On February 7, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Winter route and questionnaire surveys of game animal populations are commencing in the Vitebsk region, as reported to BELTA correspondent by Vasily Kirpichenok, Deputy Head of the State Control Department for the Protection and Use of Land, Forests, Fauna and Flora, Specially Protected Territories, and Waste Management of the Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. In late 2011, technical codes for game animal accounting were first introduced in Belarus, and the forest census will be conducted in accordance with them. Its first stage will take place from February 9 to February 10. It will be carried out by 15 hunting grounds managed by the Vitebsk State Production Forestry Association. During February 11-12, the second stage will see the remaining 46 hunting grounds of the region conducting the survey. The winter survey will be conducted from observation stands installed near feeding grounds. This method is most frequently used when counting wild boars. Rare forest dwellers, such as bears or badgers, are counted based on questionnaires filled out by gamekeepers and experienced hunters. Another census method, the route survey, is based on track analysis. It involves a surveyor walking a designated plot of land and marking all observed wild animal tracks on a map. These marks are then transferred to a general scheme, which allows for the determination of not only the population size and density but also the animals' movement routes. According to the committee, the region is observing an increase in the population of game animal species. Based on the winter survey of 2011, there were 7.9 thousand elk; according to the 2010 census, there were 7.1 thousand. The number of red deer has increased by over two hundred to 1.1 thousand. Roe deer number almost 12.9 thousand, wild boars – over 17.5 thousand, and beavers – 20.4 thousand. Wolves, foxes, and raccoon dogs number 203 individuals, 6.7 thousand, and almost 6 thousand, respectively. The number of animals listed in the Red Book also remains stable in the region: badgers – 851, bears – 107, and lynx – 330. -0-

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