10 gazelles were reintroduced today into Georgia from Azerbaijan as part of the project of IDEA campaign. "Reintroduction of gazelles on their historical habitat in the Caucasus" was initiated by the Vise-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and elder daughter of the president Ilham Aliyev Leyla Aliyeva in 2011.
The present from our neighbor was very much appreciated by Georgian side.
The reintroduction of gazelles was attended by Shalva Amirejibi, the Deputy Minister of Environment Protection of Georgia and Rati Japaridze, Head of the Agency of Protected Areas.
"Restoring habitat of gazelles in Georgia is a big step towards the restoration of biological diversity throughout the region. I hope that in the future we will begin the process of relocating bison to the region, Shalva Amirejibi said.
It is said that the purpose of the gazelles' reintroduction is to increase and relocate population of Gazelles to the areas where they previously lived but then disappeared for various reasons.
"Gazelles are well adapted to their historical habitat, acting Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyn Bagirov told journalists on October 21.
The project of gazelle reintroduction was implemented by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, IDEA campaign and the Azerbaijani office of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The project consists of two phases. As part of the first stage in 2010, the first group of gazelles were relocated to the Absheron district, which is the traditional habitat of gazelles. Special sensors to monitor their vital functions were put on their necks.
Former Azerbaijani and now Georgian Gazelles are expected to be settled in Vashlovani National Park.
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