Guys!

For those of you who want to learn about the life and habits of animals and birds that inhabit the expanses of our great Motherland, this book is addressed. It is like the first cherished path leading to the fascinating world of knowledge about wildlife. However, far from all animals, but their many species, we can tell here. Let's talk about the most interesting ones. Each animal or bird, be it a polar bear or a lynx, a squirrel or a pink pelican, is remarkable in its own way, each of them has its own place assigned to it by nature. So, go! Meet the fluffy, winged, mustachioed and tailed kingdom of wildlife!

Tundra

The tundra stretches along the coast of the North Arctic Ocean. Winter here is very long, snowy and frosty. Summer is short and cold. In July, the warmest month of the year, the temperature does not exceed ten degrees. There is still thin loose snow here and there, and at night the winds whistle. The day is damp and cloudy. In the soil at a shallow depth lies a heavy layer of permafrost. Animals and birds do not live here easily. Large areas are covered with swamps, mosses, grasses. Dwarf birches, willows, aspens grow here. In autumn there are a lot of mushrooms and berries: blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries.

Polar bear

The polar bear lives in the Far North, in the cold and snowy Arctic. The huge vagrant is rightfully considered the most ferocious and voracious predator on the entire coast of the Arctic Ocean.
He has a snow-white, slightly golden in the sun, thick and warm fur coat. Even the soles of the paws are “woolen”. And under the "fur coat" is a thick layer of subcutaneous fat. Fat saves the ferocious tramp from snowstorms, blizzards and hard frosts.

The polar bear runs fast, swims and dives excellently, has sensitive hearing and sharp eyesight. Wandering through the snow-white desert, he hunts seals and walruses, skillfully catches fish, and skillfully digs out mice from under deep snow with his paws.
In the fleeting northern summer season, the white giant feasts on mosses, herbs, and berries.

The head of the polar bear is narrow, and the paws are wide and strong. With such paws it is more convenient for him to row in the icy water element. The tireless white giant easily and freely swims tens of kilometers in the Arctic Ocean.
It is safe to admire a beautiful she-bear with cubs only in the picture. It is a different matter in the wild - there, among the high ice rocks-hummocks and endless snows, beware of it!

Walrus

The cold salty waters of the Kara and White Seas for the walrus, one of the largest animals in the north, reaching a length of four meters, are their native element. He has flippers instead of legs. With them, the walrus, like oars, deftly steers in the sea.

Two large sharp white fangs stick out from under the bristly whiskers of the walrus. With fangs, he leans on the ice floe and, like a thick clumsy leather bag, falls out of the foamy sea abyss onto the shore. Along the shore, walruses move in a waddle, clumsily, with the help of flippers. But they quickly dive from the shore into the waters of the cold sea. They quickly sink to the depths and, like a harrow on the ground, “plow” the muddy bottom with their fangs in search of food. The favorite "dish" of walruses is clams in shells. They crush strong shells with their sharp teeth and gobble up the meat of mollusks along with algae by both cheeks. The appetite of sea fanged divers, frankly, is enviable!

Seal

In December, when snow blizzards howl for weeks in the North and heavy winds whistle, hundreds of large, two-meter heavy bald seals crawl out onto the ice of the White Sea. In the water, seals feel like they are in their native element, much better than on land. Instead of legs, they have flippers, and the front flippers serve them as oars when swimming, and the rear flippers serve as a steering wheel. A thick subcutaneous layer of fat protects them from the cold. Seals are excellent divers and swimmers, they are masters at catching fish in the sea.

In February - March, funny snow-white seal pups with large dark curious eyes are born right on the ice. For the first months of their lives, mothers feed them with milk, and in the North they call them aptly and affectionately - pups.

tundra wolf

From the shores of the Arctic Ocean to the forest-tundra, among the huge ice blocks and polar lights, this ferocious, intelligent and hardy, almost white, to match the endless snow-white fields, a predatory beast lives. Northern tundra wolves are larger than their gray counterparts that live in forests. Their coat is light, warm, long, and the tail is down. They hunt alone or in small packs. The pack is led by an experienced leader wolf. Tundra wolves chase herds of reindeer and musk oxen. Together with them they roam, moving from the tundra closer to the taiga in winter. Most often, their victims are sick and old animals that cannot run fast and lag behind the herd. In addition to deer, hares and arctic foxes, tundra wolves prey on geese, ducks, and in summer they feast on juicy herbs and berries.

Reindeer

In the Far North, frosts and blizzards are almost all year round. And summer is very short. Here you will not meet horses or cows, but expanse for reindeer. After all, the reindeer is a child of endless snow-covered blue expanses and long dark polar nights. He has a thick wavy coat, fast slender legs, branched horns (both in males and females). With its sensitive "plush" nose, the deer looks for tasty and nutritious moss under the snow - reindeer moss.

It seems that mother nature herself created a deer for the North. Thanks to wide hooves, he does not fall into snowdrifts, and does not get stuck in marshy swamps. Reindeer sleds are indispensable for driving on snow-white boundless impassability.
A deer gives birth to one deer per year. The baby quickly gets to his feet and runs after his mother. Do you know what he really loves? Salt! If you want to make friends with a deer, let him lick a handful of salt from his palm with his rough tongue.

Deer meat is tasty, and milk is sweet and fatty. From reindeer skins, the peoples of the North sew warm fur coats, shoes (pima), hats and mittens.

musk ox

In the Arctic and the tundra among the "icy desert" in areas covered with mosses and lichens, small herds of musk oxen graze. The growth of a musk ox is about a small horse - a pony. However, he looks much more like a pony due to his thick, long and warm coat. The bases of the steep, sharp horns (both male and female) of the musk ox close on the forehead into a strong horn shield. Brown, with a soft silky undercoat, wool saves the animal from severe frosts and strong northern winds. Musk oxen feed on mosses, lichens, shoots of dwarf aspens and birches.

If hungry tundra wolves start chasing the herd, then steep-horned male bulls become a dense ring, side by side, horns outward, forming a reliable circular defensive barrier for predators. And in the middle of the circle hide the calves and their sensitive, caring mothers. It is worth the wolf to rush at the bull, as he beats him with horns, tramples on his hooves. And the predators retreat from the herd, as they say, without salty slurping.

arctic fox

Snow-white foxes are inhabitants of open rocky tundras. True, in the Arctic there are blue, and light gray, and even black foxes. The fluffy fur of Arctic foxes is highly valued. Not without reason hunters call them "polar foxes".
In the fleeting northern summer, arctic foxes are expanse: they catch hares, destroy bird nests, feast on berries and sea inhabitants washed ashore by storms.

During the long polar winter, Arctic foxes are hungry, so they have to roam the tundra, making long journeys in search of food. Arctic foxes pick up leftovers from a polar bear's dinner, hunt mice, whose burrows are deep under the snow. The polar fox has an extremely acute hearing: a mouse squeaks somewhere - and he is right there. Buries its muzzle in the snow, rakes it with tenacious paws, snaps its teeth - and the mouse is caught. In blizzards and severe frosts, Arctic foxes hide in burrows they dig in snowdrifts. Animals often spend there for several days, until the thaw. In the spring, funny big-headed puppies are born in sandy burrows.

Snowy or snowy owl

On the islands of the Arctic Ocean and in the tundra lives a large yellow-eyed bird - a snowy owl. Both in winter and in summer it is snow-white with slightly noticeable dark specks. Her beak and claws are sharp, black, hooked. And the feathers on the legs allow the owl to calmly walk on loose snow without falling into it.

The white owl flies noiselessly and sees vigilantly in the pitch darkness of the long polar nights. A light sound or rustle is heard in the night snowy desert - the owl immediately catches it, alerts and flies, smoothly flapping its wide wings. For a moment it will burrow into the snow and carry away a hare, a mouse or a partridge in its claws. No wonder the northerners nicknamed the prey owl "the polar cat."

eider-comb

In the spring, numerous flocks of ducks fly to the islands, rocks and the coast of the Arctic Ocean. One of them on the forehead, at the base, has a large growth, like a comb. For this outgrowth, the duck was nicknamed the "comb". A stately and large beautiful bird with a bright orange beak screams loudly, repeating three times: "Arr-arr-arr ..."
Like all ducks, the eider is an excellent swimmer and diver. It feeds on mollusks, bugs and crustaceans crawling along the bottom and stones.

Waterfowl have membranes on their paws, allowing them to row, as if with oars, without getting bogged down in boggy silt.
Combs nest in pairs, often far from the sea. Unpretentious nests are built right on the banks of lakes or rivers under the shelter of a bush or stone. They cover the bottoms and walls of nests with fluff, plucking it from their lush chest. Under such a warm downy “blanket”, comb chicks are not afraid of either night frosts or icy winds from the ocean.

pink seagull

The pink gull is the winged pearl of the north. She has soft pink feathers on her head, chest and abdomen; beak - black; back and tail - gray-gray; the legs are red, and around the thin neck is a dark necklace. In a word, the plumage of pink gulls, as it were, absorbed the reflection of the polar dawns and the multicolored northern lights.

Throughout the harsh winter, seagulls spend among polynyas and pools of the Arctic Ocean. They boldly rush into the waves, dive and catch fish and crustaceans with their beaks.
With the onset of spring, seagulls fly south. They nest in the lower reaches of the tundra rivers Indigirka and Kolyma. Nests are built right on the ground among moss tussocks and stones.
Pink gull chicks are covered with warm fluff and look like funny plush toys from a distance. Over the years, the "pearls of the North" - pink gulls are becoming less and less, so scientists became alarmed and brought them into the security "Red Book of Russia".

T?peak

A funny bird with a flat thick beak lives on the coast and islands of the Arctic Ocean, the front half of which is painted red. Polar explorers jokingly nicknamed her "sea parrot" or "winged clown", and scientists call her "dead end". The flight of this bird is amazing. When the puffin flies low, as if spreading over the ocean, it seems that it runs along its surface in a race with the wind, jumping from one wave to another. At the same time, the bird flutters its short wings and helps itself with its paws.

Dressed in a dense, warm feather, the “sea parrot” is not afraid of either bitter frosts or cold, piercing winds from the ocean.
Puffin is an excellent diver and successful fisherman. He catches several fish in the water with his beak at once and hurries to feed them to a single chick. And the chick is waiting for its winged parents in an earthen hole on steep slope above the sea.

Whooper Swans

In April, the snow in the tundra begins to melt, streams run, the sun peeps out of the clouds. The wind drives the ice floes downstream. On lakes and rivers, clean water mirrors are formed. Sometimes from heavenly heights the guttural, trumpet call of swans is heard, and on the mirror-like surface of the water, spreading their wings, the majestic white whooper swans, the largest of the swan family, smoothly descend and swim.

Swans come to the north in flocks. On the banks of rivers and lakes, the swan and the swan build large capacious nests in secluded coastal thickets. The swan hatches from eggs from four to six chicks. While the chicks are weak and defenseless, the swans go swimming, carrying their babies on their backs. Soon the swans will grow up, begin to swim independently, catch insects and pluck the grass. The swan vigilantly and bravely guards its nesting place. He does not allow uninvited predatory guests to him - neither a fox, nor a wolf, nor a hawk. In a furious attack on a predator, the swan drives it away with its beak and strong wings and can even injure it.

With the onset of cold weather, flocks of swans fly off to wintering in warm climes. In spring they return to the shores of their native northern rivers and lakes.

Taiga

To the south, the snow-white tundra gradually darkens and turns into coniferous forests - taiga. There are many coniferous evergreen trees in the Siberian taiga: cedar, pine, spruce, fir.

And there are more animals and birds living here than in the tundra. Some hide in dens for the winter, others in bushes, and others in earthen burrows. Winters are cold and harsh, and summers are warm.

Brown bear

In the dense coniferous forests - the taiga - the brown bear lives. In Russian fairy tales, he is respectfully called the master of the taiga, Kosolapy or Toptygin.

At the zoo, in an aviary or cage, the bear seems lazy and clumsy. However, in the taiga, in freedom, he looks completely different. This huge beast, sometimes reaching a length of three meters, quickly and deftly climbs the trunks of tall hundred-year-old cedars, swims across turbulent rivers, and moves heavy boulders out of its way. And with a blow of a strong clawed paw, he knocks down a mighty horned elk. The bear is very smart: if he smells smoke in the taiga or sees a fire from afar, he immediately runs to save himself to a river or lake.
For the winter, the bear goes to sleep in a den - a hole under the roots of old cedars or under the trunks of trees felled by a storm. Bear cubs are born in a bear's den in January-February. In the taiga at this time, frosts crackle, blizzards howl, and in the lair, covered with a lush snow blanket, it is soft, warm and calm.

Bear cubs are born tiny, the size of a mitten. In the spring, when the snow melts, the mother bear stops feeding her cubs with milk, rises from the den and goes with them to the forest. She teaches clubfoot to look for grass roots and cedar cones on the ground, under fallen leaves. The she-bear leads the cubs to the river to drink, teaches them to swim, swim in the shallows. Suddenly, two bear cubs decided to be naughty. One climbed to the top of an old dry pine tree and nearly fell off into the river. And the other began to hit the water with his paws with all his might - the spray flew in all directions! Scared all the fish.
In summer, bears, purring and smacking their lips, eat raspberries straight from the bush, leaving only bare branches after a sweet berry dinner. But their favorite delicacy is the honey of wild bees. For honey stolen from hollows, bears are mercilessly stinged by bees, really, you will not envy the clumsy sweet tooth!

Wolverine

Wolverine strongly annoys taiga hunters. She often empties traps with sables and martens that have got there. For these insidious tricks, she was nicknamed the "devil's bear." Wolverine, indeed, looks a bit like a small bear. She is no more than a meter tall. She has long, thick black and white fur, strong and wide paws, sharp teeth and claws, and a fluffy tail.

The character of the wolverine is a robber. She can bite a wolf and drive a predatory lynx out of her hunting area. And it is also hardy and strong: it runs tens of kilometers through deep taiga snows, chasing roe deer and arctic foxes. In winter, the wolverine hunts for hares, foxes, squirrels, and in summer it wanders through the taiga and gobbles up everything that comes in its path: it catches a frog, a lizard or a mouse and eats it; will notice the nest of the capercaillie - ruin it. She happily gnaws cedar cones, regales herself on the remains of the prey of bears, wolves, lynxes. Eating dead animals, the wolverine performs useful sanitary work in the taiga.

Wolf

As soon as the dove-gray twilight turned into darkness, a wolf came out to the edge of the forest. Large, bushy, with a drooping tail. In the light of the moon, his thick gray fur gleamed silver. The beast lifted up its forehead and howled in a long way: “U-guu! Whoo! Goo!" - called the flock to night fishing. Quietly, trail after trail, sharp-eared wolves ran along the cherished, snow-covered path to the village. Beware of sheep and goats, calves and pigs! Toothy predators went hunting.

In snowy, frosty winters, wolves are hungry. At this time, they do not spare even people. Hunters have been shooting evil and treacherous predators for a long time.
In the taiga and foothills, wolves attack moose, roe deer, deer, and wild boars. Their prey is most often old and sick herbivores. A wolf pack, led by a seasoned leader, goes out to hunt at night, and during the day the animals sleep in a secluded place, far from villages and roads - a den.

Wolves are very attached to their dwelling-lair and protect their taiga "lands" from uninvited guests: bears, wolverines, lynxes. In spring days, under the sonorous drumming of woodpeckers, blind large-headed brown wolf cubs are born to wolves. They grow quickly, gain strength and arrange fuss and fights over bones near a lair hidden in the reeds on the banks of the taiga river.

Lynx

The lynx is a large spotted predatory cat with a short, as if chopped off tail. Her eyes are yellow-green, roguish. Ears with tassels. Paws are wide, soft, with tenacious sharp claws. It is just over a meter long. On the ground and grass, the lynx steps silently. She skillfully climbs the trunks and deftly jumps on the branches of trees.

The lynx hunts at night or at early dawn, and always alone. For hunting, he chooses a small area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe forest. It will lie down somewhere on a thick bough of a shaggy cedar, disguise itself and, with bated breath, will wait for prey. A white hare will gallop along the path or a small roe deer will run to the stream - the lynx will shrink into a ball, spring up ... An instant jump down - and tasty prey in the claws of a predator. And the taiga cat also catches sleepy capercaillie and black grouse; neither mice nor rats can escape from its sharp claws.

Ermine

In summer, the “suit” of the ermine is brown-brown, inconspicuous in the thickets of the taiga and on mountainous rocky placers. But in winter, the beast dresses up in a chic snow-white “fur coat”. Only the tip of the tail remains black. Beautiful and durable snow-white ermine fur is highly valued.

In former times, ermine fur was used to sew long elegant white robes for kings. The "royal animal" lives in underground burrows with many closets, bedrooms and exits. He hunts partridges, hazel grouse, black grouse. However, his favorite food is mice. Fast, agile animals destroy thousands of harmful rodents in the taiga, bringing great benefits to nature.

Chipmunk

A chipmunk is very similar to a squirrel, only almost half its size. His muzzle is squirrel, his ears are round, but without tassels. The eyes are bulging, black, like currants. The “fur coat” of the chipmunk is red, with a short, upright tail, and five black stripes along the back. In a word, the animal is funny. He lives in the taiga.
The agile chipmunk quickly runs along the ground and along tree trunks, and hides from enemies in earthen burrows. For this, the taiga people called him "earth squirrel."

In autumn, a chipmunk stuffs his cheek pouches with pine nuts and puts them in burrows in reserve. With the onset of winter, the "earth squirrel" climbs into a hole and hibernates until spring. In April, it wakes up, crawls out of the "earth bedroom" and feeds on autumn stocks of pine nuts.
In the summer, before a thunderstorm, chipmunks sit on their hind legs, prop their cheeks with their front paws, and, swaying slightly, begin to whistle and cough dully. Both people and animals in the taiga know that since the chipmunks have coughed, it means that soon it will rain or a strong thunderstorm will break out with thunder and lightning.

Golden eagle

This is the largest bird of prey from the large family of eagles. For the majesty and vigilance of the golden eagle was nicknamed "the lord of heaven." Its feathers are wide, dark brown, and its wingspan reaches three meters.

Golden eagles settle in the Siberian taiga on mountain steeps and along river valleys. Huge nests are built of thick branches on rocks or tall trees inaccessible to predatory animals. The “lords of heaven” have a strong guttural scream: “kyek-kyek-kyek ...” For hours they soar in the sky, hunting for arctic foxes, capercaillie, hares. If a golden eagle sees a wolf, it will chase and claw it. In a word, the golden eagle is a brave, strong and vigilant taiga predator.

Owl

In the deaf, dense taiga wilds, in the dark wilderness of the night, an eagle owl hooted loudly. Mice, gnawing on cedar cones, instantly rushed to run in different directions, rustling with needles and fallen leaves.
The winged predator, catching the rustle, smoothly flew after its prey. A quick, sudden landing - and a mouse in his sharp claws. With prey, the owl flies to its nest, which is located in a ravine, in a crevice of an old stump. There, two yellow downy chicks are eagerly waiting for him.

In pitch darkness, the eagle owl, the largest owl, sees and hears well. He has large orange-red eyes, a strong hooked beak, and two bunches of feathers stick out on the sides of his head - sensitive "ears". The flight of the nocturnal winged predator is silent. Loudly hooting and laughing at night for the entire forest district: “Uh-hoo-hoo-hoo!”, the eagle owl scares and claws crows and hares, preys on rodents: mice and rats.

Capercaillie

The largest bird that lives in old coniferous forests with berries and mosses is the capercaillie. If wood grouses are not disturbed, trees are not cut down in their nesting places, then they will settle there for tens to hundreds of years. They feed on berries, grass seeds, needles, buds, peck fragrant resin, catch various insects, and swallow small pebbles along the banks of rivers and streams. Stones, like millstones, help grind food in their stomachs.

In the spring, as soon as the snow begins to melt in the taiga, the swelling buds smell sweet and intoxicating, and the warm south wind hums in the tops of the cedars, large stout grouse roosters sit on high branches and begin to sing their soulful songs - tokat. It is still dark and quiet in the taiga at this time. But suddenly, from somewhere above, from the early morning darkness, from the shaggy cedar paws, a slight click is heard: “Buck!” and a marvelous song begins to sound. Tokuya, a handsome “taiga rooster”, whose dark plumage shimmers with a metallic sheen, spreads his tail like a fan, lowers his mighty brown wings, stretches his neck up, raises scarlet eyebrows and ruffles his black “beard”. It is not for nothing that the capercaillie, the same age as the ancient elephant - the mammoth, was popularly called the "king-bird". Yes, it has a special song! At the beginning there is a dull clicking: “teke-teke, teke-tek”, and then turning like a knife on a bar: “cree, hide, hide ...” At the end of this selfless song, the capercaillie ceases to hear anything, deafens. Apparently that's why it was called that. But the capercaillie has a keen eye!

Crow

The raven is as black as the soot in the furnace. Its dense, strong feather casts a dark purple steel sheen in the sun. Of the large raven "black" family - jackdaws, ravens, magpies, rooks - the raven is the largest, portly bird with a strong thick beak and sharp claws. Crows build nests in coniferous forests, on tall spruces and cedars, on rock ledges. Their flight is free and smooth. Easily, as if jokingly, they overcome long distances.

In the morning, the crows go out for prey. With a keen eye they will inspect every trail, ravine in the taiga, examine the banks of the rivers. If they notice carrion: the remains of an elk, felled by a bear, or a dead fish on the shore, they will immediately notify their relatives about this. Sonorous, guttural, invocative cries will be heard from heaven: “Krruk!”, “Krruk!”

01. Wolverines are amazing animals.

With their relatively small size, they manage to hunt prey 5 times their size. Wolverines are surprisingly strong and dangerous animals, they can easily fight with a wolf or a lynx. And sometimes, in case of emergency, they will fight with a bear.

02. Wolverine habitats are forest-tundra, taiga, sometimes tundra.

They live in North America, Eurasia, are found in the Baltic States, Poland, Finland. In Russia, most often individuals can be found in the Far East, in Siberia, but their habitat is also the Novgorod, Pskov regions, the Kola Peninsula, Karelia.

Wolverine is an animal characterized by large size. The body length varies from 70 to 86 cm, and the tail grows to 18–23 cm. The weight of a wolverine is 9–30 kg, with females slightly smaller than males.

03. Wolverine looks like a large badger or a small bear

She has a clumsy squat body, her hind legs are longer than her front ones. The feet are wide, with a length of 10 cm, they have a width of 9 cm. The muzzle of the animal is elongated, the tail is fluffy.

When walking, the animal steps on the entire foot, so the wolverine's gait is the same as that of a bear, clubfoot. The wolverine's coat is thick, coarse, and the hair is long. The fur is brown-black or brown. From the top of the head, along the shoulders, to the croup, there is a strip of golden or yellow color.

04. Wolverines are divided into 2 subspecies - European and North American.

They are nocturnal, they sleep during the day, and go hunting at dusk.

These predators desperately defend the boundaries of their territory if they are violated by an individual of the same sex. They settle in crevices of rocks, under uprooted tree roots and in other similar places.

05. They often change their place of lodging for the night in search of prey.

But at the same time, they try not to go beyond the boundaries of their personal plot, which sometimes stretches for 2000 square meters. km. Wolverines have excellent hearing, flair, sharp eyesight.

The animal has long claws and powerful paws, so it is easy for him to climb trees. Since wolverines are carnivores, their diet mainly consists of animal food. They feed on mouse-like rodents, hazel grouse, black grouse, sometimes what is left of the hunt, wolves.

If the animal has nothing to eat, it can attack the wolf itself (but this is rare) or recapture from him, from their prey.

06. Sometimes wolverines prey on large ungulates, wounded, sick or young animals become their prey.

Wolverine can kill an animal that is 5 times taller than her! But this happens mostly in winter.

High snow cover makes it difficult for animals to move, wolverines take advantage of this and attack their potential prey. These predators are capable of chasing prey for a long time, as they are distinguished by endurance.

In summer, the wolverine is not averse to eating honey, berries, wasp larvae, bird eggs, lemmings (rodents). Like the bear, the wolverine fishes during spawning or near polynyas. Moreover, she eats not only fresh, but does not disdain and already dumped fish.

07. Wolverines hunt birds not only when they are, but also in nests, since these animals, despite their outward clumsiness, climb trees perfectly and cling to the trunk, thick branches.

Even a bear tries to avoid an evil and aggressive beast if it meets a wolverine. She can drive the bear away from his own prey and take the trophy for herself. Although these animals hunt well, they prefer to save energy and, if possible, eat carrion. In this they are also similar to bears.

08. During the mating season, the rassohi cease to lead a solitary lifestyle. The mating season for these animals lasts from April to October, but the most intense breeding season occurs in April - June.

At this time, individuals are intensively looking for a partner. Sometimes animals mate several times in a row. The initial stage of pregnancy in wolverines is very interesting. This period is called the open stage.

In almost all other animals, the fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the uterus, begins to divide and develop intensively here. In wolverines, it moves freely in the uterus for some time without developing.

This latent stage allows wolverine cubs to be born at the most suitable time of the year - in January - April. This usually happens once every 2 years.

09. The female is preparing for childbirth.

To do this, she prepares a long spacious lair in a hollow of a tree, under a rock or in a snowdrift, burying food for herself next to it. Usually 2-3 babies are born, but sometimes up to five.

They are born blind, but covered with thick hair, so they do not freeze in the cold, moreover, their mother warms them with her warmth. She rarely leaves the den within 2-3 weeks after giving birth, as during this period she intensively feeds the babies with her milk and protects them. She herself feeds on what she brought as trophies to the lair before giving birth.

After three weeks, she begins to go far to hunt small animals, birds, which she brings to her puppies. When they are 8-10 weeks old, the mother begins to take them out of the den and teaches them to hunt on their own.

10. This is the real owner of the forest, which even bears bypass
When deciding to get a wolverine, do not forget that wolverines are rather large predators.

It’s even scary to imagine what they can do if a person offends them or behaves in a way that angers the beast.

11. It is believed that if you take an animal in infancy, it can be tamed. But, of course, you need to keep wolverines in cages and let them go for a walk in a fenced enclosure, observing all safety rules.

However, it is better to leave the maintenance and domestication of wolverines to professional zoologists who are well aware of all the intricacies of this difficult task, who will be able to properly feed the animal and provide the individual with the space necessary for its full life.

12. Wolverines have another interesting property that makes it difficult to keep them at home.

Like skunks, when threatened or frightened, wolverines can release a foul-smelling spray. Experienced hunters say that if this jet hits hunting dogs, they may lose their sharpness of instinct. If a wolverine marks a person with this secret, the smell can last up to ten days.

Therefore, it is better to watch this animal from TV screens, at the zoo - it is much safer than deciding to buy an animal for your home.

13. The good news is that there has never been a documented case of a wolverine attacking a human. So we think that we will never know what will happen for sure in such a meeting.

Wolverines do not pose a threat to humans, unless they are rabid, or if hypothetically one can imagine that the human is very weak and unable to move.

Wolverines sometimes come to people, they are curious and according to some reports their eyes are hard to see, so they want to get closer and take a look. It's better to be careful in such situations, but don't think that the wolverine is chasing and attacking you.

14. Wolverines can pose a threat to pets.

If there are wolverines in your area, keep your pets locked up, especially from dusk until dawn. If you are walking your dog in the wilderness, keep your dog close to you. If you are lucky enough to have domestic reindeer, don't let them roam unsupervised, wolverines consider domestic reindeer to be quite tasty food.

Never corner a wolverine, like any animal that is threatened, it will defend itself and is likely to cause serious injury.

Kunya

Domestic zoologists do not have a common opinion about the Russian name of this family. More common - mustelids, less often martens, or martens. The family unites a large group of specialized small and medium predators.

Almost all mustelids of the USSR have a long, elongated body, relatively short legs, and good fur. Most of them have special glands at the base of the tail that produce a secret with an unpleasant odor. The secret is used to mark individual areas, as well as for self-defense.

Feeding on small murines, the number of which in nature is subject to significant fluctuations, has developed a number of reproduction features in mustelids. Firstly, the ability to bring a different number of cubs - from 2-3 to 15-16 or more, depending on food supplies. Secondly, the presence of a so-called latent period in the development of the embryo, that is, a delay, suspension of its development for various periods. In some species, this diapause reaches several months, due to which the gestation period can be greatly lengthened. The ermine, for example, has up to 393 days, the sable and wolverine have somewhat less. If unfavorable conditions persist for a long time, some of the embryos are resorbed and absorbed.

Finally, thirdly, many mustelids do not have clearly defined periods of rut and whelping dated for certain seasons of the year, as is typical for most animals. Mating and the emergence of young often occur in different time of the year. All these features of reproduction allow martens to quickly and adequately respond with changes in numbers to fluctuations in prey stocks (small rodents).

In the fauna of the USSR, there are 19 species of mustelids, including the acclimatized American mink. Altai is inhabited by 12 species, of which marten (stone) and ligature are found in the south of the mountains in very small numbers. Apparently, at present they are not present in the Altai Mountains; we have not been able to obtain information on prey or encounters of these animals in the last 10-15 years. The remaining 10 species are fairly common in the region.

Sable

One of the most typical members of the family. We have not seen any bright epithets about sable and its fur in the literature: the pearl of the taiga, soft gold, etc. The sable fur is really good: smart, thick, with a dense bluish underfur, shiny, moderately long. The animal in winter attire is slender, graceful, proportionately built, with wide paws, a fluffy tail, and an almost round head. Body length 35-50 cm, weight from 800 to 1700 g.

In Altai, sable lives in a wide variety of lands: dark coniferous taiga and light coniferous forests, black taiga and deciduous forests, mountain rocky and shrubby tundras, clearings and burnt areas. Despite the variety of habitats, the sable is primarily a forest animal, and it does not move far from the forest or at least shrub thickets.

The sable has a swap habitat, which he guards and protects from the encroachments of other relatives. The size of the plots is determined by the fodder and protective qualities of the land. In Altai, they usually make up 1.5-2 sq. km. On the territory of the site, the animal has several permanent and temporary shelters. They are found in the roots and hollows of growing trees and in fallen trees, placers and crevices among the rocks. In them, the animals rest after hunting, breed offspring.

The basis of the sable diet is voles, mice, pikas, and in summer also birds and their clutches. He loves pine nuts, eats mountain ash and other berries, reptiles, and insects. Of the game animals, hares, black grouse, capercaillie sometimes become its prey. There are reports in the scientific literature about the successful hunting of sable for musk deer in a burrow of loose deep snow.

Sable hunts at any time of the day, but more often at twilight hours. He likes to go hunting at the end of a snowfall. In winter, in search of prey in one day, it can run up to 7-8 km. The animals live sedentary, only the young settle in autumn in new places not occupied by adults. There are also mass movements, but rarely, and in general they are not typical for this species.

Sable participates in reproduction from 2-2.5 years. Mating occurs at the end of June-July, pregnancy lasts 270-280 days. Young are born in April. In nature, the number of sable calves in a female is closely related to food and weather conditions last winter. The more favorable they are, the greater the offspring, and vice versa. On average, there are 3-4 puppies, maximum 7. They are born blind, helpless, only on the 30-36th day they open their eyes, at the age of one and a half months they begin to leave the nest.

In Altai, the sable has few enemies: an owl, a wolverine, occasionally a wolf, a fox. These predators are dangerous mainly for young, inexperienced sables. The greatest number of sables die from hunters.

Sable is a very mobile animal. He is agile, fast, feels confident on the ground and on the trees, in the mountains among the stones and on the plain. In the highlands it rises above the border of the forest, where it hunts pikas and voles. It can stay under the snow for a long time in search of prey.

The range of the sable is extensive, it occupies the entire forest zone of Siberia from the Urals to Kamchatka inclusive. Previously, it inhabited the north of the European part of the USSR and penetrated even into Scandinavia. The color and quality of the skin of an animal distributed over such a vast territory are quite different. For a long time, fur traders have identified more than a dozen so-called "ridges" - skins of the same type from any locality, which have a complex of properties inherent only to them. The skins of sable from Transbaikalia - Barguzin and Yakut - were and are most highly valued. Skins from Western and southwestern parts range - the Tobolsk, Altai, Minusinsk ridges - are regarded lower.

Inside the ridges, there are also color variations, the number of which used to be up to seven. The darkest, almost black in color skins ("head" and "head") were valued much higher than the light "collar" and "fur" skins. In the eastern part of the range, dark-colored forms predominate, in the western and southern parts - light ones. Among the Altai sables, dark individuals are rare. AT last years the system for evaluating skins was somewhat simplified: the number of ridges was reduced, and only four color categories were left - the first, second, third and fourth colors.

The history of sable stocks in our country is quite instructive. Intensive hunting, which depleted sable populations for several centuries, and the reduction of taiga forests led to a steady decrease in the number of this animal, a reduction in its range, and its fragmentation into separate isolated areas. The peoples who inhabited Siberia in the past paid tribute most often with sable skins. Altai tribes living in the North-Eastern Altai paid yasak - 5-6 sable skins per year from each adult male.

By the beginning of the XX century. stocks of the animal were severely undermined. After the introduction of the ban in 1912, the situation improved somewhat, but the ban was poorly observed in the vast expanses of Siberia, the number of the valuable animal almost did not increase, in a number of places it continued to decline.

In Altai by the mid-30s. In the current century, the sable has been almost completely exterminated. Small pockets of its habitation, in each of which probably only a few animals survived, were preserved only in 2-3 most remote corners of the taiga near Teletsk and in the basin of the river. Sumults. In 1935, a ban on sable hunting was introduced. By the mid 40s. its numbers have recovered, and since that time hunting has been allowed under licenses. In the early years, few permits were issued for fishing, as they feared a new overfishing. The prey limits increased slowly, the growth of the sable population was ahead of them, and its range expanded rapidly. In the 50s and 60s. sable inhabited almost the entire forest part of the right bank of the Katun, penetrated far up the Chulyshman and Bashkaus. The animals appeared on the left bank of the Katun in its upper reaches, in the upper part of the Charysh basin, in the upper reaches of the Syoma.

The population density in the best lands of the northeast and the central part of Gorny Altai reached 15-20, and in some places even 25 sables per 1 thousand hectares. Such oversaturation of land in a number of places has led to undesirable consequences. Diseases began to appear, fertility decreased, and mortality increased.

By this time, almost all hunting restrictions had been lifted: hunting periods were lengthened or extended to the extreme limits, “up-gatherings” were allowed annually, when sables obtained in excess of licenses were taken from hunters. Thus, they were encouraged to harvest any number of sables. In the mid 60s. some of the most skilled and hardworking hunters hunted up to 150-200 sables during the hunting season.

Intensified hunting led to a new decrease in numbers. The boundaries of the range have been preserved, but the population density has sharply decreased, in some places the sable either completely disappeared or lost its leading position in fur harvesting.

In the early 80s. the central part of the sable range in Altai turned out to be noticeably sparse, the population density decreased to 0.5-1 individuals per 1000 ha. However, on the periphery of the distribution area, where they were hunted less, the animals continued to settle. They penetrated to the northwest almost to the city of Gorno-Altaisk, continued to develop small forest areas in the south, southwest and west of the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Region. The colonization of all lands suitable for it in Altai by sable was coming to an end.

The peak of harvesting skins in Altai fell on the end of the 50s - the beginning of the 60s, the maximum was harvested 6 thousand pieces per year. Sable firmly took first place in the preparations. From the beginning of the 70s. due to the reduction of stocks, blanks fell gradually to several hundred. In fact, the hunters got 2-3 times more.

At present, most of the sable has been preserved in the taiga near Teletsk, especially in the reserve, as well as along the rivers Sumulta, Kadrin, in the upper reaches of the Katun. In other places it is little or not. Hunting is limited. However, it is difficult to control the observance of the hunting norms; more animals are harvested than allowed, which leads to a further reduction in their numbers.

Apparently, in the coming years there will be a need to introduce a ban on the production of this valuable animal. The mistake made in the 1930s must not be repeated.

Wolverine

A typical inhabitant of dense taiga forests, although it can often be found in treeless highlands. By appearance animals are not like most mustelids - elegant, graceful animals. You can only compare a wolverine with a bear cub: a massive body, short, thick strong paws, long brown hair - everything is like a bear. It is given out only by the tail, which the bears do not have. It is about 20 cm long, but so densely pubescent long hair which seems big.

At first glance, the wolverine gives the impression of an awkward, clumsy beast. Moves in small uneven jumps, somehow sideways, buttocks raised. But first impressions are deceiving. In fact, the beast is very strong, dexterous, flexible, agile, climbs trees well. By nature, this is a bold, even courageous, decisive, aggressive animal. The mass of adult males can reach up to 18-20, and according to some authors, even up to 32 kg. The females are smaller.

Taiga hunters do not like wolverine. Among them there is an opinion about her evil disposition, deceit, extraordinary gluttony. This attitude towards the predator is due to the fact that he steals squirrels, hares, ermines, minks, sables from traps and other traps, in winter everything goes to food. It happens that he steals food from taiga huts and storehouses. She herself rarely falls into the hands of hunters, she is very careful and prudent. It is difficult to catch her in a trap. If she happens to get into him, then she often frees herself thanks to her strength and dexterity.

Outside of the breeding season, wolverines live alone. Each animal has its own hunting area, usually very large - 400-500 square meters. km. Therefore, these animals are rare. Only with an abundance of food, the areas can be noticeably smaller. It happens that in the winter hungry time, several wolverines feed near the carcass of a dead elk or deer.

Wolverines are agile. In winter, when food is scarce and difficult to access, their daily trek across the site is 30-40 km. In summer, food is in abundance, at this time the wolverine, in addition to mice, voles, birds and their clutches, willingly eats various non-meat foods - nuts, berries, plants, insects. In winter, its main food is the meat of ungulates: elk, maral, roe deer, musk deer, reindeer. She gets this food almost exclusively in the form of carrion or the remains of the prey of wolves and other predators. Only she quite successfully catches musk deer herself. It happens that she manages to get deer or elk - wounded animals, sick, young animals. She can kill an adult healthy animal only in deep snow or crust.

In the unusually snowy winter of 1965/66, a young female deer killed by a wolverine was found in the taiga near Teletsk. Based on the tracks, it was possible to establish that the predator jumped onto the back of the victim and gnawed at her neck. Throwing itself under trees with low-hanging branches, the red deer several times threw off the terrible rider from the back. However, she did not have enough strength to run away through more than a meter of snow, she stopped, and the wolverine attacked again and again...

In wolves, she constantly carries away and hides the remnants of prey, sometimes drags her into the trees. Perhaps that is why the wolves do not like her, and in the event that the wolverine cannot escape the tree, they try to kill her. The wolverine is not afraid of a lynx or a fox; it often takes prey from them. According to the stories of hunters, even a bear sometimes yields to it some tasty carrion. In this case, her main weapon, apparently, is not strength, but courage and an unpleasant smell for the "master of the taiga".

The stories about the voracity of the wolverine are unfair, she eats no more than 1 kg at one sitting, in rare cases - up to 2 kg. At the same time, she feeds once a day and then not every day. In captivity, she ate only 7 times in 12 days. Usually, she stores excess food for future use, as is typical of predators.

On the basis of observations of them in captivity, the stories about the gloomy and evil disposition of this beast were also not confirmed. Tame from puppyhood, wolverines are unusually affectionate, sociable, affectionate, playful and dearly love the person who raised them. It was thanks to the tame wolverines, who lived in complete freedom and went into the forest when they wanted, that Swedish zoologists were able to get to know their way of life in detail, studied the characteristics of reproduction. In nature, such observations are very difficult to make.

Their mating and whelping periods are very long. Only once every two years, the female brings from one to four cubs, more often than two. Young ones appear from late February to early autumn, but in most cases still in the spring, from April to June. They grow quickly, and babies born in spring usually accompany the female on hunting trips in autumn. It happens that the whole first half of winter the family hunts together, and the young at this time are no longer inferior to the female in size.

Hunting for wolverine is allowed within the same time frame as for other fur-bearing animals. Its fur is not very valuable, as it is heavy, coarse, long. However, in the sock it is durable, it does not grow cold in severe frosts, it does not get wet in dampness. These qualities are highly valued by the peoples of the north of Siberia.

There are few wolverines in Altai. In the best years, harvesting of skins in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Region barely reaches 50-60 pieces. The total number of these animals in the taiga of Gorny Altai is unlikely to exceed several hundred individuals.

One of the smallest carnivores. It is found almost everywhere in Altai. Noticeably tends to open places. It rises to the mountains up to 2500-3000 m. The population density of the stoat, like most predators, is never high. One animal for life requires an area of ​​​​about 0.5 square meters. km. He hunts in the dark or twilight, rarely during the day.

In winter, the stoat is pure white, only the tip of the tail is black. In summer, the back and sides are brownish or brown. Fur is valued quite highly, only the skin is very small. Body length 20-30 cm, weight 200-250 g.

Ermine is a curious, courageous animal. He is always ready to climb into any gap, examine every mink, hollow. Enters into a fight with such large rodents as a hamster or gopher, and defeats them. In a hopeless situation, it can even rush to a hunting dog or a person. If possible, he, of course, prefers to retire, because a meeting with a hunting dog does not bode well for him - the forces are too unequal. An angry animal chirps loudly and piercingly.

The main food of the ermine is small mouse-like rodents: mice, voles, water rats, pikas, hamsters, chipmunks. Rarely attacks game animals, and then only on cubs. With an abundance of murines, it kills so many of them that it does not have time to eat and arranges supplies for a "rainy day", hiding them in hollows, rodent burrows, and other shelters. Settling near fields and forest nurseries, it is of great benefit, exterminating pests. Small mouse-like rodents cause foresters a lot of grief by destroying the sown seeds of conifers, especially cedar, and even young seedlings. In these cases, the ermine, and even the weasel, are the first helpers of the forester.

The fertility of stoat females varies widely and is directly dependent on the number of mouse-like rodents. In Altai, the number of ermine has been decreasing in recent decades. This is noticeable during observations in nature, this conclusion is also confirmed by the harvesting of skins. In 1934-1935. they exceeded 12 thousand pieces, in the late 70s - early 80s. harvested two - three hundred.

Considering the benefits brought by the ermine, as well as the very modest size of its prey, it would be worthwhile to completely abandon hunting for it, and not only in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Region, but throughout the Altai Territory - a region of developed agriculture.

Very close to ermine weasel. It is even smaller, distinguished by the pure white color of winter fur. Leads the same lifestyle. It has no commercial value.

Kolonok

This animal in Altai at times was the most numerous of the mustelids after the ermine. It occurs almost everywhere in the mountain taiga, but is more common in the northern part of the mountains and foothills, in the subtaiga forests. In those places where there is a lot of sable, the column is absent or not enough - a stronger predator displaces it as a food competitor.

The column has a long narrow body, short legs, and a small head. The body length of males is 30-35, females - up to 30 cm. Weight of males is 600-800, females is 300-400 g. Color is monophonic, bright red. On the muzzle there is a dark brown "mask" covering the eyes, and on the lips and chin there is a pure white spot. Winter fur is short, thick, dense. On the tail, the hair is more elastic - high-quality paint brushes are made from it. Traces of the column are similar to the traces of a sable, only noticeably smaller, its jumps are shorter.

Previously, the column was found only in Siberia, for which it received the name "Siberian". However, over the past 150 years, it has penetrated far to the west, beyond the Urals. It lives in a variety of lands - river valleys with thickets of shrubs, stony placers, light and dark coniferous taiga, sogras and birch copses.

The basis of food columns are small mammals. They can hunt birds, eat their masonry, insects, carrion. It happens that columns climb into chicken coops and crush chickens. More time than sable, these animals can spend under snow, in windbreak. They rarely climb trees, as they do not feel very confident there.

Hop at the pumps at the end of February - March, sometimes in April. A month later, from 4 to 10 cubs are born, and after another month they begin to see clearly. They grow quickly and in the fall begin an independent life.

The column has many enemies. Actively pursues him and can bite the sable, exterminate the fox, eagle owl, goshawk.

In the years of low sable abundance, at the end of the 1930s, up to 5.5 thousand skins were harvested annually in the region. As stocks of sable grew, the procurement of pelts in Kolka steadily decreased. In the first half of the 60s. they again rose to 4 thousand, but by the end of the 70s they finally dropped to 200-300 pieces. Part of the skins settles with hunters, but the main reason for the reduction in purchases is a significant decrease in the number of this animal. This process covered not only Altai, but also most its range.

Solongoy

The size of the animal is average between the column and the ermine. In winter, the color is fawn or reddish, pale, the underside of the body is lighter. The chin and upper part of the neck are almost white. Unlike the kolinsky, there is no brown mask on the muzzle. The body length of males is 24-26, females - 22-23 cm.

Prefers lightly forested or open mountainous landscapes. Inhabits lands where there is no column, which usually actively pursues it. In their distribution, these two species, as it were, replace each other, while the solongoy rises higher in the mountains.

It feeds, like other small mustelids, on mice, voles, shrews, birds nesting on the ground, and insects. It swims well, climbs trees, stones, rocks. The sounds he makes are very similar to the chirping of an ermine, he is just as bold and even less cautious. Mating takes place in the spring, from February to April. Young, on average from 3 to 6, appear in May-June, sometimes in April.

In Altai, solongoy is a traditional object of fur trade. Over the last 50 lots, the harvesting of its skins has decreased much less than the harvesting of other fur-bearing animals - only 3 times. In the 30s. they exceeded 3 thousand, and in the early 80s. - 1 thousand. The state of the solongoy reserves in the Altai mountains is still quite satisfactory, the species is not threatened with extinction.

American mink

Currently one of the common fur species in Altai. It is found almost everywhere, but its main habitats are in the northeast (Turachaksky, Choisky and Maiminsky districts). The release of this animal in the amount of about 400 individuals in the region was carried out in 1937, 1940 and 1941. The minks were delivered from the Pushkin and Murmansk fur farms near Moscow. The places of release are the left tributaries of the Biya (Uimen and Kara-Koksha), the upper reaches of the Charysh. After the war, these works were continued and about 700 more animals were released in Altai, and they were caught here - in the Turachak and Choi regions. They took root in new habitats quite successfully. Mink swims and dives well, can catch small fish, eats amphibians and reptiles, aquatic invertebrates - beetles, caddisflies, larvae. In winter, it willingly stays near rivers, where there are many non-freezing areas on the rifts and near the outlet of springs, there is a lot of driftwood in the water, which forms creases and blockages. Feels good where multi-layered ice with voids and cracks is formed. In these places there are enough shelters, it is easy to get to the water, to find food.

Despite the clear preference for an aquatic lifestyle, the mink lives well and forages on land. In search of food or escaping from enemies, she can climb trees low. Sometimes it climbs into chicken coops and makes a fair devastation there. For voles or mice, she hunts under the snow, where she feels like in her native element. Moves freely in the snow mass and on its surface. Downhill prefers not to run, but to roll in the snow. He will press his paws and slide down on his stomach or side. Run up - ride a few meters, a new run - and again sliding.

The character of the mink, like that of other mustelids, is aggressive. Nevertheless, it is tamed quite easily, especially if it gets to a person as a cub. However, it is not suitable for keeping in captivity - it smells too unpleasant. Despite the fact that she unnecessarily does not use the secret of her gland, the smell is constantly felt.

Once in the upper reaches of the river. A swan in a snowy clearing attracted my attention to a fresh mink track that suddenly broke off. There was no way into the depths of the snow, the animal seemed to have flown away. On closer examination, it turned out to be so: on the sides of the last imprint of the mink's paws in the snow, there were lines left by the flight feathers of the eagle owl's wings.

The American mink is one of the long-standing and widespread objects of fur farming. Durable, with dense shiny fur, the skin is in great demand. Fur breeders have bred minks with a variety of fur colors.

The release of minks in the Altai lands gave a great economic effect. Starting from 1942, regular fishing for this animal began. Especially a lot of skins (up to 1.5-1.7 thousand pieces per year) were mined by Turachak and Choi hunters in the early 60s. In the same years, 200-300 live minks were regularly caught for resettlement in other regions and regions of Siberia and the European part of the country. In total, more than 7 thousand minks were caught and taken to other places.

Later, the stocks were greatly reduced. The main reason is the decrease in the number of animals in the lands as a result of overfishing. In the most recent years, mink stocks in the North-Eastern Altai have begun to recover.

Ferret light, or white

It is also called wall. Within the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Region, it is most common in the southern and western lightly forested areas. It does not occur in the taiga zone.

The ferret is painted in light colors - yellowish or whitish-yellowish with a dark coating. On the muzzle, like the column, there is a mask, but pale, indistinctly expressed. The lower part of the body is light or dark brown, the front sides of the paws are also colored. In general, the animal looks pretty colorful. The coat is long, soft and fluffy. The awn is rare, underfur is visible everywhere. Summer fur is short, coarser than winter, red and brown spots are more pronounced.

The animal is quite large: the body length of males is 32-56, females -21-50 cm, weight of males - up to 2, females - up to 1.5 kg. Lives in flat and upland steppes, on the slopes of gentle mountains, sometimes in alpine meadows up to a height of more than 2000 m. In their absence, hori can eat carrion, insects, birds and fish, attack small domestic animals - rabbits, chickens. They cannot defeat the marmot, but they attack young or wounded animals. According to the stories of hunters, they sometimes make their way to hibernating marmots, for which they break through special holes and eat them.

Like an ermine, the polecat stores food - up to a dozen or more dead ground squirrels and other prey were found in their burrows.

In summer, with an abundance of food, the polecat keeps in small areas. In winter, when there is little food and it is difficult to get it, the zone of hunting activity expands, the animals run up to 15-20 km per day. They are active then and during the daylight hours.

The animal is agile, curious, courageous. Ferrets are excellent swimmers, can climb trees well, and are able to quickly tear open rodent burrows. Once in a difficult position, they bravely attack a larger enemy, even rushing at a person. A familiar hunter told me about a similar case. One late summer, returning from fishing, he came face to face with a brood of ferrets. Numerous - about a dozen young - the family, headed by mother, was walking in single file when they stumbled upon my acquaintance. The youth immediately attacked his legs fearlessly and furiously. In jumping, they got it above the boots and bit painfully ... The female, to her credit, turned out to be a prudent mother - she grabbed the young by the scruff of the neck and pulled them away from the man. But she was alone, and there were many of them. My friend fought back for some time with a fishing rod, but soon he could not stand it and took to flight, which saved him from further attacks by these desperate bullies. Mating takes place in spring, usually in March, up to 18 cubs appear in May, on average 8-10. Unlike other mustelids, ferrets do not have individual plots and often live in entire settlements. With this way of life, they do not have an antagonistic attitude towards each other, which is common for most other members of the family.

As a fur animal, the light polecat is highly valued. In the 30s and early 40s. up to 4.5 thousand of its skins were harvested in the region. In the future, the procurement was reduced to a few dozen a year.

Badger

One of the largest representatives of the family. In autumn, the mass of old males reaches 20, sometimes 25 kg, females -10-12 kg. Body length 60-90 cm. In spring and summer, badgers are not so well-fed.

The badger living in Altai is called Siberian, or sandy. It has a massive overweight body, tapering from tail to head in the form of a wedge. The legs are short, strong, the front legs are equipped with large, up to 4-5 cm, claws, with which he digs holes, extracts food from the ground. It is colored quite brightly - the bottom of the body and legs are black, along the head from the muzzle to the back there are two black stripes. Initially narrow, they widen and turn pale, merging with the light gray silver color of the back and sides. The ears are small, with a white trim along the edges, the tail is short.

The fur of the badger is sparse, the guard hairs are coarse, the underfur is poorly developed. The purchase price of the skin is small, hunters often use it for personal needs, usually as rather elegant strong and durable rugs.

The mating period is greatly extended - from March to January. They also have a latent period, the gestation period ranges from 270 to 360 days. Usually 2-4, sometimes 6 cubs are born.

Badger food is varied. It eats small mammals, frogs, lizards, insects, including dung beetles, May and June beetles, barbels, nutcrackers, their larvae. Willingly eats earthworms, fruits, berries, nuts.

Badgers live in families, couples form for a long time, it happens that for life. In October, the grown young ones separate and begin to live independently. Favorite habitats - sparse mixed forests, rugged terrain with manes, ravines, logs. The forest is needed by the beast for shelter from dangers. Where they are little pursued, they also live in treeless areas, preferring thickets of shrubs and tall grass. Badger burrows can be easily distinguished from fox or wolf pores by their cleanliness, neatness, and the presence of "toilets" - small pits. As one hole fills, he digs it in and begins to fill another. Badger burrows do not have bones lying around, rotting food remnants, there is no unpleasant smell of decaying food residues common to wolf and fox burrows.

The badger is a nocturnal animal, goes hunting at dusk, returns to its hole at dawn. In quiet places closer to autumn it also feeds during the day.

The main enemies of the badger are the wolf and the lynx. Young animals are under the vigilant guardianship of the female and rarely become the prey of predators. Adult animals are not only cautious, but can also stand up for themselves well.

In Altai, badgers usually hibernate in the second half of October, wake up and begin to emerge from their holes in April. By autumn, the animals gain a lot of fat, which is highly valued by the local population as a healing product. Due to fat, animals are mainly subjected to increased extermination, and now in the Altai Mountains they have survived in small numbers only in tracts rarely visited by people in the Chulyshman basin, in the central and western parts of the region. Badgers are sedentary, they can live in the same holes for decades. When a colony is found, it is not difficult for hunters to catch them in one way or another.

In the 30s. in the region, up to 1.5 thousand badger skins were harvested per year, in the last decade - only 10-40 pieces. Some of them remain with hunters, however, such a significant decrease in harvesting indicates a significant reduction in the number of the species. It is advisable to completely ban badger hunting and strengthen their protection, otherwise the Altai lands may be left without this useful and interesting animal.

Otter

Of all mustelids, this is the animal most closely associated with water. If the mink can live on land, where it will find food and shelter, then it is almost impossible for the otter. Its entire appearance indicates a high adaptation to life and movement in the water. Long (60-100 cm) torso, thick muscular tail at the base, short powerful, with webbing between the toes, a small flat head. Small ears have membranes that close the ear canal when immersed in water. The mass of the beast is 7-10 kg.

When swimming slowly, the otter paddles with its paws. If it is necessary to move quickly, it tightens its paws and rushes under water or along its surface due to the serpentine movements of a flexible body. Swimming is facilitated not only by the streamlined shape of the animal's body, but also by the short, thick coat. The fur of the otter is dense, does not get wet during a long swim, warm and very durable to wear.

There is a special scale of wear of various furs. According to it, the strength of otter fur is taken as 100 conventional units. All other furs are not so strong and durable. So, the wear of a mink skin on this scale is estimated at 70 units, sable - at 50, squirrels - at 25, etc. Siberian hunters used to think that the son would wear out his father's hat from an otter.

An otter can live only on such rivers, where there are many non-freezing areas. Usually these are small mountain rivers with rifts, rapids, pits, often littered with driftwood, with fin creases. For the otter in Altai, places are especially convenient in its central, northeastern and southwestern parts, where fast rivers do not freeze completely, and ice is rare.

In addition to fish, the otter willingly eats birds, small mammals, frogs, swimming beetles and other large aquatic invertebrates. From small animals, water rats, water shrews and other species that are common in or near water often get into her teeth. The otter does not like to go far from the shore of the reservoir, but if it is covered with dense ice in winter, it has to make quite large land crossings in search of places suitable for life. In this case, the animals often die.

It is difficult to see these animals in nature, as they are active mainly in the dark. Only where they are not disturbed, they can hunt during the day. For many years of wandering in the mountains of southern Siberia, I only once had a chance to see an otter on a deaf taiga river. An otter emerged from the water with a small grayling in its teeth just 3-4 meters from me. More precisely, she did not emerge, but silently slipped out of the water and sat down on a log in the hall, her back to me. Sits, brightly lit by the morning sun, drops of water stuck in the wool, sparkle and shimmer, eats fish, moves his mustache. What a great picture it could be! But my camera was far away. It is not difficult to imagine what grief I indulged in, looking either at a rare beast sitting nearby, posing in ideal conditions of illumination and landscape, or at a camera lying ten paces on the shore. It was impossible to move...

And the otter slowly ate her breakfast and again gracefully and silently, without the slightest splash, disappeared into the water, without looking back in my direction. Since then, I have not taken my camera in such places.

Reproduction of the otter in nature is almost not studied. Employees of the Novosibirsk Zoo, where otters have been breeding in good conditions for several years, found out that they mate at different times of the year. After two months of pregnancy, 2-4 young ones appear. Observations in captivity have shown that otters are very playful; caught at a young age, they quickly become attached to a person, willingly accompany him on long walks, although it is difficult for a short-legged beast to run for a long time on land.

The rivers of Altai relatively recently were rich in otters. Just 20-25 years ago, in the taiga near Teletsk and other tracts, it was a fairly common animal. Now the picture has changed dramatically - the otter in the region has become an extremely rare animal, it is just right to enter it in the Red Book. There were always many who wanted to have a hat or collar made of her excellent fur. It has long been considered good form among the indigenous population to have a slipper made of skins from fox paws, trimmed at the bottom with a strip of otter fur, in a set of national clothes. The strip is thin, from one skin a dozen or more of them can be carved out. The hat is really beautiful, but there are too many who want to have it. Unfortunately, there are not enough foxes, let alone otters, for such hats. And now they are sewn from inexpressive and short-lived furs.

For several years now, otter hunting has been banned. However, its number is not increasing. Either the hunters observe the ban poorly, or there are so few animals left that there is no longer any hope for their reproduction. Additional efforts are needed to preserve this beautiful valuable beast.

These two beasts terrify larger predators. They themselves are predators, they eat everything they catch and find. One of them meets throughout Europe and Asia, is found in Russia and is famous for its ferocity. And the second is an African native, moreover, with a rather peaceful name.

Well, do you have any idea who it might be?

We are sure that many were the first to name the bear and were mistaken. The bears themselves do not risk messing with the beast called the wolverine. And the second animal is the African honey badger, belonging to the badger family. But don't let the peaceful name fool you - the honey badger is a very dangerous predator that all big cats, including lions, are afraid of. Even elephants and rhinos try to bypass it.

And here's your confirmation!

Wolverine

This beast is small, the size of an average dog, but in strength it is compared with a bear, and in ferocity with the devil himself. Refers to mustelids.

• She has incredibly strong jaws, her teeth can bite even the largest bone, and her claws are the longest and most powerful among animals. These are the only predators that even eat the teeth of the victim!
• The scientific name of the wolverine is Gulo Gulo, which translates as Glutton. During the day, the beast can eat as much food as it weighs itself.
• Wolverines smell very nasty, which is why they are also called skunk, devil or stink bear, nasty cat. Many experts believe that it is the wolverine that is the mysterious chupacabra that destroys dozens of domestic animals and birds.

• Wolverine can easily kill an animal, even 10 times her size. It also poses a danger to humans, but only if it provokes an attack.
• She has the largest claws, her paw looks like a snowshoe, the animal swims and dives perfectly, and can hunt fish.

• Wolverines are thieves worse than forty. In the lair of one male, they found a bunch of things that were completely unnecessary to him: a bowler hat, a charred log, an old pistol, a bottle of alcohol, and much more that he apparently found in hunting lodges.
• In summer, wolverines love to feast on wild berries, driving even bears out of raspberries.

• There are eyewitness hunters who saw how a small wolverine took away a salmon caught from a huge bear and calmly left, and the victim went to catch a new fish. In one of the zoos in Canada, a wolverine dug into a cage with a polar bear and strangled it.

African honey badger

The reputation of this animal from the badger family is no better than that of the northern wolverine. The honey badger got its name for the love of honey, although this is not its main diet. He is a real predator, like a wolverine - he hunts animals even much larger than himself, takes prey from leopards and lions.

He has many names - a bald badger, a black tear, an angry bear. He received the nickname bald, therefore, that the fur on top of him is light and from a distance it seems that he is not there.

The paws of the honey badger are exactly the same in structure as those of the wolverine. And yet - the honey badger has the same thick skin as the elephant. Even lions can't bite through it! Therefore, if a honey badger falls into their mouths, then they lose only a few tufts of wool. But the kings of animals can suffer very much, and the lions prefer not to mess with this monster.

Poisonous snakes cannot bite through a thick skin, so the honey badger easily catches them, even cobras, spectacled snakes, and feasts on them.

And here is a video of how a honey badger “builds” a whole lion family.

Sometime in the early autumn, when the forest, adorned with multi-colored leaves, becomes quiet, transparent and somehow sad, I noticed from a distance, or rather, heard brown bear, hid and saw one of those taiga scenes that I remember all my life.

The bear seemed to be drunk - he walked in a zigzag, roared in a baritone or voiced an alto, rolled around, then jumped up and began to rush headlong in circles around some tree. When he was near me and I was about to shout to him so as not to collide with our foreheads, the bear deftly folded almost into the right ball and ... rolled - literally rolled! - down the slope.

Apparently, crashing against something and barking, the merry fellow again went in my direction, but this time quietly, sedately, examining stones, fallen trees, bushes on his way. When only 15 meters remained between us, I whistled softly. The bear instantly stood up on its hind legs, noisily moved its sensitive nose, listened and slowly turned back, occasionally looking back. And I smiled for a long time: oh, those bears for me!

The brown bear is a very interesting animal, full of contradictions and secrets. With seeming awkwardness and sluggishness, a bear can be swift and agile. If necessary, he is able to run quickly and for a long time, swims perfectly, overcoming bubbling and roaring mountain rivers and sea ​​straits, climbs well on steep slopes. It only seems clumsy, especially when he is in a long winter coat and with abundant fat reserves.

You know how fast a horse gallops, but a bear can catch up with it. He especially wins at marathon distances. He rushes after a wild boar, he will explode, and the trail has caught a cold. A clubfoot know yourself running, sniffing the tracks. And even after twenty kilometers, but still catch up with the unfortunate. Here's your goof!

And this animal is incredibly strong: a horse, a bull or an elk, weighing 4-5 centners each, it drags through the forest, over steep mountains, crushing bushes and undergrowth on its way. Somehow I can’t believe that the same beast can sneak up to its prey completely inaudibly. Even roe deer or red deer - these embodiments of sensitivity and caution - and they fall into his clutches!

And now a little about the senses of the bear. His hearing and sense of smell are very acute. Especially the sense of smell. One day I was following winding bear tracks, which suddenly, for no reason at all, turned 90 degrees, exactly against the wind, and led me in a straight line, as if by a compass. And after two and a half kilometers I found myself at a half-eaten, long-dead piglet: the bear smelled it at such a distance!

But this animal's eyesight is weak, short-sighted. Its blind eyes are well adapted for viewing small objects near - ants, caterpillars or pupae, and it does not see well in the distance. Especially stationary objects.

The bear is smart. After all, it is not for nothing that he masters complex tricks in the circus. The quick wits of bears are well known by hunters, at least by the way they dodge during the pursuit. And how deftly the bears manage to drag the beehive from the apiary, despite the fact that security is thought out to the details.

Or imagine such a case. The bear noticed how the fishermen inspected the net and took out the fish from it, and understood everything. The next time he sees or smells the net, he will pull it ashore and eat the fish.

Brown bears are quite widespread in a large part of the northern hemisphere. The largest live in the Far East and in the northwestern part of America.

Usually a bear is a confident animal. But sometimes a coward is a coward. Suddenly, a hare will jump out from under his feet, and the big man will rush away, widening his eyes in fright and bumping into the bushes.

One can recall examples when bears showed shameful cowardice and even died of fright. But in a different environment, the same bears are bold and even insanely brave. In order to follow on the heels of a tiger and take away its prey, one must be very brave. A coward, no matter how strong he may be, will never fight such a powerful and dexterous predator as the Ussuri tiger, and the bear is not always inferior to him.

And in the diet of the bear, again, there are contradictions. For months he lives on grass alone, like our horses or cows. True, sometimes it will open an anthill or collect insect pupae. And when berries, acorns and nuts ripen, the bear eats them so much and appetizingly and at the same time gets fat so quickly that sometimes you wonder why this is a typical herbivorous animal - well, just a wild boar! - suddenly turned out to be in the detachment of predatory mammals along with the wolf.