#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Scientists from the Siberian Federal University (SFU) and the Taimyr Nature Reserves have discovered that the population of one of the most ancient animal species of the Russian North, the musk ox, is being revived in the western part of the peninsula.
The press service of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation reported about this, TASS writes.
During observations on August 5, a group of musk oxen was noted on the right bank of the Pyasina river: an adult female, a male, a teenager (one year old) and, most importantly, two yearlings (calves born this summer). According to experts, such a meeting indicates successful reproduction of musk oxen in Western Taimyr and their active dispersal.
During the summer expedition, which took place from mid-June to August, Siberian Federal University’s Hunting Resources and Nature Reserves department’s employees conducted a comprehensive census of the Taimyr-Evenki population of wild reindeer in the western part of Taimyr. Using a light aircraft and water transport, scientists tracked the animals’ migration route with a total length of 12.4 thousand kilometers, including along the Pyasina river and its tributaries – Tareya, Pura, Dudypte, as well as lake Pyasino. That’s when they discovered the musk oxen.
“Musk oxen had not been found in Western Taimyr before, so the possibility of their resettlement in the western part of the peninsula and, as a result, the expansion of their former range was questioned. Thanks to the surveys, we updated the data on the territorial distribution of musk oxen in Western Taimyr, obtained information on the number and age and sex structure of these animals in the studied area”, said the scientific director of the expedition, SFU professor Alexander Savchenko.
The scientists recorded all encounters and tracks of musk oxen along the route using photo and video equipment, GPS recorders, and then applied geographic coordinates to a cartographic base. They also actively interviewed the indigenous population – fishermen and hunters.
We will add that by now a natural population of up to 7-10 thousand musk oxen has formed in Taimyr. They mainly inhabit the central and eastern parts of the peninsula. In the vicinity of lake Taimyr, the animals are found in groups of up to 15 individuals, and less often they form larger clusters.
“Determining the current population size of the Taimyr musk ox and the distribution boundaries of these animals in the north of Krasnoyarsk region is one of the tasks of the SFU and the Taimyr Nature Reserves united directorate joint expedition. Today, the musk ox has already become a full-fledged hunting species, and up to 50 licenses are given for its extraction”, said expedition participant, SFU employee Alexander Muravyov.
It should be noted that the Arctic expedition of SFU scientists to Taimyr was the fifth in a row. The university scientists worked together with colleagues from the united directorate of Taimyr Nature Reserves.
Earlier, we wrote that Musk ox sculpture installed at Taimyr Reserves office building.
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Text: Maria Sokolova, Photo: Denis Kozhevnikov
