Drought drives hunters to bring 1,500 litres of water to wildlife

Hunters are bringing hundreds of litres of water into the forest each week to help wildlife cope with drought in Raglitz in the Neunkirchen district, ORF reported. Visitors are being asked to stay on marked paths and keep dogs on a leash.

Low rainfall, high temperatures and parched soil have left wild animals short of water. Hunters transport water in containers because the hunting district has no streams or ponds.

“We depend on supplying the wildlife ourselves, with our hands, tanks and containers, and we have to do this very, very often,” hunting manager Franz Fidler told noe.ORF.at. He said the animals would not survive in the district without the additional water supply.

Drought is also reducing the availability and quality of food. “We have fewer sources of energy, but at the same time a higher energy requirement. That naturally puts enormous pressure on wild animals,” said wildlife ecologist Kian Lanzenstiel of the state hunting association.

An adult deer needs about one to two litres of water a day and normally obtains half of that from juicy leaves. A doe caring for fawns needs three to four times as much. Because the drought has reduced the animals’ access to moisture, hunters must provide their entire supply through drinking stations, Fidler said.

Fidler and his colleagues bring about 1,500 litres of water into the forest each week. They maintain around 25 drinking stations and shallow water points for small game such as hares and pheasants. Fidler said fawns weighed about two kilograms less than before the pandemic.

He also criticised increasing recreational use of the forest, saying wildlife was too often disturbed while drinking and feeding. He urged visitors to remain on paths, keep dogs leashed and follow signs.

Animals such as marmots and mountain hares are adapted to specific habitats and are under pressure from warmer periods and a lack of water, which can cause those habitats to disappear. More adaptable species are increasingly moving into new areas. Lanzenstiel cited wild boar entering higher elevations and golden jackals, which were originally found only in southeastern Europe but have now been recorded across Europe.

Wild animals searching for water also cross roads. “Deer are forced to look for new habitats, and this means that vehicle accidents are becoming more common in our densely populated areas,” Lanzenstiel said. Hunters are therefore asking motorists to drive particularly carefully and remain alert at dusk.