It is not surprising that a country so big is home to a large number of ecosystems and species. Its forests, steppes, and tundras are an ideal habitat for many rare animals, like pikas and Siberian tigers.
Russia set up its first national parks in the 19th century, but years of uncontrolled pollution have caused a lot of problems in many of the country’s wild places. About one per cent of Russia’s land area is protected in reserves now and these areas are called zapovedniks.
Russia’s Siberian tiger is the largest cat in the world. Indigenous to the forests of Eastern Russia, these giants can be up to 3 metres long, not including their tail and weigh up to 300 kilogrammes. But they are now an endangered species. Other rare animals found in Russia include the arctic fox, the wild boar, the Eurasian lynx and the polar bears. Arctic foxes can be found in the Bering Sea’s Commander Islands. The wild boars were introduced into the Ural Mountains range in the 1930s by humans and it is still one of the unique places to see them.
Coniferous forests from the western borders up to Kamchatka and Sakhalin is the habitat of the Eurasian Lynx. Wrangel Island is an area where the dens of polar bears are abundantly found and is often called the polar bear maternity wing.
Picture Credit : Google
