Penza, 16 June 2017. PenzaNews. A raccoon dog was noticed in the territory of the nature reserve "Volga forest-steppe" in the Penza region.

Photo: Press service of the reserve "Volga forest-steppe"

"The discovery was made by the director of the reserve Alexander Dobrolyubov. He studies mammals and records animals in "Volga forest-steppe", which allowed him noticing the new inhabitant at once. The Ussuriysk raccoon dog was discovered in one of the stretches of "Ostrovtsovsk forest-steppe" near marmots' burrows, Presumably, the animal examined the territory for possible resettlement – marmots' burrows are very comfortable," the press secretary of the nature reserve Victoria Bekbulatova told PenzaNews.

She noted that the mammal was captured by surveillance cameras that switch on when any movement registered.

"The raccoon dog species is new for the reserve fauna. It is impossible to say now how it will influence other inhabitants. The species is rare in Russia. The number of raccoon dogs in the Penza region is very small, it can be met in the Zemetchinsky and Vadinsky areas," the interlocutor explained.