization, urbanization, high density of predators in hamster habitats, climate change.
Main photo source: Adobe Stock, facebook.com/parkilubelskie