Endangered Medny Arctic foxes have been transported from the Russian Far East to the Moscow Zoo as part of a targeted conservation project. The relocation effort aims to protect the rare animals by establishing a reserve population outside their natural habitat.
The animals were transported in the cargo hold of Aeroflot flight SU1735 traveling from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Moscow. The airline provided charitable support for the initiative, delivering specialized cages and transport equipment to Kamchatka prior to the relocation. The foxes completed the multi-hour journey without complications and are currently acclimating to their new environment at the zoological facility.
The Medny Arctic fox – a small relict subspecies – has a highly restricted geographical range, inhabiting only Medny Island in the Commander Islands and Ushishir in the Kuril Islands. Due to its limited population and isolated habitat, the subspecies is classified as endangered and is officially listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation.
During a scientific expedition to the Kuril Islands in September, researchers successfully captured one male and two females. These three individuals will serve as the foundational breeding group for the new reserve population at the Moscow Zoo.
This captive population is designed to function as an ecological safeguard. In the event that the natural populations in the Far East experience a severe decline and reach critical levels, the zoo-based descendants will be utilized for reintroduction programs to restore the subspecies in the wild.