Today is World Rewilding Day, a global celebration of nature’s recovery. This year’s theme—”Rewilding Together”—highlights the importance of collaboration in restoring ecosystems and ensuring people and wildlife can share space successfully. In the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, red and fallow deer are making a comeback—and they’re not the only ones adapting. As the deer roam in search of food, some have found their way into gardens and orchards, creating unexpected challenges for residents. Rather than letting this become a source of conflict, the Rewilding Ukraine team worked with the community to find a simple yet effective solution: providing protective fencing to prevent damage while allowing both people and wildlife to thrive.
Living with wildlife
Abundant wildlife populations are essential to the health and function of nature in Europe. While their recovery brings many benefits to both people and ecosystems, it can also create coexistence challenges. In many cases, species are returning after long absences, meaning that people are having to adapt to their return.
Rewilding Europe’s teams employ a variety of measures to help local communities coexist with wildlife in mutually beneficial ways. These range from distributing livestock guardian dogs and bear-proof bins to supporting the development of nature-based economies, allowing people to benefit economically from wilder landscapes.
A coexistence showcase
A recent example from the Danube Delta highlights how simple coexistence measures can support communities as they adapt to rewilding in their local area. It also demonstrates how Rewilding Europe’s teams proactively monitor wildlife recovery and provide support when needed.
Several groups of red and fallow deer have been released in recent years in the Ukrainian part of the cross-border Danube Delta and are now thriving. Through their grazing and browsing, these animals are enhancing biodiversity at an increasing scale, while also helping to reduce wildfire risk by feeding on fire-prone vegetation.
However, with water levels in the delta higher than normal this spring, many deer moved to higher ground in search of food. This led them to private land and gardens filled with fruit trees on islands near Vylkove.
“I saw several female and one male deer come into my garden,” relates local farmer Yana Belopshytska. “They were very close and just as beautiful as in the pictures. But as beautiful as they were, I didn’t want them eating the bark on my fruit trees.”
Proactive engagement
To address the issue, the Rewilding Ukraine team quickly organised a meeting with the local community and Vylkove city council. Together, they came up with a win-win solution: installing protective fencing.
“It wasn’t only the deer that had been released that were eating from private gardens,” explains Rewilding Ukraine rewilding officer Oleg Dyakov. “Local cows were grazing freely, as well as wild boar and other animals, and the situation was understandably causing some dissatisfaction in the community. We decided that fencing was the best option for both people and wildlife.”
Towards coexistence
Over the following months, the Rewilding Ukraine team collected requests from local residents who wanted to take up the solution. After another community meeting—where the team also explained the benefits of deer in the landscape—they distributed 3,500 metres of fencing, which residents are now installing.
“I understand the value of the deer,” says Yana Belopshytska. “The fencing, which I will install soon, will be put to the test next time they come looking for food. As long as it keeps them out of my garden, I’m more than happy to live alongside them.”
To continue their positive working relationship and commitment to human-wildlife coexistence, the Rewilding Ukraine team has also signed a memorandum of cooperation with Vylkove council. This will promote engagement and strengthen ongoing collaboration between local residents and the team moving forward.
To find out more about the Danube Delta project, visit their project page. The comeback of red and fallow deer to the Danube Delta, as well as efforts to support the coexistence of people and nature, is being implemented with the support of the Rewilding Europe‘s European Wildlife Comeback Fund and the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme.
