The heck cattle in the Oostvaardersplassen are fed on Friday because of their deteriorated condition State Forestry announced Thursday.
On Monday, a vet and a ranger made a tour through the Flevoland nature reserve to map the condition of the large grazers and the terrain conditions.
This showed that due to the heavy rainfall of recent weeks, less grass is available for the animals. In addition, there are many barnacle geese in the area, who also like to eat grass.
At four herds, hay is placed in the habitat on Friday. “We will increase the amount of hay according to the needs of the cattle,” writes Staatsbosbeheer website.
Food supply will not increase in the coming period
Staatsbosbeheer, together with veterinarians, keeps a score (Body Condition Score) for the large grazers in the Oostvaardersplassen. If that score is less than 2.0, additional feeding is started.
Although the score of the heck cattle is now 2.3 on average, Staatsbosbeheer is already starting. It does this because the food supply is not expected to increase rapidly in the coming period.
Last year the heck cattle in the Oostvaardersplassen were also fed around this time.
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