Vanatori-Neamt Natural Park has acquired its first four moose as part of a programme to reintroduce the large herbivore, the park's director Sebastian Catanoiu told AGERPRES on Monday.

The male and three females were brought from Germany, Switzerland and France and will remain in quarantine for one month before being released into semi-wild conditions within the park.

'This is a first step, as there are currently no moose in captivity or semi-wild conditions in Romania,' Catanoiu said.

He explained that the reintroduction programme is part of the park's management plan drafted ten years ago, which includes the return of large herbivores native to Romania.

'The idea is not new and also has legal backing, as the 2016 management plan provides for the reintroduction of large herbivores from Romania's fauna.. The European bison was the first; now it is the moose,' Catanoiu added.

If monitoring results show that the four moose have adapted to conditions in the park, additional animals will be brought in.

Regarding the disappearance of the moose from Romania's fauna, Catanoiu said there are no clear data.

'The moose is a very elusive, solitary species and difficult to observe. There were reports in the 1960s-1970s in the Danube Delta and in border counties such as Botosani, Iasi and Neamt, which can be explained by migration from Ukraine. So it may have appeared to disappear, but in reality it persisted sporadically,' he said.

The park's management plan also includes the potential reintroduction of other large herbivores once present in Romania, including the wild horse, the aurochs, the saiga antelope and the onager, although no clear timeline has been set. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Gabriel Apetrii; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)