Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve
Encyclopedia
Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve is a nature reserve
in the Komi Republic
, Russia
. It currently occupies 7,213 square kilometers and forms the core of the World Heritage Site
Virgin Komi Forests
.
(Troitsko-Pechorsky District
), on the western
slopes of the Ural Mountains
and the adjacent foothills and lowlands. The area is drained by the upper course of the Pechora River
and its tributary
Ilych
, from whose names the name of the reserve is derived.
zakaznik
(sanctuary), was proposed in 1915 by S. T. Nat, the Chief Forester of Vologda
Guberniya
, in his article in Lesnoy Zhurnal (Forest Journal). The nature reserve was created on May 4, 1930, originally occupying 11,350 square kilometers. The borders of the reserve were set on July 30, 1931.
Originally, the reserve's main office was built in the village of Ust-Ilych, at the fall of the Ilych into the Pechora. Access to that location being extremely difficult, the main office was moved in 1935 to the village of Yaksha
, further upstream on the Pechora, but closer to the Kama River
basin, via which the area communicated with the outside world in those days.
In 1951, the reserve was greatly reduced in size, to mere 930 km²; its area became non-contiguous, with a small lowland section near Yaksha being separated from the highland part. In 1959, the area of the reserve was increased to its current size (7,213 km²), but it still remains non-contiguous. To better protect the reserve, in 1973 a buffer area of 324 km² (similar to a national forest
in the United States
) was created outside of the reserve; the size of the buffer area size was increased in 1984 by additional 330 km².
Since 1986, the reserve has been listed by UNESCO
as one of the biosphere reserves of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves
.
In 1995, the forest area including the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve and its northern neighbor, the Yugyd Va National Park
, were recognized by UNESCO
as a World Heritage Site
, under the name Virgin Komi Forests
.
, beaver
s, squirrel
s, pine martens are abundant in the reserve. Sable
s are known to live in the piedmont forest region of the reserve. The wild reindeer
have almost disappeared after the loss of the pine forest section of the reserve in 1951, and consequent habitat destruction
.
The large predators include Brown Bear
s, wolve
s, and wolverine
s. Ten mustelid
species make the reserve their home, from the largest, the wolverine
, to the least weasel
, as well as the ermine
, the American
and European Mink
, the pine marten, the sable
, and the Siberian Weasel
.
s to squirrel
s to fish
. The moose
was a particularly important topic of research in the reserve.
(Alces alces) has long been an object of research at the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve.
In the late 1940s, the management of the reserve encountered the problem of the unsustainable growth of the moose population. By the early 1950s, the pastures in the reserve started to be exhausted. To handle the problem, in 1956 a moose hunting enterprise affiliated with the reserve, but located outside of its territory. The investment paid off in the first year of operation. Between 1956 and 1968, 1000 moose have been harvested, providing 200 tons
of meat. At the same time, hunting operations allowed to collect unique statistical materials on the biology of the Pechora moose population.
Besides moose hunting, in 1949 the reserve staff created the facility they referred to as a "moose farm" ,
in order to study the feasibility of moose domestication. The first director of this project was Yevgeny Knorre. After he moved to the Volga-Kama Nature Reserve in 1962, his student M. V. Kozhukhov became the director.
The main objectives of the farm were to learn more about the moose biology, and to use this knowledge to develop suitable food rations for the moose and techniques for caring for them; to study the feasibility of raising a farm-bred population; and to explore the possibilities of the use
of the moose in the national economy.
Over the first 40-plus years of the project, 6 generations of moose were raised on the farm, with some 30-35 animals at the farm in any given year. About 15 moose calves were raised at the farm in a good spring. The total number of the animals raised over the year is said to have exceeded 500.
The farm's adult moose spend most of the time browsing in the forest; however, a pregnant moose cow would always come back to the farm to give birth. Then, during the lactation
period of three to five months, the moose cow would come to the farm several times a day, at the same hours, to be milked. The milk production of a moose is small compared to a dairy cow
: over the lactation season, the total of 300-500 liters (75-125 gallons) of milk is obtained from a moose cow. However, the milk has a high (12-14%) fat content, and is rich in vitamins and microelements; it is
said to have medicinal properties.
A farm-raised moose can live as long as 18 years, although few of them reached that age because of the depredations of wolves, bears, and poachers on the free-ranging population.
Among the potential productive uses of the moose are concerned, the milk production was found the most promising. However, riding a moose, or using it to pull a sleigh
was tried at the farm as well.
Over the years, a number of research articles dealing with the physiology
, ethology
, and ecology
of the moose were published by the biologists from the reserve, as well as from the
research institutes in Syktyvkar
and Moscow
(e.g.
)
Knorre's and his associates' moose domestication work at Pechora Ilych,
as well as somewhat similar Muskox Domestication Project at the University of Alaska
's Institute of Northern Agricultural Research, also provided valuable insights in the general theory of animal domestication.
The facility, located in the remote Northern Urals taiga, never meant to turn a profit, and found itself in a difficult situation after the government funding cutbacks of the early 1990s. According to a recent trip report, the moose farm operations have been greatly reduced; the remaining buildings are in a poor conditions, and only a few animals remain. A Moscow teacher visiting in 2003 reported that there were only five left.
However, moose domestication experiments in Russia continue at a more fortunately located Kostroma Moose Farm
.
On the moose domestication project:
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
in the Komi Republic
Komi Republic
The Komi Republic is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It currently occupies 7,213 square kilometers and forms the core of the World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
Virgin Komi Forests
Virgin Komi Forests
The Virgin Komi Forests is a natural UNESCO World Heritage site in the Northern Ural mountains of the Komi Republic, Russia. At 32,800 km² it is the largest virgin forest in Europe.The Virgin Komi Forests belong to the Ural Mountains taiga ecoregion...
.
Location
The nature reserve is located in the south-eastern corner of the Komi RepublicKomi Republic
The Komi Republic is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain...
(Troitsko-Pechorsky District
Troitsko-Pechorsky District
Troitsko-Pechorsky District is an administrative district , one of the twelve in the Komi Republic, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Troitsko-Pechorsky Municipal District. Its administrative center is the urban locality of Troitsko-Pechorsk...
), on the western
slopes of the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
and the adjacent foothills and lowlands. The area is drained by the upper course of the Pechora River
Pechora River
The Pechora River is a river in northwest Russia which flows north into the Arctic Ocean on the west side of the Ural Mountains. It lies mostly in the Komi Republic but the northernmost part crosses the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It is 1,809 km long and its basin is 322,000 square kilometers...
and its tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
Ilych
Ilych River
Ilych River is a river in Komi Republic in northwest Russia. It drains part of the northern Ural Mountains westward into the upper Pechora River. The length of the river is 411 km. The area of its basin is 16,000 km². The Ilych freezes up in early November and stays icebound until late April. Its...
, from whose names the name of the reserve is derived.
History
The idea of the creation of a nature reserve in the uppear Pechora, as a sableSable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
zakaznik
Zakaznik
Zakaznik is a type of protected area in Russia and other former Soviet republics such as Ukraine that meets World Conservation Union's category III, or more frequently category VII criteria....
(sanctuary), was proposed in 1915 by S. T. Nat, the Chief Forester of Vologda
Vologda
Vologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia. Vologda is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage...
Guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
, in his article in Lesnoy Zhurnal (Forest Journal). The nature reserve was created on May 4, 1930, originally occupying 11,350 square kilometers. The borders of the reserve were set on July 30, 1931.
Originally, the reserve's main office was built in the village of Ust-Ilych, at the fall of the Ilych into the Pechora. Access to that location being extremely difficult, the main office was moved in 1935 to the village of Yaksha
Yaksha, Komi Republic
Yaksha is a settlement in Troitsko-Pechorsky District of the Komi Republic, Russia, located in the upper streams of the Pechora River. Population: 1,218 ; 1,793 ....
, further upstream on the Pechora, but closer to the Kama River
Kama River
Kama is a major river in Russia, the longest left tributary of the Volga and the largest one in discharge; in fact, it is larger than the Volga before junction....
basin, via which the area communicated with the outside world in those days.
In 1951, the reserve was greatly reduced in size, to mere 930 km²; its area became non-contiguous, with a small lowland section near Yaksha being separated from the highland part. In 1959, the area of the reserve was increased to its current size (7,213 km²), but it still remains non-contiguous. To better protect the reserve, in 1973 a buffer area of 324 km² (similar to a national forest
United States National Forest
National Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) was created outside of the reserve; the size of the buffer area size was increased in 1984 by additional 330 km².
Since 1986, the reserve has been listed by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as one of the biosphere reserves of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves
World Network of Biosphere Reserves
The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers internationally-designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, that are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between man and nature The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers internationally-designated protected...
.
In 1995, the forest area including the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve and its northern neighbor, the Yugyd Va National Park
Yugyd Va National Park
Yugyd Va National Park is a national park in the Komi Republic, a constituent republic of the Russian Federation, in Northeastern Europe. It is Russia's and Europe's largest national park.- Location :...
, were recognized by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, under the name Virgin Komi Forests
Virgin Komi Forests
The Virgin Komi Forests is a natural UNESCO World Heritage site in the Northern Ural mountains of the Komi Republic, Russia. At 32,800 km² it is the largest virgin forest in Europe.The Virgin Komi Forests belong to the Ural Mountains taiga ecoregion...
.
Landscape and vegetation
Russian geographer A.A. Korchagin divided the area of the reserve into five natural regions:- The Pechora Lowlands: pinePinePines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
forests, pine forested swampSwampA swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s, and mossMossMosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
swampSwampA swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s. There few spruce forests in that area. This region includes the Gusinoe Bolota (Goose Swamp), a peat bogBogA bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
that occupies around 3 km², with the peat deposits some 5–6 meters deep. - The piedmont (foothils) region, dominated by forests of shade-loving species: Siberian SpruceSiberian SpruceSiberian Spruce is a spruce native to Siberia, from the Ural Mountains east to Magadan Oblast, and from the arctic tree line south to the Altay Mountains in northwestern Mongolia.-Description and uses:...
, Siberian PineSiberian PineThe Siberian Pine, Pinus sibirica, in the family Pinaceae is a species of pine tree that occurs in Siberia from 58°E in the Ural Mountains east to 126°E in the Stanovoy Range in southern Sakha Republic, and from Igarka at 68°N in the lower Yenisei valley, south to 45°N in central...
, and Siberian fir. There plenty of forested swamps there, but hardly any moss swamps. - The Upper Ilych Lowland: this region is surrounded by the Urals highlands and mountains and has particularly severe climate. The slow-growing forest there is classified as borealTaigaTaiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
taigaTaigaTaiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
. - The Ural Mountains, the area that is the least studied but has the greatest variety of landscapes. It includes the piedmont forest belt (fir and spruce), up to 300–350 meters elevation. Above it, up to 600 m elevation, is the subalpine foret belt, where firs and spruces are gradually replaced with birch forests and subalpine meadows. The tree line is at 550–650 m elevation, although there are occasional firs at the elevations as high as 800 m or even higher. Above the tree line, alpine meadows and then tundraTundraIn physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
are found. - The valleys of the Pechora, Ilych, and their tributaries.
Wildlife
MooseMoose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
s, squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s, pine martens are abundant in the reserve. Sable
Sable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
s are known to live in the piedmont forest region of the reserve. The wild reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
have almost disappeared after the loss of the pine forest section of the reserve in 1951, and consequent habitat destruction
Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
.
The large predators include Brown Bear
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
s, wolve
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
s, and wolverine
Wolverine
The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...
s. Ten mustelid
Mustelidae
Mustelidae , commonly referred to as the weasel family, are a family of carnivorous mammals. Mustelids are diverse and the largest family in the order Carnivora, at least partly because in the past it has been a catch-all category for many early or poorly differentiated taxa...
species make the reserve their home, from the largest, the wolverine
Wolverine
The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...
, to the least weasel
Least Weasel
The least weasel is the smallest member of the Mustelidae , native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, though it has been introduced elsewhere. It is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and presumably large population...
, as well as the ermine
Stoat
The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...
, the American
American Mink
The American mink is a semi-aquatic species of Mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe and South America. Because of this, it is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Since the extinction of the sea mink, the American mink is the...
and European Mink
European mink
The European mink , also known as the Russian mink, is a semi-aquatic species of Mustelid native to Europe. It is listed by the IUCN as Endangered due to an ongoing reduction in numbers, having been calculated as being more than 50% over the past three generations...
, the pine marten, the sable
Sable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
, and the Siberian Weasel
Siberian Weasel
The Siberian weasel , also known as the Kolonok, is a medium-sized species of weasel native to Asia. It is classed as Least Concern for extinction by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and presumably large numbers....
.
Research work
Over the years, scientific research in many areas of biology and ecology was conducted in the reserve. Topics of research ranged from antAnt
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s to squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s to fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
. The moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
was a particularly important topic of research in the reserve.
Moose domestication experiments
The mooseMoose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
(Alces alces) has long been an object of research at the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve.
In the late 1940s, the management of the reserve encountered the problem of the unsustainable growth of the moose population. By the early 1950s, the pastures in the reserve started to be exhausted. To handle the problem, in 1956 a moose hunting enterprise affiliated with the reserve, but located outside of its territory. The investment paid off in the first year of operation. Between 1956 and 1968, 1000 moose have been harvested, providing 200 tons
of meat. At the same time, hunting operations allowed to collect unique statistical materials on the biology of the Pechora moose population.
Besides moose hunting, in 1949 the reserve staff created the facility they referred to as a "moose farm" ,
in order to study the feasibility of moose domestication. The first director of this project was Yevgeny Knorre. After he moved to the Volga-Kama Nature Reserve in 1962, his student M. V. Kozhukhov became the director.
The main objectives of the farm were to learn more about the moose biology, and to use this knowledge to develop suitable food rations for the moose and techniques for caring for them; to study the feasibility of raising a farm-bred population; and to explore the possibilities of the use
of the moose in the national economy.
Over the first 40-plus years of the project, 6 generations of moose were raised on the farm, with some 30-35 animals at the farm in any given year. About 15 moose calves were raised at the farm in a good spring. The total number of the animals raised over the year is said to have exceeded 500.
The farm's adult moose spend most of the time browsing in the forest; however, a pregnant moose cow would always come back to the farm to give birth. Then, during the lactation
Lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process occurs in all female mammals, however it predates mammals. In humans the process of feeding milk is called breastfeeding or nursing...
period of three to five months, the moose cow would come to the farm several times a day, at the same hours, to be milked. The milk production of a moose is small compared to a dairy cow
Dairy cattle
Dairy cattle are cattle cows bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cows generally are of the species Bos taurus....
: over the lactation season, the total of 300-500 liters (75-125 gallons) of milk is obtained from a moose cow. However, the milk has a high (12-14%) fat content, and is rich in vitamins and microelements; it is
said to have medicinal properties.
A farm-raised moose can live as long as 18 years, although few of them reached that age because of the depredations of wolves, bears, and poachers on the free-ranging population.
Among the potential productive uses of the moose are concerned, the milk production was found the most promising. However, riding a moose, or using it to pull a sleigh
Sled
A sled, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle with a smooth underside or possessing a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners that travels by sliding across a surface. Most sleds are used on surfaces with low friction, such as snow or ice. In some cases,...
was tried at the farm as well.
Over the years, a number of research articles dealing with the physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, ethology
Ethology
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology....
, and ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
of the moose were published by the biologists from the reserve, as well as from the
research institutes in Syktyvkar
Syktyvkar
-Twin towns/sister cities:Syktyvkar is twinned with the following sister cities: Cullera, Spain Debrecen, Hungary Los Altos, United States Lovech, Bulgaria Taiyuan, China-External links:* * * *...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
(e.g.
)
Knorre's and his associates' moose domestication work at Pechora Ilych,
as well as somewhat similar Muskox Domestication Project at the University of Alaska
University of Alaska System
The University of Alaska is a land-grant university founded in 1917 in Fairbanks in the State of Alaska. However, its largest campus by number of students was established in the much-more populous Anchorage area....
's Institute of Northern Agricultural Research, also provided valuable insights in the general theory of animal domestication.
The facility, located in the remote Northern Urals taiga, never meant to turn a profit, and found itself in a difficult situation after the government funding cutbacks of the early 1990s. According to a recent trip report, the moose farm operations have been greatly reduced; the remaining buildings are in a poor conditions, and only a few animals remain. A Moscow teacher visiting in 2003 reported that there were only five left.
However, moose domestication experiments in Russia continue at a more fortunately located Kostroma Moose Farm
Kostroma Moose Farm
Kostroma Moose Farm is an experimental farm in Kostroma Oblast, Russia, where a herd of moose is kept, primarily for milk production; the farm supplies moose's milk to a nearby sanitorium...
.
Sources
On the moose domestication project:
- "Why moose?" An overview of the history of the Russian moose domestication project by Alexandr Minaev, a Moscow biologist who works with the Kostroma Moose FarmKostroma Moose FarmKostroma Moose Farm is an experimental farm in Kostroma Oblast, Russia, where a herd of moose is kept, primarily for milk production; the farm supplies moose's milk to a nearby sanitorium...
. The page includes rare photos from E.P.Knorre's paper "Behavioural changes in elk in the process of its domestication" (in the book "Behaviour of animals and problem of their domestication", Transactions of the Moscow Society of NaturalistsMoscow Society of NaturalistsThe Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow is one of Russia's oldest learned societies....
, vol XXXV, Biological series, Moscow, 1969). - D.V. Zhitnev (Д.В.Житенев), M.M. Serebryanny (М.М.Серебрянный) "Research Activities in Pechora Ilych Nature Reserve. World's First Experimental Moose Farm". (Научная деятельность в Печоро-Илычском заповеднике. Первая в мире опытная лосеферма) (1988)
- Pechora Ilych Reserve "moose farm", a recent trip report
- T.Lecomte, "La réintroduction de l'Elan (Alces alces) dans les zones humides: Un projet dans le cadre du développement durable des zones humides éfavorisées" (Nov-1998)
- E.P. Knorre. "Change in the behavior of moose with age during the domestication", Le Naturaliste Canadien, volume 101 (1974), No. 1-2, p. 371-377.