2 Hryvni Great bustard

The great bustard (*Otis tarda*) was once widespread across the Ukrainian steppe but had effectively vanished as a breeding species in Ukraine by the late Soviet period, driven out by intensive agriculture and hunting pressure. This coin was issued as part of the National Bank of Ukraine's long-running wildlife conservation series, which began in 1995 and has produced some of the most zoologically specific circulating coinage in Eastern Europe. The species has since been the subject of reintroduction monitoring along the Dnipropetrovsk steppe corridors.