A total of 41 deer, valued at 550,000 kuna, will be released into the forests in eastern Croatia as part of the EU-funded Croatia-Serbia cross-border project ForestFlow. An additional 38 will be released on the Serbian side of the border.
After their adaptation to the new habitat, the deer will be monitored by tracking bracelets and field observation as they roam the Spacva and Bosut forests spanning the border between Croatia and Serbia.
A total of 258 deer were killed in heavy flooding that struck eastern Croatia in May 2014.
ForestFlow is a two-year Croatia-Serbia project worth 1.4 million euros. Its purpose is to establish a cross-border flood prevention and protection system and draw up an action plan for future cross-border cooperation in protecting the environment and people against flooding.
The project was launched a year and a half ago. Two game shelters stretching over 12 hectares and two watering holes have been built on the Croatian side of the border. Two major canals of seven kilometres in length have been rebuilt, while minor canals will be reconstructed in the coming months.
The disastrous flood caused 30 million euros in damage in Croatia and 64.8 million euros in Serbia, affecting 250 square kilometres of land in Croatia and 300 square kilometres in Serbia. It left 180 tonnes of wild game killed in Croatia and 288 tonnes in Serbia.