Wild and woolly: Canadian bison thrive in Siberia
Published: 09 January, 2009, 22:09
TAGS: Animals, Ecology, Russia
Bison are making a comeback thousands of years after they disappeared from eastern Russia. Bison breeders in Siberia are hoping the return of the huge woolly mammals to the region will help boost eco-tourism.
Two thousand years ago the bison left the region that is now the Republic of Yakutia in Siberia, but now they’re back – and thriving.
The bison had become extinct in Russia, but thanks to Canada that they're home again.
Thirty Canadian-born woolly bovines have now spent three winters at the Lensky Stolby Nature Park, 100 kilometres south of Yakutsk. Local herdsmen say they've settled in nicely.
“They're good at enduring the cold and they've adapted extremely well. They look happy here and I've become really attached to these beautiful animals,” bison herder Sergey says.
A good indication of how well these bison are adapting to their new environment is their ability to reproduce. Already six babies have been born into this herd – a sure sign that they're thriving in their former homeland.
Bison were taken from Canada as part of the world's first bison resettlement programme. Canada wants to conserve species at risk. So this project is a chance to secure the global survival of the Red Book bison. The Red Book is a list of endangered species.
Meanwhile, wildlife conservationists say the bison will soon be the region's star attraction.
“We're aiming to create an eco-tourist park here. There's been so much interest in the bison, so eventually we want to re-introduce all animals that once roamed this land,” says Yakob Sivtsev from the Conservation Ministry.
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And mind that the wood bison is not the only BIG animal that used to call Norhtern Siberia sweet home. The North Eastern endless cold lands were home of the Wild Yak - all the way from Tibet to the mountains of Chukotka and into Alsaka (!) the Wild Yaks were common wild bovine of highlands. They fit estremely well into the complex ORIGINAL ecosystems of Siberia with millions of big animals - bison, yak, muskox, Wild Horse, Kulan, reindeer, moose, red deer, Wild Baktrian Camels, wolves and ... lions. Today the wild yak is hardly able to survive in the Chinese Tibet where it obtain little protection frompoaching and little available food - most of the lands this fantastically beautiful huge animal has now are simply semi-deserts. The same is true with the Wild Przewalski Horse and Wild Camels. The former are exterminated by 60s and the latter are hardly alive today in a coulple of tiny refuges between China and Mongolia, the last true wild camels on Earth are less numerous than famous giant panda. Yet no one cares. Why do not we bring them back home to Yakutia and other parts of Siberia as well?
In fact the productive potencial in terms of "wild" (i.e. "free of expenses") meat and eco-tourism potential of Siberia are enourmous. It far surpasses the National Parks of Africa since the land itself is breathtakingly picturesque and we have more native big species then the southern countries. With one sad exception - our versions of elephants and rhinos, since the ones we had are totally destroyed by now - mammoth and whoolly rhino. But we CAN bring ALL the others - for the benefits of eco-friendly tourists, for the benefits of rich "trophey"-hunters and for the benefits of local people who have to live in Siberia - and to-day, with all those wonderful big animals gone and only the reindeer left the Northern Siberia is a real wasteland. Why not bring the original life back here? Thanks to Segei Zimov. It was his idea and his efforts in the first place - to bring the wood bison back to their homeland in Yakutia. Into the National Pleistocen Park he created and reasioned. It is very pity that has has not obtained the bisons for the scientific Pleisotcene Park as yet. All people here who want to see our empty Northen land teeming with life again wish him success.