The ever-popular sheep spend wonderful summer holidays on the Danube Island: around 70 animals are deployed in the natural north of the leisure paradise to replace the mechanized mowing of the meadows. The interim results show: The animal mowing brigade from the City of Vienna – Vienna Waters Department is busy again this year. Since their arrival in spring this year, the island sheep have already mowed down a sizeable area of 6 hectares.
“With the help of the sheep, the biodiversity on the Danube Island is strengthened: the animals not only mow the meadows quietly, they also constantly leave flowers standing. The sheep prefer to avoid plants such as thistles, but these serve as an ideal source of food for rare wild bee species,” explains Ulli Sima, the city councilor responsible for the Danube Island.
Rich flower buffet for insects
Sheep also reach meadow areas that are difficult to access; the gentle slope in the natural north of the Danube Island poses no problem for the four-legged friends. The continuous grazing of the sheep herd also keeps fast-growing plants in check. Delicate undergrasses receive more light and can develop better. A colorful flower buffet develops in the meadows, which benefits various insects such as butterflies as well as mantises and grasshoppers.
Well looked after around the clock
During daily visits, shepherds fill up the furry friends’ water troughs, check the pasture tent and make sure everyone is doing well. The animal mowing crew stays in a fenced-in green area for around a week. Once the area has been grazed enough, the mobile fence is moved and another area is next.
The island sheep feed exclusively on what the natural meadows have to offer. Visitors to the Danube Island are therefore asked not to feed the animals during their visit and to pay attention to their dogs and that they are kept on a leash!
Lamb Flocki is enjoying a wonderful holiday on the Danube Island!
The sheep on the Danube Island have become real crowd favorites over the last few years – for many they are worth a visit to the natural north of the island. To mark the start of the season this year, one of the new lambs was baptized by the fan community for the first time as part of an online vote. “Flocki” is a cute Kerry Hill sheep with characteristic black spots on her ears, nose and legs. Initially a bit reserved and always in close proximity to her mother, the little one now spends a lot of time with her fluffy friends and conquers the natural meadows of the Danube Island.
Sheep grazing has been carried out since 2019 and is part of the EU project LIFE DICCA, which the City of Vienna – Vienna Waters Department started on the Danube Island in autumn 2018. In this project, various measures are being carried out to adapt the Danube Island to the challenges of climate change.
rk-Fotoservice: www.wien.gv.at/presse/bilder
OTS ORIGINAL TEXT PRESS RELEASE UNDER THE EXCLUSIVE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SENDER FOR CONTENT – WWW.OTS.AT | NRK