The Atlantic walrus rookery at the mouth of the Tiutei-Yakha River near the coast of the Kara Sea is planned to be given the status of a specially protected natural area, the government of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YNAO) reports on its website.
“Such changes are necessary in order to ensure the safety of the only mainland rookery of the Red Book animal. Economic activity is limited in the specially protected natural area,” the government of the region explained.
The Yamal walrus rookery is a unique natural phenomenon in the world. The task is not only to preserve it, but also to provide conditions for constant observation of the Red Book animals, including for tourists. Therefore, in the YNAO, in addition to working out the issue of giving the territory the status of a protected area, they are considering the possibility of installing objects on the territory of the rookery for covert observation of animals.
As noted in the message, the Yamal rookery is considered the largest concentration of Atlantic walruses in the world. Last year, the YNAO launched a three-year program to study it.
Specialists of the Department of Wildlife Protection of the Department of Natural Resources and Ecology of the YaNAO and experts of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences are currently exploring the rookery.
“For two weeks, we will track the number of walruses daily using quadrocopters, estimate how many males, females and cubs. We will also take skin biopsy samples from subcutaneous fat for genetics and to study the assessment of the level of organochlorine pollution in order to understand the state of animal health,” said Andrey Boltunov, Director General of the Marine Mammals Research and Expeditionary Center.
His words are given in a message on the website of the YNAO government.
“We have been observing for several years, we have recorded from a thousand to two thousand walruses. According to photo recorders, sometimes the number of individuals exceeds even three thousand. The number of animals is constantly changing, so we are constantly monitoring. Now the scientific project is in full swing,” said Alexander Sokolov, senior researcher at the Arctic Research Station of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Today, there are 14 specially protected natural areas on Yamal (more than 10% of the region's area). Two of them will become part of the Yamal tourism cluster.
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