#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Norilsk photographer and tundra connoisseur Olga Alexandrova travels a lot. In her photo portfolio – plants, animals, birds: all the most important things that make up the essence of the local flora and fauna.
Now in the tundra is the season of Siberian globeflower, or the Trollius asiaticus: it differs from the yellow European one in a fiery orange color. The flowering period is short – you need to have time to absorb the beauty of this iconic Norilsk flower. But in no case do not pick: the plants are listed in the Krasnoyarsk region Red Book.
As a lover of the harsh Taimyr nature, Olga is concerned about the information that heat is predicted for the Arctic. She claims that this fact will certainly affect plants, birds and animals:
“Species of animals and plants new to our latitudes will appear. I’m already documenting things like this. For example, I see the appearance on our territory of southern species birds, such as a mute swan, or a gray goose. From plants I see nettles along the Yenisey banks”.
Due to the warming climate, Olga says, common foxes intrude into the Arctic territories and are gradually displacing arctic foxes from there. The arctic fox and the red fox belong to the same canine family, they have similar appearance and lifestyle.
“That is why the main competition between them is for burrows and food. The red fox is larger and heavier than the polar fox, so, it dominates over the smaller animal. But unlike the fox, the arctic fox is more adapted to life in harsh conditions. Therefore, for the time being, it remains the tundra true master”, notes the Taimyr nature connoisseur.
When asked what are the most obvious signs of the summer for her personally, Olga answered:
“For me, these are bird nests. Here our birds flew in, brought noise and fuss in the tundra. And then all of a sudden there is silence. So, they started to incubate. It happens very quickly. A maximum of two weeks from the moment of arrival – and they are already sitting on the nests”.
Another obvious phenomenon in July is the activity of the mosquito team. As soon as a stable positive temperature is established, mosquitoes and midges are right there.
“Sometimes this happens in May and June. The midges are more thermophilic. Their peak falls on the first or second decade of July. Then there is a decline, although midges are energetic until the cold weather, but not in such a massive amount. The cooler the summer, the less active they are. It is not for nothing that animals are saved from midges on snowfields and glaciers, as well as in burrows”.
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Text: Marina Horoshevskaya, Photo: Olga Alexandrova
