Hesse: Drought stresses wild animals: water bowls help birds

Not only people suffer from the drought and heat - also the animals in the forest and in the garden.

Hesse: Drought stresses wild animals: water bowls help birds

Not only people suffer from the drought and heat - also the animals in the forest and in the garden. It's not just about thirst. Wild boar and red deer lack the important wallows. In some places, therefore, hunters bring water into the forest.

Frankfurt / Main (dpa / lhe) - Stressed birds, deer in need of rest: wild animals also suffer from the drought. They are basically adapted to extreme conditions and can reduce their activity in order to reduce the metabolism, said Susanne Steib from BUND Hessen. Forest visitors and walkers should currently be particularly careful to leave the animals alone and not startle them, which would require additional energy from them.

"The long drought is causing problems for almost all native wild animals," explained Markus Stifter from the state hunting association. "Of course, amphibians, birds, insects, but also our large mammals are particularly affected." This doesn't just apply to drinking. "Red deer and wild boar in particular wallow several times a day during the hot spell. This often serves to ward off vermin," explained Stifter.

In some regions of Hesse, hunters therefore supplied the wild animals with water. Large water trailers are also used in the forest so that the wallows can be sufficiently filled. Last weekend, for example, there was such an irrigation campaign in the Wernborn district near Usingen - supported by a farmer, as reported by Frank Klaus Cernic from the Usingen hunters' association. In the experience of hunters, game can often be found in these places within a few hours.

Roe deer take in a large part of the amount of water they need every day through their food, explained Stifter. However, since there is often no morning dew on the grass in some regions of Hesse, this is particularly difficult for the animals when young animals are being suckled. "In the worst case, it could happen that the young animals can no longer be supplied with sufficient mother's milk," said Stifter.

In some cases, wild animals - especially wild boars - stay close to large watercourses during droughts. Several years ago, a number of animals from the Rheingau highlands around Martinsthal came closer to the Rhine, said the spokesman for the state hunting association. "There were more accidents on the federal highway 42, which was developed like a motorway."

Smaller mammals such as hares and rabbits, as well as wild birds and songbirds, also suffered from the drought, Stifter warned. That is why hunters in the Wetterau or in Wiesbaden, among other places, fill small water bowls in the field every day.

In order to help garden animals, one should put out shallow bowls of water, advised wildlife ecologist Steib. Because at the moment birds, for example, have to travel long distances to be able to drink. "It stresses the animals," she said. A flower coaster is sufficient as a drinking bowl, preferably provided with a stone or a stick so that insects can land, drink and start again.

The water must be changed daily and the bowl cleaned with hot water and a brush to prevent the spread of pathogens. The bowl should also not be next to a bush so that cats cannot sneak up on it.

Hedgehogs are also happy to take the water, as they currently need a lot of liquid, explained Steib. The animals feed on snails and worms, which are currently difficult to find. This encourages the nocturnal animals to also be out and about during the day.

The drought is also highly problematic for fish and amphibians. In the latter there are species that spawn late and now there is no water for the tadpoles. Yellow-bellied toad and natterjack toad, for example, have little chance of breeding this year, said Steib.