Brown bear will be excluded from the list of endangered animal species in Azerbaijan.

The brown bear is a usual inhabitant of highland forests. While the brown bear's range has shrunk, it remains listed as a least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The third edition of the Azerbaijan Red Book, which is being prepared for publication, will mainly include large mammals, such as roe deer, deer, as well as predators, including hyenas.

As regards the Leopards, whose population has grown over the past few years, still remain in the Red Book.

Meanwhile, the number of gazelles is recovering in Azerbaijan. Director of World Wildlife Fund in Azerbaijan, Elshad Asgarov says that despite the decline in the population of bezoar goats, now there are more of them than in Soviet times. Also, the population of mouflons has increased from 250 to 1,000 heads.

Compared to the data for 2013, Azerbaijan has seen an increase in populations of various animal species. In the near future, these indicators will be presented to the public.

As the head of the Biological Diversity Protection Service Firuddin Gurbanov noted, wild animals no longer breed in a wide range of habitats. They live in local safe areas, which allows them to be more effectively protected.