Animals can enter the territory of the Bilohorshcha neighbourhood in search of food.
Elk can be seen near the Belogorshche Peatland landscape reserve in Lviv. Ihor Antakhovych, director of the Lviv City Children’s Ecology and Nature Centre, told Your City that these are migratory elk that come to the territory to feed.
“Elks are protected, hunting is prohibited. So now they have become bolder, they can approach human dwellings. But in terms of food, they are not interested in human dwellings,” said Antahovych.
According to him, animals can accidentally come to places where people live while searching for food. For example, to a garden where there are vegetables left: it is easier for an animal to eat 4 pumpkins than to search for many branches of conifers, which are its main food.
“It is safe, not aggressive. People should not be afraid of it. However, it is not worth making contact – it is still a wild animal. It can be frightened by any careless movement and may inadvertently cause injuries,” said the centre’s director.
The Department of Forestry and Hunting Protection told Your City that there are currently 145 elk in Lviv Oblast. They can be found in Radekhiv, Sokal, Yavoriv, Rava-Ruska, and Stryi districts. Most of them are in Yavoriv district, near the landfill – 43 individuals.