There are too many foxes in the Republic of Moldova. The Institute of Zoology counted about 36,000 foxes. The density of these animals exceeds the ecological norm for four-five times. The norm is one-two foxes per 1,000 hectares. Five years ago the situation was even more serious. There were approximately 45,000 foxes in Moldova.
In a response to an inquiry made by IPN Agency, the Institute of Zoology said the number of house mice and rats is also very high. There are several million house mice and about 1 million gray rats.
Among the most numerous reptiles are the green lizard, wise lizard and house snake, while among amphibians are the big lake frog and small lake frog.
Among the most frequent species of birds are the home sparrow and field sparrow, with 350,000 pairs and, respectively, 300,000 pairs. The chaffinches come to 200,000 pairs, ring doves to 40,000 pairs, field crows to 30,000 pairs, magpies to 20,000 and jays to 15,000.
At the other pole, there are the rare species included in the Red Book of the Republic of Moldova. The last edition, of 2015, specifies 219 very rare species, as opposed to 116 in 2001. These include 30 mammals, 62 birds, 9 reptiles and also amphibians, fish, inspects and mollusks. The species stipulated in the Red Book are protected by the state. Many of these are also protected by international treaties.
According to specialists of the Institute of Zoology, among the factors that led to the diminution of the number of particular species are the degradation of forest ecosystems, felling of old trees with hollows, destruction and pollution of aquatic habitats, unorganized tourism, excessive pasturing and burning of vegetation.
Legal hunting regulates the populations of important species and contributes to reducing the number of foxes. But poaching can cause serious damage for species of deer, rare aquatic and pond birds and these cannot be hunted.
