Kamchatka bears are one of the frequent topics for guests of Kamchatka. After all, many people know that Kamchatka is a land of bears.

Yes, indeed - the population of bears in Kamchatka is about 20,000 individuals, a considerable number, but for an uninformed person it is frightening! But in reality, everything is much better than it might seem, or the media may show.

First of all, I would like to note that Kamchatka bears are not aggressive by nature, and plant food predominates in the diet. But in general, bears are smart animals! They have, like all wild animals, a developed instinct for self-preservation (which some people lack = [). Therefore, you should not think that the bear in the forest is only busy looking for you to eat =). On the contrary, he will try to avoid meeting you, since you are a potential threat to him.

Kamchatka bears and civilization

No matter how funny it may be, many people ask in all seriousness - "Do you have bears walking right through the streets ?!" Let's face it - there are cases when a bear wanders into the city limits for one reason or another, but such cases are extremely rare. But there are not so many cities in Kamchatka, in other words - three: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Elizovo and Vilyuchinsk. The rest of the settlements are significantly smaller in size and, accordingly, less frightening of a bear that is interested in something. And what could be of interest to a wild animal in a settlement? The answer is simple - food!

Note that humans are not food for bears!

Note that a person is not food for them, and wild animals, including bears, are attracted by places where a person throws food waste, this is an affordable delicacy for them, which is both brighter in taste and smells more interesting.

Bears and tourists

The relationship between bears and tourists is quite complex and varied. The fact is that the goals of the guests of Kamchatka may be different (we will immediately exclude hunters and poachers from this list): someone comes to visit interesting places, to climb the volcano, and a bear for them is what they would like to see, of course, but only at a cannon shot distance =); someone arrives here to see the bear as close as possible: photographers, videographers and just lovers of wild animals. Whichever category you fall into, it is important that you have someone who has experience of staying in Kamchatka in wildlife, someone who has already dealt with bears knows their habits and understands how to behave in order not to meet a bear at all, or to meet, but safely. Therefore, do not neglect professional experienced guides.

Therefore, do not neglect professional experienced guides.

An experienced guide will tell you what to do and not to do in order to avoid a meeting with a bear, help scare away a curious bear, explain the procedure if the meeting did occur.

How to avoid meeting a bear

Here are some of the most basic tips for avoiding bear encounters:

  • Do not go to the forest alone - take your friends with you or join a tourist group ("I will go out to a bear, I will go out without fear if I am with a friend, and a bear without a friend" (c) Adventures of electronics).
  • Indicate your presence - make a noise, talk loudly and in every possible way let the animals around you understand that there is someone here. The bear does not need unnecessary problems, so he will try to avoid meeting with a noisy strange company of large animals. If you are as quiet as mice, you can suddenly meet a bear in the bushes, and there, already frightened, anyone can behave "wrongly".
  • Since August, fish begin to spawn in Kamchatka, which means that on the banks of the rivers you need to be careful not to interfere with the bears from catching fish. They will fight for their "feeding trough" if they think that you are applying for it.
  • Be careful when picking berries and other wild-growing treats, the bear also loves to feast on berries - again, make noise and be in the company of friends.
  • If you need to set up a campground:
    • carefully study the territory: look for traces of the presence of bears, pay attention to the crushed grass, paths - do not put up tents on the paths, too close to the river or stream.
    • Organize your camping kitchen separately from the "sleeping area"!
    • Do not take food with you to the tents, even if you cannot sleep without a chocolate bar at hand. The bear will also want to taste your delicious chocolate. Take all the food to the kitchen or a designated area in the camp.
    • Try to get all your toilet done before lights out - you need to sleep at night! If you really need to, then wake up a friend or your guide (do not hesitate, this is his job! =)) So that he was nearby.
    • Be sure to take your trash with you.

If you still met

A few tips on what to do and not to do if you are Kamchatka bears decided to meet you:

  • If you do see a bear, do not try to lure him with food, feed him, and so on - this will let the bear know that you have available food, he will follow you and can do a lot of harm to you or those who then follow the same route. ...
  • Try not to panic!
  • Get it all together! From a distance, your company will seem to him to be something impressive and formidable, and you will also know that no one from the group is lost and does not wander somewhere in the bushes, unaware of your new acquaintance. For greater impressiveness, you can raise a backpack, rug or something else voluminous over your head.
  • Estimate the distance to the bear, many further actions depend on this:
    • If he is far from you, from 100 meters or more, then you should stop and once again indicate your presence, but without special equipment, and then just watch what the bear will do. Usually he, noticing you, will try to leave, you should only look where he goes and not go there.
    • If the bear is at a distance of about 50 meters from you and / or is approaching, then you should not just make some noise, but use any available special means, which will be discussed separately. If the bear is stomping in your direction, then you should look around and think, maybe you are standing on its path and you should calmly step aside in an organized way and let the local resident pass.
    • If wherever you go, the bear is still heading towards you, then you should try to "break" the distance between you using, for example, a backpack, and slowly, without turning your back to the bear and not letting it out of sight (but do not look into the eyes , in the animal kingdom this is a sign of aggression), retreat. The animal will become interested in your things and will be distracted from you, thereby giving the opportunity to leave. It is also worth preparing special equipment for protection on short distance.

Bears and cubs

Separately, I would like to say about the bears and their mothers - small and curious mimics can arouse affection even in the most severe tourist, and their mothers are ready to become a mountain for their children! That's why:

  • We multiply all of the above by at least two times!
  • No way, no matter how much we want, we don't feed, we don't stroke, we don't run to photograph the cubs!

Mom with cubs

Bear protection

Separately, I would like to talk about weapons (we mean firearms) and active means of protection against bears, as this topic also raises many questions and disputes.

An experienced guide usually carries a small arsenal of various devices (hand flares, hunter signals, sprays, etc.) that create loud noise, bright flashes or an odor unpleasant for the bear. Such protective equipment can serve as an excellent help to avoid encountering a bear if you suspect that it is wandering around. And, if the meeting happened, they can help drive him away. For a bear, all these noises and flashes are extremely unusual phenomenon, which causes animal fear and includes the instinct of self-preservation.

For a bear, all these noises and flashes are an extremely unusual phenomenon that causes animal fear and includes the instinct of self-preservation.

Hunter missiles and signals

Separately, I would like to say about the missiles and signals of the hunter! Some advise launching them directly at the bear, arguing that “this will set fire to the fur, and the bear will be scared,” but such shooting to kill can, on the contrary, provoke the bear into rash actions. Better to shoot in the direction of the animal, seeing that something "fiery" is flying in his direction, he will hasten to leave.

Sprays

There are also special cans of liquid, which, when you press a button, they release at a distance of up to 5-7 meters, creating a caustic cloud. This remedy is effective if the cloud envelops the bear's face, thus irritating the eyes and nose. Considering the bears' sensitive sense of smell, this is very unpleasant for them! But such means, as you noticed, are effective over a short distance and in the hands of a trained person, in our case, a guide. Therefore, and indeed, you should not bring to close contact!

A few words about firearms

The most important thing is that the presence of weapons creates imaginary security! The fact is that it is not a fact that you will be able to use it correctly and skillfully. Many, knowing that someone in the group has a gun, begin to disregard other rules of safe behavior in the wild, relying entirely on the weapon, thereby increasing the chance of encountering a bear. You should know that it is not so easy to kill a bear in case of an unexpected meeting. Even if you've spotted it before, that doesn't mean you can shoot to kill. Experienced experts recommend using a gun as a "noise generator" and a way to show that you can reach the bear from afar by shooting in the air or nearby, by spraying the bear or by throwing dirt on the bear.

PS

Based own experience, we can say that, subject to the most basic rules of behavior in the wild, you can safely travel to the wildest places and Kamchatka bears may never even meet on the way.

Bearish calm

When a man and a bear meet in the taiga, they often scatter in different directions and then come to their senses for a long time. I was lucky to live and work for months in the most bearish places in Russia, and maybe in the world - in the Valley of Geysers and on the Kuril Lake in Kamchatka. Both of these places are under the protection of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, the protection inspector of which I work. If my colleagues and I always ran away from bears, then we would not have time to do anything else (although sometimes we have to run). Bears, too, do not all run from people. Several generations of bear have grown up here under the protection of the reserved regime, and some animals do not have panic fear in front of a person. When I live in the taiga, such bears are the closest and most visible neighbors, sometimes they even look into windows or doors. If you live in one place for a long time, you involuntarily begin to recognize them by sight and give names. When I arrived in the Valley of Geysers six years ago, there were still bears named after the naturalist Vitaly Nikolaenko, author of the book "Kamchatka Bear".

In this book he described life stories several legendary bears: Corn-eared, Dobrynya, Darkpaws. Vitaly Nikolayenko has passed away, and most of the bears described by him are no longer there. I found Darkpaw in the Valley and in the future I will try to tell about her personally. Many bears of the Kuril Lake, not avoiding people, and repeatedly filmed by photographers and filmmakers, also received their own names. A sumo wrestler is a large male who, by the fall, gained so much fat that it was difficult for him to walk on land. He preferred to swim along the shores of the lake. The diver - also a famous swimmer and diver - was able to lift sleepy fish from a depth of several meters. The Eternal Old Man - every year he descends from the mountains in an extremely emaciated and painful form, his death is predicted every summer, but he is still alive. The drunk (he is shown in the top picture) - the kindest sloth-philosopher, forever lying on the beach, received such an ugly name when in 2008 he took a flask with schnapps from an Austrian tourist and sucked it. Today I will show pictures of the bears I know in the face.


Legendary Darkpaw from the Valley of Geysers.

Kukhtyl is a young curious male from the Valley of Geysers. He loved to look into the windows and doors of our inspector's hut. Thanks to this bad habit for bears, I won the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year in London for the first time with a portrait of Kukhtyl looking out the window. This spring I saw a mature and more cautious Kuhtyl near the Valley of Geysers.


The oligarch, a large male with no one to fear, has privatized half of the best pastures in the Valley of Geysers.


Prima is a beautiful and wonderful mother from the Valley of Geysers.


A fisherman - I met him on the Tikhaya River in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve. A skilled fisherman who gave me the chance to shoot together two symbols of Kamchatka - a bear and a volcano.


Mother is a bear with an unusually developed maternal instinct... Last summer, with two one and a half-year-olds of her own, she adopted a six-month-old orphan - an unusual act, first documented for bears.


Keshka is a young handsome fighter who is gaining strength. Hard temper. He managed to subdue all his peers and snarls at older and strong bears... It can be seen that he shows a tooth even to a person passing by his favorite fishing stone, on which he stands.


Pushkin. Cheerful and mischievous young male with Pushkin's sideburns.


Vyunosha. Reminds me of a positive, shy freshman yearning for new knowledge. Avoids conflicts with peers, always delicately bypasses even younger fellow tribesmen. Loves long swims on the lake.


Killer or Killer. All the young bears and cubs in the area shied away from this almost black medium-sized male. Females always took the babies away from him. Apparently, it was not for good deeds that he earned such a reputation. He was afraid of people, he never went out into the open, but I noticed more than once that he was following fresh human tracks. It was uncomfortable next to him.


Misha and Masha are young friendly bears, most likely brother and sister. Misha (on the right) is a lazy person and do not care, by the age of four he had not even learned how to fish skillfully, preferring to take it away from the wonderful fisherwoman Masha.


The eternal old man. Every year, before the spawning of sockeye salmon, this straw-colored Kuril lake, the largest old animal, descends from the mountains into a very in bad shape: extremely emaciated, covered in old and new scars. We even wondered about the date of his death. But he goes down not to die, but to gain strength. By autumn, it eats away, its body size becomes similar to a bison and again goes to winter in the mountains.


The clown is a big fan of walking on its hind legs with a human gait. Usually bears stand up on their hind legs for a few seconds in order to look around, but this one is just a virtuoso of upright walking.

The average weight of a bear living in the vastness of Kamchatka is from 150 to 200 kg. Rarely is it possible to meet nose to nose with an individual weighing 400 kg, and even 600 kg giants are nothing more than inventions of hunters. It is curious that Kamchatka bears are not susceptible to attacks of aggression, and this is most likely the result of a fish diet rather than a meat diet.

The main component of the Kamchatka bear's diet is fish - salmon, which is a source of fat reserves, thanks to which the endless Kamchatka winter is nothing to the animal. However, having left the den after hibernation, the bear rushes at everything that moves, even if it is a gopher, brutally dug out of its hole by the bear. Although the bear is not afraid of large warm-blooded animals, because he leads a vegetarian lifestyle until the moment when the water of Kamchatka rivers is seething with a lot of fish. In July days, bears "graze", eating delicacies - berries grown on forest glades and river banks.

The Kamchatka bears do not take cowardice, and this is the result of their calm and peaceful life, where there is no place for hunger and other life difficulties, which are, for example, in bears from taiga Siberia. All misunderstandings end with the flight of the animal. But only 90% of Kamchatka bears have such a way of life of a well-fed cowardly hulk in only 90% of Kamchatka bears, the rest of this species can pose a real and lightning-fast threat to the victim, including the hunter. Therefore, do not flatter yourself when you see a bear idyllically wandering along the river bank.
This beast has incredible strength and endurance, instant reaction coupled with amazing coordination of movements. With its powerful huge teeth, the Kamchatka bear easily gnaws bones, with its paws with sharp claws it can turn out blocks of stones, even vertical smooth slopes obey it. Sitting for many hours in an icy river does not give him any inconvenience. On land, a bear can overtake a horse in the blink of an eye, and it is even easier for him to swim across a stormy river. And although long-distance running is beyond the power of a Kamchatka bear, he has marathon inclinations: a hundred kilometers in 24 hours is a trifling matter for him. However, the Kamchatka bear cannot climb a tree because of its massiveness.

Kamchatka brown bear (lat. Ursus arctos beringianius) is a subspecies (lat.Ursus arctos), common in Eurasia. It differs from its relatives living in Siberia in its larger size and complaisant character.

The first Europeans who visited Kamchatka in the 19th century were amazed by the huge number of clubfoot giants. They wandered in flocks, completely oblivious to the people. Such carelessness was explained by the lack of natural enemies and an abundance of food. Friendly bears did not even suspect what danger could come from two-legged creatures.

Now they have already learned to notice a person and are trying to bypass him as far as possible. Hunting for them has become one of the important elements of replenishing the local treasury. Officially, 500 licenses are issued annually to shoot them at a cost of 10 thousand dollars. Considering poaching, much more animals die.

In 2008, a group of 30 angry bears, after another safari, attacked miners of a platinum mine in the Olyutorsky district, killing two guards. Frightened workers decided not to tempt fate and hastened to change jobs.

All in all, this is an extraordinary incident.

Demonstration of open aggression towards people does not exceed 1% of all known cases.

Habitat

In Kamchatka, the species is distributed mainly in the Anadyr region. Outside the peninsula, it is found on the islands of Karaginsky, Shantarsky and Kuril, on west coast The Sea of ​​Okhotsk to the Stanovoy Range and on St. Lawrence Island (USA).

The home plot of one animal occupies up to 2000 square kilometers. In winter, he goes into hibernation, and in warm time migrates in search of food. Avoids mountainous and wetlands.

V summer period Kamchatka bear eats berries (blueberries, blackberries, black crowberry, cloudberries, etc.), pink salmon and those that go to spawn. In autumn, the diet is dominated by pine nuts and mountain ash. During the lack of food, corpses are eaten marine mammals, dead fish, sedge and cereals. The menu also includes plant roots, rodents, insects, worms, birds and bird eggs... Can hunt pinnipeds on the seaside.

Hours of sitting in cold water he does not care, as well as marathon runs. In a day, he can walk up to 100 km without visible effort. He does not climb trees because of his large mass, but it swims well and is happy to swim across small rivers.

Reproduction

The mating season is in the summer. Couples are formed for a short time. A female can mate with several males. Fertilized eggs begin to develop in the female's body at the beginning of winter. Pregnancy lasts about two months.

From one to three naked and blind cubs are born, weighing from 300 to 400 g. Their body length does not exceed 30 cm. The mother warms the cubs by pressing them with her paws to her belly and without even waking up. Hibernation lasts 6-7 months.

At the age of 30-33 days, babies open their eyes. Thanks to fatty breast milk, they grow very quickly. In early spring the cubs together with the she-bear leave the den and go in search of food. Milk feeding lasts a total of 4 months, but they stay with the mother for up to 2-3 years.

Bears become sexually mature after the 4th year of life.

Description

The body length reaches 2.4-3 m, and the average weight is 300-400 kg, maximum 650 kg. Males are larger than females by about one third. The color is dark brown with a characteristic purple tint. Individuals with lighter or black hair are less common.

The claws on the forepaws can grow up to 13 cm.

The total number of Kamchatka bears is estimated at 20 thousand individuals. Life expectancy reaches 40 years.

The Kamchatka bear is a subspecies of brown bears. As the name implies, these bears live in the vastness of Kamchatka, also in Sakhalin and Manchuria.

Kamchatka bears became famous in 1898. These large predators are not prone to bouts of aggression, which is most likely the result of their fish diet.

Description of the Kamchatka bear

Kamchatka bears are the largest in the world and one of the largest land-based predators. The average weight of the Kamchatka bear ranges from 150 to 200 kilograms, and the maximum weight reaches 400 kilograms, but such individuals are very rare.

The largest recorded specimen of the Kamchatka bear weighed 600 kg, however, it is believed that males during the period of increased autumn feeding can reach 700 kg.

Diet of Kamchatka bears

The basis of the Kamchatka bear's diet is not meat, but fish. A favorite treat for bears is salmon, which contains a large supply of fat, thanks to which the animal tolerates the endless Kamchatka winter well. An adult large male can eat about 100 kg of salmon per day.

Kamchatka bears have mastered many ways of catching fish: by jumping, by touch, and by corralling prey in shallow water. Salmon is the main component of the Kamchatka bear's diet, but not the only one. There is not always an abundance of fish in the rivers, so for several months these huge animals have to feed on nuts and berries.

Coming out of hibernation, the bear eagerly pounces on any living creature, for example, on gophers. But these bears are not dangerous for large warm-blooded animals, as they prefer a vegetarian diet until numerous schools of salmon appear in the Kamchatka rivers. In summer, Kamchatka bears graze looking for berries in meadows and along river banks. Sitting in icy water for many hours does not cause any inconvenience to Kamchatka bears.


Behavior of Kamchatka bears

Kamchatka bears are cowardly, which is the result of their peaceful and calm life, in which there is no place for the difficulties and other troubles that are inherent in other bears, for example, those living in taiga Siberia.

But, nevertheless, these animals have incredible strength, so they can be dangerous, like any wild animals, especially for hunters. They are very hardy and also have an instant reaction.

With paws with huge claws, Kamchatka bears can easily turn stones, and strong jaws gnaw bones. On land, a Kamchatka bear can easily overtake a horse. Although they cannot run long distances, they can cover 100 kilometers in 24 hours. Kamchatka bears are unable to climb trees, as they are too massive.


Kamchatka bears live on a huge territory, which is protected from the encroachments of strangers. Once a year, they leave their homes and gather on rivers and lakes where salmon spawn. To do this, bears often have to travel more than 1000 kilometers. Kamchatka bears find their way to fishing spots unmistakably, as they can perfectly navigate in space. There were cases when Kamchatka bears, who came too close to human settlements, were euthanized, but after a certain time they returned again.

Kamchatka bears are excellent swimmers. In addition, they have excellent hearing and sense of smell, which, along with orientation in space, endurance and strength, helps them to survive.


Life of bears in Kamchatka

The Kamchatka Peninsula is one of the few places where animals can feel at ease, every sixth bear in Russia lives here. On this moment more than 20 thousand bears are found on the peninsula. This conclusion was given by biologists who analyzed the results of the census of the bear population.

It is not clear how many bears can be hunted without harming the population. The generally accepted norm for our country was considered 7-10%. But at the moment, more than 1000 bear families have been studied, as a result of which it became known that the population is increasing annually by the most conservative estimates by 15-20%. It became clear why active hunting, poaching and natural selection did not cause the population to decline. Undoubtedly, Kamchatka is home to the most a large number of bears, there is no such number anywhere else.