In June 1965, the Danube flooded over 55 km2 of cultivated steppe. When the flood receded, populations of small terrestrial mammals and game animals recovered very rapidly. The detrimental effects of the flood were shortly followed by beneficial ones, resulting from the elimination of factors that limited small mammla populations. The latter began thriving and the number of species present on the previously flooded area soon started to increase. Rodent populations overcrowded during the first growing season following the flood. Insectivores, being secondary consumers, did not overcrowd until the 2nd growing season after the flood. The curve showing the increase in the numbers of rodents was exponential in character, whereas that for insectivores was sigmoidal.