Environmental monitoring of Lake Baikal

Monitoring of hunting resources and their habitats

Zabaykalsky Krai

Characteristics of habitat conditions

The last winter was moderately warm. The most severe frosts were observed on some days of January, below –30 °С, in the north of the republic it was below –40 °С. In the fourth five-day week of February, there was anomalously warm weather with average daily temperatures by 10–15 ºC above the climatic norm; thaws of up to + 1, + 8 ºС were observed in the southern part. The average monthly air temperatures of the past winter were about the climatic norm or by 1-3 degrees above it in most areas, in January they were about the climatic norm or by 1-2 degrees below it in the central and southern regions. In January and February it snowed below the norm.

Spring began in the second half of April and ended in late May - early June. Spring activization of cyclonic activity resulted in an increase in wind speed, precipitation in the form of sleet and rain, the emergence and development of snow drifts, blizzards, and storms. In the spring, strong night frosts were often observed, and during mixing north western anticyclones and cyclones, the cold weather returned.

Summer began in late May - early June. Its first half was dry and cloudy, in some periods there were heavy rainfalls associated with the development of convective clouds.

Autumn came in late August - early September. At relatively low daytime temperatures, night frosts occurred as early as in August. For the first half of autumn, periods of warm and sunny weather were typical.

Overall, the climatic conditions in the territory of Zabaykalsky Krai can be recognized as satisfactory for the habitat and reproduction of wild animal populations in 2017.

Condition of hunting resources

The change in population of main species of game animals within the boundaries of BNT (Zabaykalsky Krai)
The change in take of main types of game animals within the boundaries of BNT (Zabaykalsky Krai)
Population of main species of game animals within the boundaries of BNT (Zabaykalsky Krai) in 2006-2017

Ungulates animals

Manchurian wapiti According to the WRC (Winter Route Census) data, the abundance of this species in the BNT in 2017 is 16,559 individuals, which is 2.5 % more than the figure of 2016. Fluctuations in abundance are associated with characteristics of migrations and distribution of wild ungulate animal populations during the WRC period. During the 2016–2017 hunting season, 375 permits were issued and 293 individuals of manchurian wapiti were harvested.

Wild boar. In 2017, the abundance of the species reduced by 4.9 % and amounted to 5,504 individuals. During the 2016–2017 hunting season, 1,770 permits were issued and a total of 338 individuals were harvested.

Musk deer. According to the WRC data, in 2017 there are 25,242 individuals in the territory of BNT, which is 10.9 % more than the level of 2016. During the 2016–2017 hunting season, 1,036 permits were issued, of which 915 individuals were harvested, including 762 male individuals.

Roe deer. According to the WRC data, the abundance of this species in the BNT was 28,838 individuals in 2017, which is 2.5 % less than the figure of 2016. During the 2016–2017 hunting season, 1,487 permits were issued and 1,255 individuals were harvested.

Elk. According to WRC, the abundance of elk in BNT in 2017 is estimated at 4,837 individuals, which is 10.9 % more than the level of 2016. The increase is primarily associated with a low harvest of this species in recent years, as well as a decrease in the predation pressure. During the 2016–2017 hunting season, the amount of issued permits was 103 permits and 77 individuals were harvested.


Fur-bearing species

Squirrel. In the Republic of Buryatia, the Transbaikal squirrel lives within the BNT, occupying mountain larch forests of Dahurian larch, as well as cedar, pine and larch and pine forests. The abundance of the species was 168,287 individuals, which is 4.4% more than in 2016. During the 2016–2017 hunting season, 1,181 permits were issued, and 27,206 squirrel individuals were harvested.

Sable. Sable habitats include cedar forests on stony placers, spruce-cedar forests, Siberian dwarf pine brushwood, old burnt wood with renewal of coniferous and hardwood species, cedar forests with pleurocarpous moss, larch-spruce and pine-cedar forests with stony placers. According to the WRC data, the abundance of sable reached 32,181 individuals in 2017, which is 2.1 % more than the level of 2016. During 2016–2017 hunting season, 9,456 sables were harvested.

Arctic hare. The abundance dynamics of the arctic hare is cyclical with ten-year periods of growth and decline. The main factors, which influence the reproduction of this species, are climatic conditions in the spring and summer period. According to the WRC, the abundance of hares was estimated at 54,397 individuals in 2017, which is 1.6 % more than in 2016. The harvest of the 2016–2017 season, was 3,563 individuals, harvested under 1,769 permits.

Siberian weasel. According to the state census, the abundance of this species was 5,183 individuals in 2017, which is 2.3 % more than in 2016. The harvest during the 2016–2017 hunting season was 466 individuals under implemented agreements on hunting the amount of 255 individuals.

Fox. According to WRC data, the abundance of foxes is 3,250 individuals in 2017, which is 14.7 % more than the level of 2016. In certain areas of the republic, due to the rabies outbreak, specialized measures were taken to reduce their number. As part of the fox abundance regulation, 729 individuals were harvested. The scope of amateur harvest amounted to 419 individuals.


Predators 

Lynx. The distribution of the lynx population is uneven, the most common landscapes, where the lynx is currently kept, are mountains, pine and larch forest steppe. The range area is 15,000–18,000 thousand hectares. According to WRC data, in the republic the abundance of lynx within the BNT is 1,561 individuals in 2016, which is 29.9 % more than the level of 2016. In 2017, during the 2016–2017 hunting season, 48 individuals were harvested under 18 permits.

Bear. The 2017 spring census showed that the abundance of bears remains high. In the Republic of Buryatia, the abundance of bears is estimated at 4,412 individuals in BNT, which is 16.9 % more than in 2016. During the 2016–2017 hunting season, 125 permits were issued, 106 predators were harvested.

Wolf. According to the estimates of game warden specialists and based on census data, the abundance of this species was 842 individuals in 2017, which is 21.5 % more than in 2016. 613 predators were harvested in 2017 within the boundaries of the BNT. At the same time, throughout the year there are constant migrations of wolves from neighbouring regions and Mongolia, which greatly complicates the situation with the predation of wolves. The average annual damage done by the predator to agriculture is at least 30 million Rubles. The damage caused by the wolf to a hunting farm is estimated to be three times more.