Brown bears were counted on Kunashir

The press service of the Kurilsky Nature Reserve reported on the results of the annual accounting of the brown bear in the spawning streams of the protected areas. The number of this predator in two areas of the reserve was 87 individuals. Last fall, 89 bears were counted.

According to the calculated data, 59 bears live on the Tyatinsky site this year, 28 individuals live on the Alyokhinsky site. Scientists noted that a year earlier there was a more even distribution of these predators between the two sites.

According to experts, an insignificant number of salmon in the spawning grounds of the south of Kunashir could affect the partial relocation of bears. Predators preferred more "fishy" areas of the island.

This year, the accounting was carried out during the mass movement of pink salmon and the beginning of the call of chum salmon to spawn. Specialists used the method of registration of individual feeding areas located in the beds of spawning watercourses and identified each individual animal. Identification was carried out by footprints, using camera traps placed along the banks of rivers, as well as by direct observation of animals in their feeding areas.

"The completed accounting cards were transferred to the scientific department, where their statistical processing was carried out. The recorded number of bears was recalculated for the total length of spawning sections of watercourses. The number of bears encountered during the accounting period outside the spawning grounds on the territory of protected areas (along the seashore, on trails) was added to the number of animals received," the report says.

In total, during the accounting of 2023, 14 main watercourses of the reserve were surveyed, which are the spawning site of salmon fish, where 17 adult males, 8 adult females, 14 teenagers and 3 baby bears were found. 17 more bears were found outside the spawning grounds. At the same time, only the territory of the reserve was surveyed.