01/06/2026
🦦🌿 Homecoming: Two European Polecats Released in the Lower Dniester National Nature Park
There are moments in nature that can’t be measured by numbers or reports. They’re measured by hope. One of those moments took place on May 31 along the “Whisper of the Floodplain” ecological trail in the Lower Dniester National Nature Park.
Well‑known Odesa region volunteer and wildlife rehabilitator Viktoria Moisieieva arrived at the park with friends. This time, she brought two very special passengers - two young female European polecats (Mustela putorius), a species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.
🦦 Their story began in the south of Odesa region, in the Izmail district.
Last year, the animals were taken from the wild. People tried to tame the young polecats, but fortunately for the animals, the attempt failed. Specialists call such cases “passive poaching” - when wild animals are taken from nature without malicious intent, yet still against natural laws and common sense.
Luckily, the polecat kits were not kept inside a home but in an uninhabited building. That gave them a real chance to return to the wild.
🔬 For rehabilitating wild predators, preserving natural behavior is absolutely crucial.
If the animals had become accustomed to humans, lost their fear, or begun to associate people with food, releasing them back into nature would have been nearly impossible. Such individuals often cannot survive on their own or may end up in conflict situations.
That’s why, once an enclosure became available, Viktoria took in the two young females for rehabilitation.
📹 Video monitoring showed promising results.
The animals:
✅avoided contact with humans;
✅actively built nests and hiding places from hay;
✅displayed strong territorial behavior;
✅reacted sharply to potential danger, including birds of prey;
✅successfully hunted live prey and even cached food.
In other words, they behaved exactly as true wild polecats should.
🌿 The release took place within the Lower Dniester National Nature Park, an area where floodplain forests, dense shrubs, meadows, and wetlands create ideal conditions for this species.
Interestingly, when the transport crate was opened, the animals didn’t rush out. Caution is typical for European polecats - they may spend hours studying new smells, listening to unfamiliar sounds, and only then begin exploring a new territory.
🦦 The European polecat is one of the most fascinating predators of Ukraine’s fauna.
It is mostly nocturnal and hunts rodents, frogs, small birds, and other animals with great skill. In natural ecosystems, polecats play an important role in regulating populations of many species.
Unfortunately, due to habitat loss, human persecution, and declining numbers, the species requires special protection.
💚 And this story has a meaningful continuation.
According to Viktoria Moisieieva, just last year around 27 animals of various species were returned to the wild after rehabilitation. In total, over the past few years, more than 70 rescued wild animals have been released back into their natural habitats.
Each release is a small but significant victory.
📖 In accordance with Ukrainian environmental legislation, the transfer and release of the animals were officially documented, and information about the event will be added to the Chronicle of Nature of the Lower Dniester National Nature Park.
Today, two young female polecats have once again become part of the wild.
And although we’re unlikely to see them again along the floodplain trails, we want to believe they have a long life ahead - in the world they were born to belong to.
🌿 Because the true purpose of wildlife rehabilitation is not to keep animals near humans, but to give them the chance to return home.
