Tundra partridges on the bulge are watching the surroundings. Is there any predator stalking their souls? Man, while they do not consider it.
Vast areas of the surrounding tundra were covered with heaves, scientifically called hydrolaccoliths. The Yakuts call them "bulgunnyakhs", the Eskimos - "pingos". Hydrolaccoliths in the tundra are formed in winter by water that is "trapped", compressed between two strong layers - permafrost and an active layer freezing from the surface. Ice occupies a larger volume than water that does not have time to freeze, which does not compress under pressure and is looking for a way out. When she has nowhere to go, she rushes up, "swelling" the surface. Hydrolaccoliths can reach considerable sizes up to 70 meters high and 200 meters in diameter. Over time, they break down. The time of their existence is from several years to tens and even hundreds of years. Together with the soil in such mounds, bones and tusks of mammoths and woolly rhinos can be squeezed out to the surface. It is possible that the appearance of such hillocks in the tundra was one of the reasons for the appearance of northern peoples legends that mammoths were offended by people and went to live underground ... Or maybe they are there, like huge moles dig holes?
A small eight-wheeled all-terrain vehicle from the geological base made it possible to explore the tundra at a considerable distance.
An attempt to shoot the tundra with a quadrocopter.
Plain areas of the tundra are heavily swamped. The Byrranga mountain chain is already visible on the horizon.
Patterns of the Taimyr tundra.
Thickets of cotton grass in swampy areas of the tundra. AT good weather everything around is friendly and fluffy.
Numerous broods of the tundra partridge, which have already fledged, live among the swelling mounds. Their characteristic booming calls betray their presence far away.
They are not at all afraid of a person, allowing the photographer to walk together.
In general, these mounds are the real kingdom of birds, which, among the surrounding plains, find shelter in a somewhat closed landscape. Long-tailed skuas build their nests right on the tops of the bulgunnyas.
During this period, they feed the already matured chicks.
A fledgling Long-tailed Skua.
There is something magical in the whistling of the tules in the cottony silence of the plains.
The grown snowy owl chick is already flying, but it is still reluctant to do so. But he willingly poses, moving from bump to bump.
When a person approaches, he spreads his wings, fluffs his feathers, puffs out his huge bright yellow eyes, loudly clicks his beak to appear as big and scary as possible.
The chick's parents stay close. Their white coloration gives the bird away. In the surveyed expanse of open tundra, you can simultaneously see several snowy owls at once. This year, apparently, is the peak of the number of lemmings - the main food of these birds.
Having thanked the hospitable geologists with fresh vegetables from our supplies, on the fifth day of our journey we set off. Ahead of us were the beautiful Pronchishcheva Bay, the Byrranga Mountains and the rookeries of rare Laptev walruses. Our ship, jumping over long braid from the pebbles, going far into the sea, again flew towards the horizon ... And the fuel gauge began to knock on the zero mark. However, this problem was foreseen by our captain. There is a fuel depot near Cape Lopatka where we can refuel.
Barrels with our fuel ended up almost 2 kilometers from the shore at the mothballed base of LLC "Polar Expedition Company". There were a couple of all-terrain vehicles with change houses and a trailer with a bathhouse. Aside is a warehouse of fuels and lubricants in 200-liter barrels. Three barrels are ours. But how do you get them to shore? Two kilometers to roll on the hilly tundra? We postponed the solution of the problem until the morning, taking advantage of the hospitable comfort of change houses.
The wide tracks of all-terrain vehicles are quite gentle on the vulnerable surface of the tundra, allowing you to drive even on a swampy surface. Inside the change house there are ordinary bunk beds, a table, a washbasin, an autonomous diesel stove - everything that is needed for the comfort of geologists.
From here, the Byrranga mountain range is already clearly visible, but it is still more than 50 kilometers away.
Not far from our base, life is in full swing. Large vessels are unloading joint stock company"Khatanga Commercial Seaport". A whole seaport is being built at Cape Lopatka, Kamaz trucks, bulldozers, and excavators are being unloaded. Lukoil plans to develop a large oil field in the central part of the Taimyr Peninsula. A real road will be built from the port at Cape Lopatka deep into the peninsula to the field development site.
The next morning, two snow-white Trekols drove up to our parking lot, as if ordered. Archaeologists are surveying the coast for any historical monuments, which may be damaged or destroyed as a result of such violent activities of the oil company. Throw barrels of fuel to our ship? Yes please!
While the captain was pumping fuel into the fuel tanks, it was time to take a walk along the "quay".
Among the gray pebbles on the seashore, you can sometimes find carnelian. The name of the mineral has Russian roots and literally translates as "face like a heart." It is considered one of the oldest ornamental stones. Archaeologists regularly find products made from the mineral, which are thousands of years old. In ancient times, this stone was divided into male (red-brown) and female (red-orange). This division was used in the manufacture of talismans.
It is interesting that Khariton Laptev in his notes mentions the finds of amber on the banks of the Khatanga River and the banks of Taimyr. Apparently, it was the carnelian that he mistook for amber. However, amber is still found in some places of the peninsula, but it is very rare.
In stormy weather, waves throw a lot of sea cockroaches, or shutters, onto the shore. Sea cockroach (Saduria entomon) belongs to the family of crustaceans, it is predatory look, which feeds on benthic representatives of the fauna. It is also characterized by cannibalism and necrophagy. The crustaceans serve as food for big fish, they live along the coast of the Arctic and Pacific oceans. They are also a delicacy for walruses.
At 40 kilometers from Cape Lopatka, the protected zone of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Reserves of Taimyr" begins. It is called the Arctic section of the State Natural biosphere reserve"Taimyr". Staying in this territory is possible only with the permission of the FGBU administration. We express our sincere gratitude to the Directorate of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Reserves of Taimyr" and personally to Viktor Viktorovich Matasov for the opportunity to visit this site.
The first rookery of the Laptev walrus met us on the spit of Cape Tsvetkov. This is one of the traditional rookeries of the Laptev walrus, where they gather in summer period when the pack ice blows far into the ocean. They are attracted here by the vast shallow waters of this part of the Taimyr coast, where they can feed on crustaceans and mollusks, plowing the bottom silt with their tusks.
There were about a hundred animals on the rookery. Some of them fell apart on the coastal pebbles, some floated in the waters of a small bay.
When we appeared, some of the animals - juveniles, and apparently females, heavily slid into the water and swam away for some distance.
However, after a while, curiosity takes over. Either one or another animal, or even a whole group, begin to approach us, periodically diving under the water.
Unfortunately, the weather was not particularly conducive to photography. It was drizzling, and there was a haze in the air. It was gloomy and cold.
Walruses swam close to us, trying to get a closer look at the aliens. But as soon as a careless sudden movement was made, the animals turned around in a panic and rushed into the sea. But after a while they returned again.
Something human is guessed in the physiognomy of the walrus. Perhaps because of the bristly mustache.
In general, being near a walrus rookery, you catch yourself feeling that next to you is a society of brutal creatures close to humans. Sighs, natural human coughs, human-like spitting and spitting, and of course the pungent smell of animals that for a long time spent on the beach. The only thing missing is rude swearing.
Interestingly, middle-aged and elderly animals treated us, as they probably treat arctic foxes. That is, practically nothing. Completely unconcerned about our presence. Many continued to sleep without even deigning to look at us. Meanwhile, the juveniles stayed away, preferring to watch us from the water. But we did not particularly try to disturb them, fearing for our part some possible attacks on them. Suddenly it will seem to someone waking up that a bear has crept up.
In some animals, in the eyes, more precisely - in one of the eyes, there is some kind of clouding of the pupil. Like a cataract. From sleeping for a long time on the shore, their eyes begin to hurt. Natural conjunctivitis develops, which usually resolves when they return to the water element. But like this, to also have a cataract? It was noteworthy that some animals also suffer from some kind of runny nose.
View of the rookery on the spit at Cape Tsvetkov.
The display of tusks is a representation of the rank of the animal. The larger and more powerful they are, the higher the rank of the walrus in the herd. Losing a walrus tusk is a loss of status.
As they age, the walrus' coarse bristles fall off their entire body, and they naturally go bald, acquiring a funny soft pink coloration of their bare skin.
Old walrus. He was the only one of his kind in the herd we met.
Interestingly, neither our rather noisy ship, nor the people walking nearby caused any particular concern to the animals. Opening their eyes from hibernation and making sure that it was not a polar bear, they again lowered their heads and fell into a dream.
For several hours that we spent with the walruses, the weather did not change, and it was decided to continue our journey north - to the mouth of Pronchishcheva Bay. On the way back we will try to come here, maybe the conditions for shooting will be different.
It's time to talk about the most grandiose sight that I have ever seen - a walrus rookery. As is clear from the title, this is not an ordinary rookery, but neither more nor less - the largest in the world. In addition, this rookery is one of the most concentrated concentrations of wild animals per unit area on our planet.
To see it unique place we are going to the Arctic coast of Eastern Chukotka.
2. Kaniskun Bay is widely known to a narrow circle of marine small feeders. For the majority of the population, even in Chukotka, this name will not mean anything, but meanwhile, it is on the coast of this bay in September-November that the world's largest rookery of Pacific walruses is formed. 
3. The length of the main haulout of walruses on the spit of Keniskun Bay is about two kilometers, with a width of 50-150 meters 
4. Keniskun Spit is washed by water on one side Chukchi Sea, on the other hand - a shallow lagoon. On peak days, the rookery occupies the entire width of the spit. 
5. On peak days, up to 100 (one hundred) thousand (!) walruses come ashore. 
6. No selfie anywhere
7. Most of the walruses at the Keniskun rookery are females and young. 
8. From the ground, the scale of the haulout is not clear; wings or propellers are needed to assess the phenomenon. 
This post is an announcement. I will tell you more about the Keniskun rookery after New Year holidays, because tomorrow I'm leaving for the traditional Christmas ski trip.
Walrus - the most major representative pinnipeds in the Northern Hemisphere, the world championship in size, it is second only to southern hemisphere. Systematically, the walrus is an intermediate link between eared seals and true ones and is the only kind in the walrus family.
Appearance
The walrus is large with very thick skin. The upper fangs are extremely developed, elongated and directed downwards. The very wide muzzle is covered with numerous thick, hard, flattened vibrissae, which the walrus has on upper lip can be from 400 to 700, they are located in 13-18 rows. Walruses do not have external ears, their eyes are small.
The skin of the walrus is covered with short, close-fitting yellow-brown hair, but this becomes less with age, and in older animals the skin is almost completely bare. The limbs are more adapted for movement on land than those of true seals, and walruses can walk rather than crawl. The tail of these mammals is rudimentary.
While some Pacific males can weigh up to 2,000 kg, most weigh between 800 and 1,700 kg. The Atlantic subspecies weighs 10-20% less. Atlantic walruses also tend to have relatively short tusks and a somewhat flatter muzzle. Some males of the Pacific subspecies were much larger than normal.
Females weigh about a third less, Atlantic females average 560 kg, sometimes weighing only 400 kg, and the Pacific female averages 794 kg with a length of 2.2 to 3.6 m. The incisors of the upper jaw are small or completely reduced, in the lower jaw there are no cutters.
The testicles are hidden under the skin-fat layer and are not located in the scrotum. Walruses usually have 2 pairs of mammary glands, sometimes more, and it is not uncommon to have 5 nipples. So, out of 7 walruses of the Pacific and Atlantic subspecies, which are kept in the zoo of Udmurtia and in the Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Harderwijk, the Netherlands), three have five nipples. Males have paired air sacs without closing valves, formed by a protrusion of the upper esophagus. The bags inflate under the skin of the neck, turning upwards, and allow the walrus to float vertically in the water while sleeping.
The skin of these animals is very strong and thick, its thickness on the chest is 4 centimeters, and on the stomach - 8 centimeters. Walrus skin acts as a thick protective shell. The skin of males is covered with peculiar bumps, which are a secondary sexual characteristic.
The flippers of walruses are also noteworthy. Their front flippers are calloused, very mobile and flexible. And the rear ones bend only at the heel joint, thanks to which the walrus leans on them when moving on the ground, ice and stones.
Walruses lead a herd life. The habitat of walruses is coastal waters, the depth of which is not more than 5 meters. It is this depth that is optimal for these pinnipeds.
Food
Walruses find food on seabed with their sensitive vibrissae. The basis of the diet is shellfish. The walrus plunges its fangs into the muddy bottom and rises up a large number of shells. The walrus grinds shells with its large callused flippers and splits the shell. The shell falls to the bottom, and the bodies of the mollusk remain in the water, the walrus can only swallow them. In order for a walrus to be satiated, it must consume at least 50 kilograms of shellfish daily.
In addition, these animals feed on crustaceans, various worms and carrion. Representatives of this species do not like fish, but if there is no other food, then they are reluctant to eat it. In some cases, large walruses attack narwhals and seals. But not all representatives of the species are capable of such bloodthirsty behavior. Most of walrus does not practice this.
Walruses are also not peculiar to cannibalism. These animals, on the contrary, are very friendly with each other. If there is danger, walruses always come to each other's rescue. To kids, these large animals are reverent and affectionate. Mothers are willing to sacrifice their lives for their babies. If the mother dies, then other females take her cub under their care.
Rookeries
Walrus rookeries are a very interesting sight. On the stones lies a huge number of bodies, tightly pressed against each other. Some individuals crawl into the water, while others return to the rookery. In such a huge mass, both individual skirmishes occur and friendly relations are established.
The rest of the rookery is guarded by replaceable sentries. In case of danger, sentries roar, and massive carcasses instantly rush into the water. In such crushes, babies can die. But more often, the mother manages to save the offspring by covering it with her strong body. Walruses arrange rookeries not only on land, but also on ice floes. Pack ice is not suitable for these purposes; only females give birth to offspring on it.
Habitat
The range of walruses is circumpolar, that is, it covers the North Pole in a ring. Unlike seals, walruses avoid vast expanses of water and endless pack (perennial) ice, so they are found only on the coasts of Europe, Asia, North America and Arctic islands. Due to the decrease in the number of walruses, the range of walruses has now been torn into several unrelated sections.
Largest number These animals live on the Chukotka Peninsula, the shores of the Bering Strait and the Labrador Peninsula, there are few walruses in the western and central parts of the coast of Eurasia. seasonal migrations walruses are very short: in winter they move south, but only for a few hundred kilometers, which is not much for such animals.
Lifestyle
Walruses lead a herd life. They live in groups of 10-20 individuals, but can form rookeries up to 100-3000 individuals (more often such large groups created by females). Unlike other pinnipeds, walruses try to lie down on haulouts as much as possible. closer friend to a friend, and they do it not from lack of space, but quite consciously. Even if there is a free area, the herd of walruses does not disperse over coastline, but keeps crowded, just as amicably they dive into the water.
In relation to their relatives, walruses are more peaceful than other seals. Even in mating season they do not have fatal fights, adults do not crush young growth, as happens in other species. There is no hierarchy in the herd, all members of the herd are more or less equal in their rights.
The voice of the walrus is a roar, but in general these animals are more silent than the ever-noisy ones. sea lions and fur seals, on whose rookeries a hubbub is heard. On the ground or on an ice floe, walruses rest lying down, do not move far from the water's edge, which is probably due to the massiveness of their bodies, which makes it difficult to move on land. For the same reason, walruses cannot even climb low, steep rocks, climbing onto a flat ice floe, the walrus often leans on tusks. The tusks also serve the walrus in emergency situations, when the hole is covered with ice, then the walruses break through the ice crust to get to the surface.
In search of food, walruses all go at the same time and generally move in the water with the whole herd. They swim well, can spend the whole day in the water. Walruses can sleep not only on land, but also in water - their bodies, containing 150-250 kg of fat, are unsinkable.
reproduction
The breeding season for walruses begins in April-May. Males fight among themselves and inflict wounds on each other with fangs, but deaths can not be. This is connected both with the generally low aggressiveness of males, and with a thick layer of fat and skin (its thickness reaches 3-4 cm), which protects internal organs. Walruses do not create harems, and females move freely within the rookery.
Pregnancy lasts 330-370 days and childbirth occurs in the next mating season. The female always gives birth to one cub, about 1 m long and weighing 60 kg. From the first days of life, the cub knows how to swim and, in case of danger, leaves the ice floe with its mother. If for some reason the cub cannot do this, the mother stays next to him, even if she is in mortal danger.
The mother feeds the cub with milk for a record long time - 2 years! Only when the walrus has long tusks does it begin feeding on its own. For this reason, most females give birth only once every 3-4 years, only 5% give birth in a year and another 5% annually (those whose cubs died). Walruses grow slowly and reach sexual maturity only by 6 years. Walruses live in nature and in captivity up to 40 years.
Enemies and human craft
In the vast Arctic lands, these strong pinnipeds have only three enemies. The first place among them is occupied by people, the second - and the third -. Man hunts walruses for their meat, tusks, fat and skins. AT last decade humanity put an end to the reckless extermination of walruses.
Today, the law defines draft rules and restrictions on the capture of these pinnipeds, which allows at least to some extent to cause minimal damage to nature. Only the indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic, the Eskimos and the Chukchi, have the right to hunt walruses. All other citizens are prohibited from hunting walruses. Such actions are regarded as poaching.
Walrus hunting takes place towards the end of summer. Traditionally, all parts of the harvested walrus are used. The meat is often canned and is an important source of protein during the long winter. The flippers are fermented and stored as a delicacy until spring. Fangs and bones have historically been used as tools as well as craft material. The melted fat is used for heating and lighting. The strong skin is used as rope and for building dwellings, as well as for sheathing boats. Waterproof capes are made from the intestines and stomach. Meanwhile, as modern technologies replace many aspects of walrus use, walrus meat is still a necessary part of the diet of indigenous peoples, as well as tusk crafts form an important part of the folklore for many communities.
Although the polar bear is a formidable predator, it cannot cope with the walrus in the water. These pinnipeds are better adapted to the sea, so in a fight the bear always remains the loser. On land, it is also difficult for a bear to cope with a walrus, so predators mainly choose cubs or old and sick individuals. In any case, polar bears do not often visit walrus rookeries. Only a strong hunger can force polar bear attack the walrus. And if there are a lot of seals around, then the bear ignores the walruses and prefers easier prey.
Killer whales also pose a threat to walruses. Killer whales can grow up to 9 meters in length. These marine mammals are strong jaws and sharp teeth. The fanged walrus cannot offer worthy resistance to this ferocious predator, because the killer whale is almost 3 times larger than the walrus and 4 times heavier than it. A walrus can escape only in one case - if it has time to quickly get out onto land. In the open sea, a flock of killer whales, consisting of 1.5 dozen individuals, can easily cope with 50 walruses. Killer whales have one hunting tactic - they crash into a flock of walruses, break it into separate parts, surround one part and eat.
The impact of global climate change on the walrus population is another factor to consider. In particular, the reduction in extent and thickness of pack ice is well documented. It is on this ice that walruses form rookeries during the reproductive period for childbirth and mating. As a hypothesis, it is assumed that the decrease in the thickness of the pack ice in the Bering Sea has led to a reduction in suitable resting places near optimal feeding areas. As a result, the duration of the mother's absence from the nursery increases, which ultimately leads to nutritional stress or a decrease in the reproductive contribution of females. However, until now, scientists have an insignificant amount of data, which makes it difficult to draw a reliable conclusion about the effect climate change on the trend of population change.
Walruses are very smart and friendly animals. In captivity, they are perfectly tamed, learn many commands, willingly perform even such complex tricks as playing the pipe, but are found mainly in aquariums. northern countries, since in the south it is difficult for them to provide low temperature water.
Kinds
There are two subspecies of the walrus:
Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divirgens Linnaeus, 1785)
Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus Islliger, 1815)
The independence of the third subspecies, the Laptev walrus (Odobenus rosmarus laptevi Chapsky, 1940), has not been reliably confirmed.
pacific walrus(lat. Odobenus rosmarus divergens) - marine mammal, the only modern species of the walrus family, traditionally attributed to the group of pinnipeds. An adult walrus is easily recognizable by its prominent tusks. But at the Moscow Zoo, walruses have their tusks removed so that they do not injure themselves or the zoo staff.
Most of the Pacific walrus population spends summer north of the Bering Strait, in the Chukchi Sea along the northern coast Eastern Siberia, near Wrangel Island, in the Beaufort Sea along the northern coast of Alaska and also occurs in the waters between these places. A small number of males are found during the summer in the Gulf of Anadyr, on the southern coast of the Chukotka Peninsula in Siberia, and also in the Bristol Bay. In spring and autumn, they concentrate from the western coast of Alaska to the Gulf of Anadyr. They winter in the southern parts of the Bering Sea, along east coast Siberia to the south to the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, as well as along south coast Alaska.
Atlantic walrus– a unique type of ecological region Barents Sea. Refers to class of mammals, order pinnipeds, walrus family, walrus species (Odobenus rosmarus). Listed in the Red Book Russian Federation. Little has been studied, therefore, all information related to Atlantic walruses, in best case abrupt, at worst they are not at all. But something about these animals is still known.
This is a very large animal (the weight of males reaches 2000 kg, length - 3 m, females - 1000 kg and 2.6 m) with a small head, small eyes, and a wide muzzle. The upper jaw has two long (34-38 cm) and powerful fangs, brown skin. Outwardly, they look unattractive, which is even more aggravated by festering eyes and a sharp, fetid smell that comes from a walrus rookery with a huge number of stale fat bodies.
Juveniles are covered with rather dense hairline, like the skin, is dark brown in color; in adult animals, the hair is coarse and sparse. On land, walruses are rather clumsy, moving with difficulty using all four limbs, but in the water they move easily. Apparently, therefore, they mostly lie on a solid surface, and move quite actively in the water. These powerful animals feed on mollusks and crustaceans, they can attack seal pups. In order to get enough, they need to eat 35-50 kg of food per day. Walruses live for a long time - about 45 years, apparently, therefore they grow up slowly, there is time: walruses become sexually mature at the age of 6-10 years.
Laptev walrus lives throughout the Laptev Sea between Taimyr, Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands. Within Taimyr, it is found off the eastern shores of the Severnaya Zemlya peninsula, in the Vilkitsky Strait, in the area of Cape Chelyuskin, Pronchishcheva Bay, on the islands Komsomolskaya Pravda, Thaddeus, Peter, Transfiguration, Begichev, Peschanom. The last three islands lie outside the borders of Taimyr.
Previously, quite large walrus rookeries were noted in many of these places. Thanks to measures taken protection, there is a tendency to expand the range. Walrus populations make small but regular migrations. With the appearance of a wide strip of fast ice, they migrate to deeper water areas and usually stay in the central part of the sea near polynyas.
The number of Laptev walruses located on the rookeries of Taimyr, from Cape Chelyuskin to Cape Tsvetkov, is estimated at 340-360 individuals.
Curious facts
Animals surrounded in the water selflessly protect themselves and their relatives until death: they dive under the boats and make holes in them, and also turn the boats over with their powerful tusks.
In the days of Captain Cook, sailors in thick fog could tell the proximity of the coast by the roar of mating walruses, heard several kilometers away, and thanks to this they often escaped from a collision with an ice floe.
The length of the bone - baculum, which is located in the walrus penis, is approximately 50 cm, which is an absolute record among mammals in terms of body length, as well as absolute length. Thanks to this unique fact the abusive expression "walrus horseradish" was born.
An indelible impression is made by the rookery of walruses, distributed along the shallow outskirts of the Northern Arctic Ocean and neighboring areas of the Atlantic and the Barents Sea. Very close to each other, side by side, lie hundreds of huge, weighing up to one and a half tons, powerful carcasses with heavy, dense bones, dressed in a thick, naked yellowish skin. With a lack of space, animals sometimes settle even in two layers - yearlings on top of adult animals.
The rookery is constantly “moving”: some walruses go into the water to cool down and refresh themselves, others return to sleep for an hour or two, and make their way to their place along the backs of the sleeping ones. They answer them with a mild rumbling, but from time to time instant violent quarrels flare up between the billhooks, then powerful tusks are used. Above the rookery there is an unceasing noise, audible hundreds of meters away: low uterine rumbling, snorting, loud sniffing... In case of a sudden fright, the whole rookery becomes agitated;
This is used by polar bears, hunting for walruses. The predator openly approaches a small group of walruses lying on an ice floe and tries to frighten them so that they rush into the water and crush some cub - and the feast is ready. In the water, walruses are not afraid of bears, but there a much more powerful animal awaits them - the killer whale. A group of 10-15 killer whales surrounds a swimming group of walruses, several killer whales break into the middle of the herd, break it into several groups, and then tear one of them almost completely, while the rest of the animals flee in panic.
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