Far Eastern leopard
The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis Schlegel) is a rare, threatened subspecies. Its natural habitat covering Northeast China, Korean Peninsula, and the southern part of the Primorsky Krai, Russia, by now has shrunk to a dangerously small area. There are only a few leopards (not more than two dozen) left in China, while in Korea they allegedly disappeared altogether. They can still be found only in the southwestern part of the Primorsky Krai, Russia. According to the survey of the leopard populations recently conducted by wildlife biologists V. Korkisliko and D. Pikunov there, are still 25 to 30 leopards left in the Primorsky Krai, Russia, with some of them having their habitats extending into the Chinese territory. In the early 20th century, the leopard was frequently spotted by local people on the spurs of the Sikhote Alin mountain complex and to the southwest of Lake Khanka, but with the passage of years wildlife biologists failed to spot the leopard there. The harsh winters and depletion of game were, the most significant factors that had dwindled the роpulations of the Amur leopard in the past and during past several decades the expansion of economic activity of man has displaced the leopard from its traditional habitat and has driven it to the brink of extinction… There has not been put a stop to poaching not only of leopard's prey, such as roe and Japanese deer, raccoon dogs, badgers, and hares, but the leopard itself As concerns hunting the Amur leopard, it is not a very difficult task: virtually any pack of hounds are able to make not only a young leopard, but an adult one as well climb a tree; hunger drives it to try any meat bait and as a result it can easily fall into a trap. And that is what poachers make use of. The only wildlife sanctuary where the Amur leopard can breed is Cedar Creek Valley located in the southern part of the Primorsky Krai, Russia. But even this sanctuary has become so small (about 18,000 ha) that it can no longer play a critical role in the conservation of this graceful big cat. Outside the wildlife sanctuary Cedar Creek Valley the only refuge for the leopard in the Primorsky Krai, Russia, remains a small area of about 200 kilometers between the Razdolnaya River and the Posyet Gulf. There the leopard keeps to a diminishing pristine, mountainous belt of coniferous-broadleaved and hardwood forests along the border with China, primarily on the Borisovsky Plateau. Hillsides and plateaus facing the rivers have numerous cliffs with convenient recesses and caves that are indispensable for leopards as shelter in bad weather as well as for breeding. The area is teeming with roe deer and is rather far from human settlements; in the forest belt along the Chinese border one can find large herds of Japanese deer. These ungulates are the principal prey for the leopard thanks to whom it can survive the harsh winters. Of great help for the leopard are Manchurian hares, raccoon dogs, badgers, and some other game living in that area. The leopard is perhaps the most beautiful, graceful, strong, and daring of all the big cats and at the same time it is a very cunning predator. Its tawny yellow fur decorated with dark spots clustered together in rosette shapes helps conceal the animal in its natural surroundings, be it a taiga forest, grassland, or a glade covered with yellowed leaves. The leopard has strong eyes, acute hearing, and a fine of smell. Unhurried when content, it can bound with great speed, is a good climber, and is unbelievably strong: carcasses of prey weighing from 35 to 68 kilograms have been found in tress 4 to 6 meters above ground where a leopard had carried them. As compared with the tiger, it is not very big: a female may weigh about 50 kilograms; a male: up to 70 kilograms. It feeds upon any animals it can overpower, but generally preys on the smaller and medium-sized ungulates. Bears
Brown bear is one of the most widespread, well-known and popular animals in Russia. Generally considered the national symbol, it was almost unanimously voted a mascot of 1980 Moscow Olympics. Big and peaceful bear is a favorite character of fairy tales and cartoons. Few people realize that it is the very same species as the much-feared grizzly bear of North America. Although on average bears kill ten people per year in Russia (much more in the years of poor pine nuts crop in Siberia), it is not unusual to see tourists routinely using bear trails, or village girls gathering berries almost side by side with brown bears. If such an idyllic scene happened in America, the bear would almost certainly be shot, and the girls would have to endure a three hour-long safety talk by park rangers. Unfortunately, this almost-peaceful coexistence of bears and people, quite common in remote areas of Russia only two decades ago, is now rapidly becoming a fairy tale itself. Poaching for bale, fat and skins has severely depleted bear populations in all more or less accessible parts of the country It is believed that Ursus arctos colonized America from Asia. Not surprisingly, brown bears of the Old World show much higher diversity in appearance and behavior than their descendants in the USA and Canada. It is possible that this species is undergoing further speciation before our very eyes. Unlike in North America, where brown bears seem to prefer open landscapes (grasslands, Alpine meadows and tundra), in Eurasia they inhabit mostly dense forests, although they were probably more widespread in grasslands and even deserts in the past. One possible reason for this difference is that the particular population that invaded America thousands of years ago was tundra-adapted. In fact, the Chukchi Peninsula on the Asian side of the Bering Strait is the only place in Asia where brown bears live year-round in lowland tundra. Another possible explanation is that in America, dense forests are occupied by American black bear (U. americaniis). Its Asian counterpart, the Himalayan bear (U. tibetanus), is limited in its distribution to hardwood forests of Eastern Asia and to mountains of the northern part of Indian Subcontinent. If the two species do coexist (such as in the Ussuriland, the southernmost part of the Russian Far East), brown bear seems to prefer high-elevation coniferous forests and Alpine areas. The most widespread form of brown bear in Eurasia is "common" brown bear, U. a. arctos. It once occurred from Britain to Transbaikalia, and from Northern Scandinavia to the grasslands of Southern Ukraine and Northern Kazakhstan. Now only a few relict populations survive in Southern and Central Europe, and in the grasslands there are no bears at all. Bears are also gone from hardwood forests around Moscow and other major cities, but they are still present throughout the boreal forest zone from Norway to Yakutia. Within this huge area, they look more or less the same, although east from the Urals one will find a higher percentage of light- or reddish-colored bears. Research has shown that bears of the Alps and other European mountains are genetically distinct from those of taiga forests. There are also differences in their behavior, probably caused by varying levels of hunting pressure. In Europe (including European Russia, where bears were almost wiped out by trophy hunters prior to the 1917 revolution), they are typically strictly nocturnal, and seldom attack people or livestock. In many areas of Western, Southern, and Central Siberia, as well as in Northern Mongolia, bears depend heavily on Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica), known locally as "cedar". If its mast fails, starving bears start killing livestock, attacking people, and often do not hibernate - they wander around in deep snow until they starve to death or manage to kill a cow or a moose. Such shatun (wanderer) bears are responsible for most bear-caused human fatalities in Russia. It is believed that bears of Transbaikalia (sometimes known as "anteater bears" for their heavy use of Formica rufa ants for food) are more aggressive towards people than those of other parts of Siberia. One possible reason is that in Eastern Siberia, winters are very dry, with little snow cover, so bears are forced to "wake up early in spring, and have to hunt to survive until May, when young vegetation appears.. There were documented cases of Transbaikalian bears becoming "professional" man-eaters, with two animals killing more than 12 people each. Bears known as U. a. ognevi, that live east from the Kolyma River, are generally small, light-colored and relatively non-aggressive. They feed mostly on berries, because the only tree in the area is Dahurian larch (Larix gmelini). They tend to live above the timberline (which is less than 500 m above sea level in the area), or in Arctic tundra further North. Giant bears (U. a. piscivorus) of the Kamchatka Peninsula and Paramushir Island are very similar to Kodiak bears of Alaska, but tend to be darker. They also depend heavily on salmon, and are considered non-aggressive, although some unprovoked attacks do happen. They have interesting behavioral patterns - some of them even learn to kill sea otters on rocky shallows. Kamchatka used to have almost as many bears as all of Siberia, but recent plague of Japanese, American and European trophy hunters, as well as local poachers, has brought their numbers to one-fifth of what they used to be. On the Koryak Highlands, north from Kamchatka, these bears interbreed with small ognevi subspecies, but it looks like both prefer to breed with their own.
Another subspecies, U. a. manchuricus, inhabits the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, Amur Basin, Sakhalin Island and Ussuriland. It once occurred in North Korea and Northeastern China, but is now almost extinct there. These animals are large (some were documented killing tigers), and utilize a great variety of food, from salmon to wild grapes. Interestingly, local hunters believe that there are three species of bears in the area: brown bear, Himalayan bear (locally called "white-breast" for characteristic V-shaped mark on its chest), and black bear, which is said to be the largest and most carnivorous of all three. The analysis of bear attacks on people and observed cases of bear predation on livestock and wild ungulates seems to confirm that all meat-eating individuals are large and dark-colored, and almost all of them are males. It is possible that this population is evolving towards separating into two species. But it is also possible that these bears are a mix-up of two races, one originating from Siberia or Central China and another - from Japan. Brown bears U. a. yesoensis of Hokkaido and the two southernmost Kuril Islands are said to be extremely dangerous. On a 100 mile-long Kunashir Island, where a few hundred people coexist with two hundred bears, bear attacks happen almost annually. These bears have unusually narrow skull and almost always show a reddish collar or spots around the neck. Answer the questions:
1. Animals of what climatic zones live in the Russian Far East? 2. Can you name the representatives of arctic fauna? 3. What endemic animals do you know? 4. Is the Far Eastern fauna rich in fur-bearing animals? 5. What sea animals live in the Pacific Ocean? 6. What are the subspecies of the bear? 7. Can you name any endangered animals and birds? 8. What hoofed animals live in the Russian Far East? 9. Are there many predator species and birds of prey in the Far East? 10. What do you know about the wild world protection? 11. Make a report about: any far eastern animal, or nature protection in RFE. Kunst and Alberts
Vladivostok, 1864. The two courageous young Germans Gustav Kunst and Gustav Alberts ventured to start their own business at the end of the Far East of Russia. The risk was high. To address the local situation, the entrepreneurs organized general trade. The local people were happy to buy everything they needed in one store: shoe polish, combs, plates, textiles, kerosene, soap. It was decided to deliver goods via Chinese ports. The company chartered vessels to ship goods to Vladivostok and exported seaweeds that the Chinese got on the coast. In the early 80-s regular voyages of the Voluntary Fleet vessels to Vladivostok were started. That allowed to open procurement offices in Europe: Odessa, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Hamburg, Munich, and later in the Asian market, the first in Kobe, Japan. With the establishment of the General-Governorship with a capital in Khabarovsk, the settlements and military posts were strengthened and new ones came into being. Very soon stores and business firms of “Kunst and Alberts” sprang in lots of them – in 1893-in Nikolaevsk, in 1894-in Alexandrovsk (Sakhalin), in 1895-in Khabarovsk and Blagoveschensk, in 1900-in Harbin, in 1913-in Obluchye. In 1902 the company invited G.R. Yunghendel, an experienced architect from Germany to design and construct buildings. All the magnificent buildings of the business firms, designed in the style of German baroque, were notable for their monumental design, refinement, and an attractive façade. The buildings, which are more than 100 years old, are still in use. There are legends about some of them, for e.g., the Mall (GUM) in Vladivostok, which used to be the head business firm of the “Kunst and Alberts” company. Some people believe that was the first supermarket in the world’s history. All building materials needed for its construction were brought in from Hamburg. There are wonderful stories about the business firm in Khabarovsk (the central grocer’s store). They tell us about the underground tunnels with rail tracks leading down to the lower bazaar, the deep basement-freezers. The partners believed that a business success depended on the working conditions and everyday life of the company’s employees. Single employees were provided with board and lodging. The benefit society established to address emergency situations, was of great help. A library, a bowling alley, a billiard-hall, a hospital – all this ensured adequate recreation. Boys working in the stores could attend evening courses, and in the summer they were sent to gymnastics classes organized by a local sports society. In 1880 the businessmen decided to come back to Germany. The company was managed by Adolf Datten, later in 1886 he joined the firm as the equal partner. In 1896 Gustav Kunst went out of business. In 1910 Gustav Alberts made his business over to his son Alfred Alberts. In 1913 proved to be triumphant year for the company. At the exhibition devoted to the 300 anniversary of the Romanov dynasty it built an exceptionally beautiful pavilion. Emperor Nikolay II rewarded A. Dattan with the Prussian Order of the Crown of the Sixth Degree for his contribution to the active development of trade in the Priamurskiy General-Governorship. The fateful 1914 began. A strict supervision was introduced over all German companies. Business competition had been always strong and some competitors wrote false papers to put the blame on the rival company. What really happened is not quite clear now, but the “Kunst and Alberts” activities were banned and the company’s managers were arrested. After a lot of investigations the company was allowed to resume its operations. During the Civil War it successfully fulfilled orders placed by the military department. On coming back from the exile, A. Dattan left Russia for Germany. The company and its branches were put in charge of the resident managers. In 1925 the company was deprived of its property, and it had to rent its own buildings from the municipal authorities. Five years later it had to stop its activities. A few decades passed, and in 1950-s the “Kunst and Alberts” firm was exculpated and the espionage charge was removed.
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