Great Grew Owls: Family Life Above the Arctic Circle The great grey owl is one of the most beautiful and unusual birds in Russia. It is also called the “bearded owl” because of a dark patch below the beak that resembles a small beard. Great grey owls have a long lifespan and have been known…
Arctic Foxes: Too Beautiful for Their Own Good The Arctic fox lives in the Far North, which is why it has thick, warm and beautiful fur that also provides it with camouflage in the snow. Sadly, it is precisely because of its fur that this animal has become widely known (and endangered). The Arctic fox…
Reindeer: Santa’s Little Helpers? Reindeer can be both wild and domesticated animals and are famous for their antlers. Both the female and male of the species have them, but the male’s are bigger. While males shed their antlers each winter, females only lose them after giving birth. Reindeer can be found all over northern Russia…
The Taiga: The World’s Wildest Place? The taiga is the world’s northernmost forested area, stretching across Russia from East to West. It features a highly dense wooded area of mostly coniferous trees atop a marshy ground and constitutes one of the world’s most severe climates. Due to the large amount of oxygen it releases into…
Siberia: Test Yourself Siberia is located east of the Ural Mountains in the northern part of Asia. It accounts for 77% of Russia’s land area, stretches all the way to the Pacific Ocean and abounds in cold weather, impassible taiga and bears. Its natural resources are legendary: gold, oil, coal and gas can all be…
Humans: The Biggest Threat to the Reindeer’s Way of Life Reindeer are critical to the way of life of many peoples in the far North. And while the reindeer is well adapted to that area’s harsh winter climate, it has difficulty enduring heat. The animals can forage deep under the snow for food, their thick…
Kamchatka: Discover a land of fire, volcanoes, earthquakes…and crab! Kamchatka is very different from other parts of Russia. It’s a land of volcanoes and glaciers, hot springs and boiling geysers, swift rivers, lakes and waterfalls. It’s one of the country’s most Eastern – and remote – regions, with few permanently inhabited settlements. Volcanoes are the…
