FAQ. Brown bear food What animals does a polar bear eat

BROWN BEAR A male brown bear can reach a length of 2.5 m and a body weight of up to 500-750 kg. In appearance, the brown bear is clumsy, although in reality it is very mobile and agile: it can run fast, make big jumps, climb trees, and swim. He moves like a pacer, that is, he alternately steps on both right and then on left paws. Leaning on the entire foot, it can rear up, stretching up to 3 m in height. A brown bear runs faster uphill than on level ground, since its hind legs are longer than its front legs. He walks through the forest carefully and almost silently. Unlike the polar bear, it avoids diving and plunges into the water, leaving its head outside. In calm times, he walks slowly, putting his feet slightly inward, justifying the popular name "clubfoot". Another name "bear-because" is due to the fact that this beast loves honey very much and knows (knows) where to look for it. Behind him, he climbs high trees into hollows with honeycombs of wild bees, often raids apiaries. According to the way of life, a brown bear is a twilight animal. During the day it hides in the remote places of the taiga and only in the evening comes out in search of food. The forest provides him with abundant and varied food. At the beginning of summer, he eats young shoots, roots, bulbs, later - mushrooms, berries, acorns, nuts. In autumn, it enters the fields with oats or corn, where it causes more damage by crushing the ears and stems of plants. In the Caucasus, it visits groves of wild fruit trees, willingly eating pears and cherry plums; in Central Asia eats pistachios, grapes, apricots, going out to their plantations. Sometimes it goes to the outskirts of large orchards, shaking apples and pears with ripe fruits. In the forest, it unfolds ant heaps, peels off the bark from old stumps, extracting bark beetles and other insects. Along the way, it eats eggs and chicks from nests on the ground, catches small rodents, frogs. During the course of fish in taiga rivers (in Kamchatka and the Far East), it catches it off the coast and eats it in large quantities. On occasion, it attacks moose, wild boars, reindeer, cows and horses. Often feeds on carrion. With the onset of warm weather (in July), midges begin to rage in the taiga. Many mosquitoes, midges and other bloodsuckers cause great suffering to animals. Bears at this time from bites do not find a place for themselves, roll on the ground, scratch their faces with their paws until they bleed, roar. Some go into the tundra, reaching the shores of the Arctic Ocean, where the wind saves them from mosquitoes. By autumn, the bears grow fat, accumulating nutrients in the body for the period of winter starvation. Lairs are arranged somewhere in a dry place, in a depression under a windbreak, a stump turned upside down with roots, in a rock crevice, etc. Males lie in a den separately from females. If in the summer a bear was malnourished and not fat enough, then it wanders in search of food in the winter, becoming dangerous for large herbivores and even for humans. These are the so-called rods. Most bears in the den fall into a state of winter sleep, not needing food or drink. However, it is widely believed that bears, being in a den without food, suck their paws in order to extract nutritious juices from them and satisfy their hunger. In fact, this is a misunderstanding, here the reason is different. In bears, approximately in February, flaking occurs from the surface of the soles of the old skin that has coarsened over the summer. The young, tender skin on the paws itches and freezes, so the bear licks the soles with a hot tongue, smacking his lips. That is why from the side it seems that the bear is sucking its paw. In January - February, 2-3 tiny bear cubs weighing about 0.5 kg each are born to a she-bear. They are blind, naked, helpless and in need of maternal care. The bear keeps the cubs warm on her belly among the wool, warming her with her hot breath. She feeds the cubs with thick milk, which she produces from the fat reserves accumulated since the summer. With the onset of heat, the grown-up cubs leave the den together with the she-bear and, under her supervision, bask in the sun and feed on what can be found in the forest at that time (berries, tubers, worms, insects, etc.). The male bear stays away from the female and does not take part in caring for the cubs, which give the mother a lot of trouble. Having gained strength, they become mobile: they run, fight, fight, climb tree trunks, and frolic. The mother bathes the cubs in streams and lakes, lowering each one in turn into the water on the shallows, after grabbing the scruff of her teeth with her teeth. Later they bathe themselves. Sometimes a she-bear keeps a cub from last year's brood with her, which becomes her assistant in raising the babies. This is the so-called pestun. He serves as a role model for the growing cubs. From him they learn to climb the hollows for the honey of wild bees, rake ant heaps and feast on ants and their larvae. If the fights between the cubs take on a fierce character, the pestun separates the mischievous ones and puts things in order. After spending the whole summer with the cubs, the she-bear lies with them in the fall in the den, and next year drives them away from her, starting a new breeding, which occurs only once every two years. Bears are afraid of a man and, smelling his smell, go into a deaf thicket. Attacks on humans are very rare. Brown bears have few enemies: sometimes they are wolves, in the Far East - tigers, but for them, bears are strong opponents. Brown bears live 35-50 years. In the past, these animals were ordinary inhabitants of the forest zone, but as a result of intensive logging, plowing fields and immoderate bear hunting, a little more than 100 thousand heads have survived in Russia. Bears are hunted mainly for tasty meat, healing, vitamin-rich fat and warm, albeit very heavy skin, which is valued relatively cheaply. The protection of some subspecies of brown bears has become necessary.

The Gobi brown bear is also called a mazalai. This animal is a subspecies of the brown bear and lives in the Mongolian Gobi Desert.

Mazalai are perhaps the only bears that can be found only on the territory of Mongolia. Nowhere else, in any zoo in the world, you will not see this species of clubfoot. The results of the registration of all bears were published in the International Fund for the Protection of Wild Animals - there are 56 subspecies of them. However, the Gobi Brown was not included in this list.

Description of the gobi bear

Gobi bears are relatively small. Their coarse sparse fur is colored in light brown or whitish-bluish tones.

The chest, shoulder parts of the body and the throat are “threaded” with a white stripe. Bear claws are light. The second and third fingers on the hind legs are fused by almost a third. In the summer, the males of the mazalai have a brown coat, and in the winter they acquire a brown-gray color. Their legs and neck are darker than the body.

Lifestyle, nutrition and reproduction of the Mazalays

For wintering, Mazaalai settle in caves or make dens under trees. In summer, they can be more often seen near the water, where there are many plants that are part of the bear's diet. In addition, gobi bears like rhubarb roots, berries, wild onions and other plants that can be found in the desert. Sometimes clubfoot feed on carrion, rodents, birds, lizards or insects. Unlike other bears, Mazaalai are predominantly herbivores.

After mating, the female severely breaks up with the male, driving him out of her territory. Every two years, a mother bear gives birth to a pair of cubs. Each weighs approximately 500 grams. In harsh times, it was noticed that the female sacrificed one of the cubs for the sake of survival.

Protecting Gobi brown bears

Mazaalai was listed as an endangered species of animals, since the number of these bears is very low, and this fact was noted in the national Red Book. The researchers were not too lazy to count the number of Mazalays on the territory of the “Great Gobi” and reported that no more than 30 bears remained.

The number of Gobi clubfoot has decreased so much that it is time to sound the alarm not only at the national, but also at the world level.

Limited by insufficient funding and extreme conditions in the Gobi desert, the mazalai bears cannot be adequately researched by specialists, and as a result, a plan for developing their conservation activities has not been drawn up. However, thanks to the creation of a supplementary food base program initiated by the government in the 80s, it plays an important role in preserving the tiny population of Gobi bears.

A group of scientists and employees of the reserve monitors the behavior of the Mazalays in their natural habitat, directly in the spring, when the bears come out of hibernation. During this period, animals need food. Food is left in special feeders until new vegetation grows. It is thanks to such data collection points in the form of feeders that it is possible to install remote-controlled cameras and study the behavior of the Mazalays.

The common brown bear is a predatory mammal of the bear family. This large predator is considered one of the most dangerous. There are about 20 subspecies, which differ in habitat and appearance.

Appearance

All subspecies of the brown bear have a well-developed powerful body, a fairly large head with small eyes and rounded ears, and a high withers. The tail is not long (from 6.5 to 21 cm). Strong paws with powerful non-retractable claws up to 10 cm long, five-fingered feet, wide enough. The appearance of the subspecies varies significantly. Males are about one and a half times larger than females.

Dimensions

The individuals inhabiting Europe are the smallest, they reach two meters in length, with a mass of 200 kg. Brown bears living in central Russia are larger and weigh about 300 kg. The largest are grizzlies and Far Eastern bears, their length reaches three meters, and their weight reaches 500 kg or more.

Color

What a bear looks like, what color its skin is, depends on the habitat. There are bears from pale yellow to black with blue. Brown fur is considered standard.

Grizzlies of the Rocky Mountains have white on the tips on their backs, which creates a greyish tint. The brown bears living in the Himalayas have a completely grayish color, and those living in Syria have a light, brown-red skin.

Brown bears molt once a year, from spring to autumn. Share often spring molt and autumn. The spring molt is most intense during the rut and lasts quite a long time. Autumn flows almost imperceptibly and ends by the time the bears hibernate.

Lifespan

The life expectancy of a bear directly depends on the conditions in which it lives. How many years do bears live? The average life expectancy in the wild under favorable conditions is 20-30 years.

How long does a brown bear live in captivity? With good care, brown bears reach the age of 45-50 years.

Subspecies

Population differences in the brown bear are very large, and they used to be subdivided into many separate species. Today, all browns have been combined into one species, with several subspecies. Consider the most common.

European (Eurasian) brown

A large powerful animal with a strongly pronounced hump.

Main characteristics:

• body length - 150-250 cm;
• weight - 150-300 kg;
• height at the withers - 90-110 cm.

The fur is yellowish-gray to dark brown, quite long and thick.

Caucasian brown

There are two forms of this subspecies - large and small.

Big Caucasian:

• body length - 185-215 cm;
• weight - 120-240 kg.

Small Caucasian:

• body length - 130-140 cm;
• weight - no more than 65 kg.

This subspecies combines the external features of the Syrian and European bears. Short coarse coat from light yellowish to brownish-gray. There is a dark spot in the withers area.

Siberian brown

One of the largest subspecies.

Its dimensions:

• body length - 200-250 cm;
• weight - 300-400 kg.

It has a large head, long and soft shiny coat from light brown to brown-brown. Some individuals have a yellowish or black tint in color.

Ussuri brown

Also known as Asian black grizzly or Amur.

• length - up to 2 m;
• weight - 300-400 kg.

It is distinguished by a developed skull with an elongated nose and a very dark, almost black skin. Long hair on round ears will also distinguish it from other subspecies.

Far Eastern (Kamchatka) brown

The largest subspecies found in Russia.

Its dimensions:

• length - up to 2.5 m;
• weight - 350-450 kg. Some males reach 500 kg or more.

This subspecies has a massive head with a rather short nose and a wide front elevated above it, small rounded ears. Dense, long and soft coat from fawn to blackish-brown. Nails dark up to 10 cm.

habitats

The brown bear inhabits almost the entire forest zone from the west of Russia and the forests of the Caucasus to the Pacific Ocean. It can also be found in Japan on the island of Hokkaido, in some Asian countries, in Europe, Canada and in the northwestern states of America.

For life, he chooses forests, with windbreaks and shrubs, prefers coniferous forests. It can wander into the tundra or settle in high mountain forests, with an undergrowth of plants suitable for food.

The habitat is not tied to a specific place, often the places for feeding and the dwelling of the bear are located far from each other, and the bear has to make long transitions during the day.

Habits and lifestyle

The brown bear is a loner. Males live apart, and females raise cubs. Each adult individual has its own territory, the size of which can reach several hundred square kilometers. Males "own" a much larger territory than females. The boundaries of the territory are marked by scratches on the trees and the smell of the owner.

The habits of bears are typical of a predator. During the day, as a rule, animals rest, choosing for this secluded areas among grass or shrubs. They go in search of food in the morning or evening. Despite poor eyesight, bears are perfectly oriented with the help of smell and hearing.

Despite its impressive size and seeming sluggishness, this is a rather dexterous and fast animal, capable of climbing trees, swimming and running at speeds up to 60 km/h.

Food

The diet of the brown bear is very diverse, because bears eat almost everything. Its main diet consists of plant foods: berries, nuts, acorns, stems, tubers and root parts of plants. If possible, he will not miss the opportunity to wander into the fields to feast on oats and corn. It also eats various insects, frogs, lizards and rodents.

Adults prey on young elk, fallow deer, deer, roe deer and wild boar. A large predator is able to break the ridge of its prey with one stroke of its paw, then hides the carcass, filling it with brushwood, and guards until it is completely eaten. For the Far Eastern brown, the main diet in the summer-autumn period is salmon, which goes to spawn.

With an insufficient food base, bears often ruin apiaries and attack livestock.

These animals have an amazing memory. Having found mushrooms or berries that bears eat in the forest, they remember the places and then easily find their way to them. The life expectancy of a brown bear in the wild largely depends on proper nutrition.

reproduction

How do bears breed? The mating season starts in May and lasts a couple of months. The rut is active, accompanied by fights between males and a roar. After 6-8 months, cubs are born. Bear cubs are born in the middle of winter, when the bear hibernates.

Cubs are born weighing only 400-500 grams, blind, with sparse hair. As a rule, there are 2-4 cubs in a litter. For more than a year after birth, they feed on mother's milk, but immediately after leaving the den, the mother begins to accustom them to various foods.

The cubs live with their mother for three or four years, then they separate and begin to live on their own. Females reach puberty in the third or fourth year, males develop 1-2 years longer.

hibernation

From the middle of summer and all autumn, bears are actively preparing for hibernation, feeding heavily and accumulating fat. The hibernation of a bear differs from the hibernation of other mammals, this is not suspended animation, but simply a sound sleep, during which neither the breathing nor the pulse of the animal practically changes. A bear in hibernation does not fall into a complete stupor.

Training

Shelters for the winter are arranged in deaf and dry places, under the roots of trees or under a windbreak. A clumsy can dig a lair on its own, or it can occupy a crevice in the mountains or a small cave. Pregnant females equip a spacious and deep lair, warming it from the inside with moss, foliage and spruce branches.

One-year-old bear cubs always spend the winter in their mother's den, and two-year-old lone bears often join them. Adult individuals lie in the den one at a time.

Hibernation duration

How long does a bear sleep? It all depends on weather conditions and other factors, the brown one can hibernate for up to six months.

The hibernation of a bear in winter and its duration depend on the weather, age, gender, state of health and the amount of fat gained during the summer-autumn period. So, for example, an old and fattening individual will go into hibernation long before the snow falls, and young individuals go to the den only in November or December. Pregnant females are the first to settle down for the winter.

Bear rod

A connecting rod is an animal that did not have time to accumulate the required amount of fat, which is why it cannot hibernate, and is forced to look for food all winter.

Why is a rod bear dangerous? In severe frosts, with an acute shortage of food, connecting rods often approach settlements in search of food. More than one case of connecting rod attacks on domestic animals and even humans is known.

Video

Overlie brown bears (grizzlies) not at the same time even in the same area, not to mention different geographical locations. Older and fatter bears go to winter sleep earlier (already in October, before the formation of a permanent snow cover), younger individuals and with less fat deposits - much later (in November and even December). In the Caucasus and in the south of the Kuril Islands, with an abundance of food, bears do not hibernate at all.

Bears do not sink into real hibernation, and it is more correct to call their state of winter sleep: they retain full vitality and sensitivity, in case of danger they leave the den and, after wandering through the forest, occupy a new one. The body temperature of a brown bear in a dream fluctuates between 29 and 34 degrees. During winter sleep, animals expend little energy, existing solely at the expense of fat accumulated in autumn, and thus survive the harsh winter period with the least hardship. During the wintering period, the bear loses up to 80 kg of fat.
The brown bear is very sensitive and cautious, avoids people, so it is very rare to catch him. The close presence of a bear is judged mainly by footprints. Bears use permanent trails to move around.
In some places, such trails have existed for thousands of years and are literally carved into solid rock.
The prints of the brown bear's footprints on wet soil or fresh snow are very characteristic, and the traces of the fore and hind paws are sharply different. When walking, the traces of the front paws are characterized by the imprints of long powerful claws, as well as the width of the trace, equal to the length or even more. The greatest width of the track is 9-19 cm. The prints of the hind paws resemble the traces of bare feet of a person, only slightly wider, with a narrow heel and flat foot, the claws are not always visible; their length is 16-30 cm, width 8-14 cm.
Other footprints remain from the running animal, because in this case the bear turns from a plantigrade into a digitigrade one (the heel part of the foot rises up).
On the hunting site of a bear, rotten stumps and logs broken in search of carpenter ants, torn up houses of red ants, torn nests of earthen wasps and bumblebees, chipmunks' burrows, turf rolled into a tube in forest glades and meadows, young aspens with broken or gnawed tops, traces claws and wool on tree trunks; and near populated areas, the bear sometimes destroys bee hives and at the end of summer, during the milky maturity of oats, tramples down its crops.
In the mountains, the brown bear, as a rule, makes migrations: starting in spring, it feeds in the valleys, where the snow melts earlier, then goes to the bald mountains - alpine meadows, then gradually descends into the forest belt when berries and nuts ripen here. Often, one half of the summer, the bear lives on one side of the mountains, the second - on the other, tens of kilometers from the first.
In Kamchatka, where there are hot springs, bears take therapeutic baths with pleasure, especially in early spring.

social structure: The bear usually keeps alone. Males and females are territorial, an individual area on average occupies from 73 to 414 km 2, and in males it is about 7 times larger than in females. The boundaries of the site are marked with scent marks and "bullies" - scratches on conspicuous trees.
The size of the plot depends on the abundance of food: in forests rich in food, the animal can keep on an area of ​​​​only 300-800 hectares.
Feeding sites are partially covered and there is no data on protection of their sites. In places where food is plentiful, bears gather in large numbers. Relationships between animals in such communities are built on the basis of a hierarchy and are maintained through aggressive relationships. The dominant place is occupied by large adult males, although the most aggressive bears are females with juveniles. The least aggressive are young bears that occupy a low place in the hierarchy.
Brown bears hibernate alone, and the she-bear with her cubs.

reproduction: Having fed up after a winter sleep, around mid-May, brown bears begin the rut, which lasts about a month. The female announces her receptivity (readiness for mating) through smells, leaving odorous marks on her territory. During the mating season, males, usually silent, begin to roar loudly. Between them sometimes there are fierce fights, sometimes ending in the death of one of the rivals, whom the winner can even eat. Males after the victory carefully protect the female from contact with other males from 1 to 3 weeks.
Despite this, the female usually mates with several males. At the same time, male bears can be dangerous to humans.

Season/breeding period: In summer, from May to July, and estrus in females lasts 10-30 days.

Puberty: At the age of 4-6 years, but continue to grow until 10-11 years.

Pregnancy: With a latent stage lasts 6-8 months. The embryo actively begins to develop in November, when the female lies down in the den.

Offspring: In the den, approximately in January, the female brings 2-3, occasionally 4 helpless cubs, covered with short sparse hair, blind, with an overgrown ear canal.
Newborn cubs weigh only half a kilogram and do not exceed 25 cm in length. The cubs begin to see clearly in a month. By the age of 3 months, they become the size of a small dog and have a full set of milk teeth and, in addition to milk, begin to eat berries, greens and insects. At this age, they weigh about 15 kg, and by 6 months already 25 kg. Predatory behavior in cubs begins to appear at the age of 5.5-7 months and occurs suddenly. For about six months they suck their mother's milk, and the first two winters they live with her, hibernating as a family.
The father is not engaged in offspring, the cubs are brought up by the female. Sometimes last year's animals, the so-called pestuns, keep together with underyearlings (lonchaks). The growth and development of cubs are very slow. They finally separate from their mother at 3-4 years of age.

Benefit / harm to humans: The commercial value of the brown bear is small, hunting is prohibited or limited in many areas. The skin is used mainly for carpets, and the meat is used for food. The gallbladder is used in traditional Asian medicine.
Meeting a brown bear can be deadly. A bear attacks a person extremely rarely: if it is disturbed in a winter den, injured or taken by surprise with prey. Also dangerous are she-bears who have cubs with them, and in winter - "rods". Such a meeting for a person can end in death or injury. Usually, if the beast attacked a person, it is advised to fall face down on the ground and not move, pretending to be dead, until the beast leaves.
In places where there are a lot of bears, it is recommended to crack branches or sing something while walking. Very rarely, bears become real cannibals. As a rule, this happens with large dark-colored males. In the post-war years, about three dozen cannibals-"recidivists" were noted, and in general, no more than a dozen people and about a hundred heads of cattle become victims of bears in Russia on average every year.
In some places, the brown bear ruins apiaries, damages crops. Feeding on oats, bears eat a lot of grain, and trample down crops even more. They also greatly spoil the trees, which they climb for pine nuts, fruits, etc.

Population/conservation status: Brown bear listed in International Red List of the IUCN with the status of "threatened species", but its numbers vary greatly from population to population. According to rough estimates, there are now about 200,000 brown bears in the world. Of these, most live in Russia - 120,000, the USA - 32,500 (95% live in Alaska) and Canada - 21,750. About 14,000 individuals have survived in Europe.
The population differences between brown bears are so great that they were once subdivided into many independent species (up to 80 in North America alone). Today, all brown bears are combined into one species with several geographic races or subspecies:
- Ursus arctos arctos- brown European bear,
- Ursus arctos californicus- California grizzly, depicted on the flag of California, became extinct by 1922,
- Ursus arctos horribilis- grizzly (North America),
- Ursus arctos isabellinus- brown Himalayan bear, found in Nepal,
- Ursus arctos middendorffi- brown Alaskan bear or kodiak,
- Ursus arctos nelsoni- brown Mexican bear, became extinct in the 1960s,
- Ursus arctos pruinosus- brown Tibetan bear, a very rare species, is considered the prototype of the legends about the Yeti,
- Ursus arctos yesoensis- brown Japanese bear, found in Hokkaido.

In the mythology of most peoples of Eurasia and North America, the bear serves as a link between the world of people and the world of animals. Primitive hunters considered it obligatory, having obtained a bear, to perform a rite of ritual, asking for forgiveness from the spirit of the slain. Kamlanie is still performed by the indigenous inhabitants of the deaf regions of the North and the Far East. In some places, killing a bear with a firearm is still considered a sin. The ancient ancestors of European peoples were so afraid of the bear that they could say its names out loud. arctos(among the Aryans in the 5th-1st millennium BC, later among the Latin peoples) and mechka (among the Slavs in the 5th-9th centuries AD) was prohibited. Nicknames were used instead: ursus among the Romans, veag among the ancient Germans, a bear or a bear among the Slavs. Over the centuries, these nicknames turned into names, which, in turn, were also banned from hunters and replaced by nicknames (for Russians - Mikhail Ivanovich, Toptygin, Boss). In the early Christian tradition, the bear was considered the beast of Satan.

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Days in the northern hemisphere are getting longer and warmer. Of course, people rejoice in the coming heat. However, the same cannot be said for polar bears. Animals feel great at temperatures of -45 degrees and below. But from overheating they experience discomfort. In addition, an increase in average temperatures creates the prerequisites for a reduction in the population of the planet's largest predator.

What is happening in the Arctic today? Polar bears feed exclusively on the meat of mammals, mainly pinnipeds: seals, seals, in addition, the bear eats carrion and what the sea throws out. Sometimes, when he is especially hungry, he feeds on rodents, moss and berries.

The reduction in the area of ​​ice cover in the Arctic seas and the change in the age structure of sea ice are forcing polar bears to spend more time on the coast and on the islands. Staying on the coast for a long time, polar bears are deprived of access to their main prey - seals that live on sea ice, and are also at high risk of collision with a person, as a result of which they can be shot.

Today, according to scientists, there are 20-25 thousand individuals left on earth. Is it a lot or a little? Should we keep this view? And if they should, then why? Let's figure it out.

So, how many white bears are left? NO! Their number is extremely small. And it continues to decline, despite the protection of the animal and the ban on its prey. Just one fact. Between 2004 and 2007, out of 80 human-tagged polar bear cubs, only two survived. Previously, at least 50% of newborns managed to survive.

The answer to the next question is already obvious. We must, we simply must protect this species from extinction. And this should be done not because polar bears are cute, or so that our descendants will see them live, and not in photographs. If the polar bear disappears, the ecosystem of the Arctic will also be under threat. As we already know, the diet of the polar bear is a variety of marine animals, mostly pinnipeds. Based on this fact, it can be assumed that the population of these species will increase dramatically after the disappearance of their main enemy. But the number of fish living in the waters of the Arctic Ocean may be reduced, as marine predators will become many times larger, which means that they will need more food. And this will be a huge problem, both for animals and for people.

On the other hand, polar bears provide food for small predators unable to feed themselves by hunting. If a bear manages to kill a walrus, then first of all it devours the skin and fat, the rest of the carcass - only in case of severe hunger. The rest of the prey is usually eaten by Arctic foxes. This means that without the help of minds, arctic foxes may be on the verge of extinction or even die.

Thus, people must do everything to keep the polar bear alive.

What steps is Russia taking in this direction?

In Russia, hunting for a polar bear has been completely prohibited since 1957; this species is listed in the Red Book. Other Arctic countries started introducing hunting restrictions much later.

Since 2010, the Russian Geographical Society has been supporting the Polar Bear project. Its goal is the conservation and study of polar bears in the Russian Arctic, the development of non-invasive methods for collecting biological material (discarded guard hairs, excrement) for genetic studies of the population structure of the species in the region.

By the way, the study of these animals by Russian scientists is the most humane in the world. So, in the United States, to this day, to study polar bears, a tusk is pulled out from a euthanized animal. What then is a predator to live without tools for hunting?

The Russian Geographical Society is constantly expanding the range of studies of the polar bear: at first it was the Barents Sea population, in 2013 the first aviation census of the Chukotka-Alaska population was carried out, and in 2014 work began on the coast of Taimyr.

The work is carried out in cooperation with the Council for Marine Mammals, the National Park "Russian Arctic", "Reserves of Taimyr", as well as the Institute of Ecology and Evolution named after A.N. Severtsov RAS.

On March 22-24 this year, Russian scientists met with American colleagues in San Diego. During the meeting, a document was signed on the joint study of polar bears in Chukotka and Alaska in the period 2016-2018.

Thus, for many years Russia has been taking care of the preservation of the population of the northern predator. We understand that to save polar bears means to save the ecosystem of the Arctic, and, consequently, the ecosystem of the Earth.

Well, who will now say that Russia is pursuing only its own utilitarian goals in the Arctic?