The Kamchatka population of the Red Book reindeer on the peninsula exceeded 350 individuals, with a 20% increase achieved here in just the last three years. This was reported to EcoTourism Expert in the press service of the Kronotsky Reserve.
The only herd preserved in Kamchatka - Kronotsko-Zhupanovskoye - has grown by 50 individuals over the last year alone. Scientists are closely monitoring the state of the population after the mass death of deer due to the eruption of Kizimen volcano in 2010-2013. “Then, due to the loss of huge volumes of ash, the snow covering the ground literally cemented, and it became impossible to get food from under it,” says Daria Panicheva, head of the scientific department of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Kronotsky State Reserve”.
“A significant part of the herd, which then numbered about 1000 individuals, died from a fodder shortage.”
The key winter pastures of the Red Book artiodactyls were examined from a helicopter, and the scientists were very pleased with the monitoring results. In their opinion, the high survival rate of young deer last unusually warm winter is a gift of nature, there was no dense snow layer and animals could freely get lichens and plant food from under the snow.
“But we must understand that this will not always be like that, winters on the peninsula are severe, and deer are on the verge of extinction. Their preservation is our responsibility. A significant part of winter pastures is located outside the reserve, where they can become prey for poachers,” said Pyotr Shpilenok, director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Kronotsky State Nature Reserve”.
Now the main task is to create a security zone around the perimeter of the Kronotsky Reserve in the near future. The corresponding order was given to the leadership of the Kamchatka Territory by the envoy of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far East, Yuri Trutnev. Then the state inspectors of the reserve will be able to monitor compliance with environmental laws in the adjacent territory. We count on the support of the Government of the Kamchatka Territory on the conservation of wild reindeer."
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