Rescue of the Khamar-Daban group of forest subspecies of wild reindeer in the central part of the Khamar-Daban range

Rescue of the Khamar-Daban group of forest subspecies of wild reindeer in the central part of the Khamar-Daban range

February 2021 — present

The Khamar-Daban group of forest subspecies of wild reindeer inhabits the central part of the Khamar-Daban radge on the territory of Baikal state natural biosphere reserve and is isolated from the main population. Today this species is vulnerable and is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and the Red Book of the Republic of Buryatia. Over the past 20 years, there has been a decline in the population throughout its range.

This species is an important link in the ecosystem of the Khamar-Daban range. If we do not take measures to study and preserve this local group, we may soon lose the reindeer as one of the species of biological diversity in the Baikal Natural Territory.

Lake Baikal Foundation’s project assesses solving the problem of degradation of the Khamar-Daban group of reindeer by conducting comprehensive environmental monitoring on the territory of Baikal state natural biosphere reserve.

The research is carried out under the lead of Alexey Kitaev, the winner of the Baikal Initiative grant competition for young scientists.

Goal:

  • to preserve the isolated Khamar-Daban grouping of the wild reindeer subspecies of the Altai-Sayan population in the Central part of the Khamar-Daban range.

What has been done:

  • Materials of satellite images were studied to identify stationary places of reindeer concentrations, in other words, snowfields.
  • From July 7, 2021 to July 18, 2021, an expedition was conducted in the central part of the Khamar-Daban ridge to identify new and confirm the former habitats of an isolated group of wild reindeer of the Altai-Sayan population.
  • More than 200 km were covered during 12 days of the expedition, including about 100 km in the habitats of this species.
  • New habitats of wild reindeer were examined, namely: mountain tundra in the upper reaches of the river. Middle Khandagaita and Lower Khandagaita, in the vicinity of Mount Sohor and the mountain tundra of the Gladky ridge. As a result of a scientific expedition, the fact that wild reindeer inhabit areas that have not been previously explored has been confirmed.
  • For the first time, a quadrocopter was used to detect wild reindeer. This made it possible not only to increase the survey area, but also to explore hard-to-reach snowfields located on steep slopes.
  • In 2021, the number of installed camera traps was increased from 4 to 15. This will provide more information about the current state of the reindeer (number, habitat, stations, age and sex structure of the population, rutting time, nutrition, reproduction, ethological structure, molting time, the influence of predators on the population).

Due to the pandemic, the implementation of the second stage is postponed to 2022, when the researchers will conduct a second expedition. The scientists will check the previously installed camera traps, as well as conduct surveys in the autumn period of the year. We look forward to the results of the second stage of the project!

Photo: Baikal state natural biosphere reserve



Biodiversity Conservation