Rare Mednovsky Arctic foxes from the Kuril Islands were brought to the Moscow Zoo

Three individuals of the Red Book Mednovsky Arctic fox arrived in Moscow. A male and two females were brought from the Kuril Islands to the Moscow Zoo as part of a multi-year project to preserve the reserve population, reports the Nature and People Foundation.

These animals live only on the islands of Medny and Ushishir. The subspecies is listed in the Red Book of Russia. According to scientists, there are no more than 50 individuals left on Medny Island. Experts emphasized that Arctic foxes are the only land-based predators on the island and play an important role in the local ecosystem.

The Arctic foxes delivered to Moscow received the working names Iron Lady, Malyshka and Yuraslav. The head of the program for the conservation of wildlife at the Nature and People Foundation, Irina Onufrenia, said that such an experiment was being carried out for the first time in the country. She added that solving logistical and scientific problems opens up new opportunities for the study and conservation of the subspecies.