Various reasons led to the reduction and even the disappearance of some species of animals and plants.To stop this process, mankind has come up with the Red Book.It's kind of a list of endangered birds, animals, insects, and so on. N. Take, for example, such an animal as the bison.The Red Book of Russia classifies it as "endangered species".
history of the Red Book
In 1948, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, in short, led the work on the different nature protection organizations in most countries.Shortly afterwards, a Species Survival Commission.The purpose of this commission was to create the world's list of animals threatened with extinction.
work for the forthcoming big.It was necessary not only to develop common principles for the protection of rare animals, but also to identify endangered species make their classification and do much more.When the work was done, the book decided to call the red due to the fact that the color signals of danger.
Red Book was first published in 1963 and included a description of 312 species and subspecies of birds and 211 species and subspecies of mammals.Each successive edition has expanded its list of endangered birds and animals.In this list there are bison.IUCN Red List, although it relates to the category of vulnerable, not endangered.
Red Book of Russia
Red Book of the Russian Federation was published in 2001.Although was based on the Red Book of the RSFSR, it was a new, thoroughly revised and expanded edition.It included amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals - 231 taxa.That's 73 percent more than in the previous book.Significantly increased the list of invertebrates, fishes and fish-like.Some species after careful processing, on the contrary, have been deleted from the list.
However, such animal as the European bison, the Red Book of the Russian Federation includes in its list.And the bison is categorized as "endangered."
The largest mammal in Europe
heavy and large terrestrial mammals in Europe does not exist.Bison is very close to its American cousin - bison.
By weight bison can reach 1 ton of body length - 330 cm, height - two meters.His coat is dark brown.
From his buffalo hump has a higher, longer horns and a tail.
bison Lifespan is 23-25 years.Its maximum size it reached in the 5-6 years of age.
Bison prefer to live in herds.But, characteristically, in a herd of female chairs.And it consists mainly of young calves and females.Adult males prefer to be alone.The herd visited by only mating.
By the way, the female bison bears its young, too, 9 months.Only, unlike a human toddler, Zubrenok an hour stands on its feet and ready to run for his mother.And after twenty days, he may already own to eat fresh grass.Although the female feed the baby milk does not stop within five months.
There are two subspecies of the large animal - bison Bialowieza and the Caucasus.IUCN Red List The latter refers to the extinct species.
Areal accommodation bison
In the Middle Ages this animal lived in a large area - from Western Siberia to the Iberian Peninsula.However, hunting and poaching have played a role in the sharp decrease in their numbers.Completed the First World War is a dirty business.
There is evidence that the last remaining wild bison was killed in the Bialowieza Forest in 1921, and in the Caucasus - in 1926.In zoos and in private at that time remained 66 bison.
International Society for the Conservation of bison, formed in 1923, was designed to work on the restoration of the number of rare animals such as bison.The red book was still not been invented.We can say that the world community has coped with this task.Today bison even evicted from zoos to nature and live in Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Spain, Ukraine, Germany and Slovakia.
how to restore the bison population
Work on the restoration of the strength of the bison was started before the Second World War, mainly in the Bialowieza Forest in Poland and zoological parks in Europe.It is clear that the war destroyed the results of this work.
Continued followed after it.Salvation bison engaged again in the Bialowieza Forest, but in the Soviet Union.This work was a success, and in 1961 began to resettle the bison into natural habitat.
way, if Bialowieza bison keep enough for further play, the Caucasus survived in captivity only a single copy.So we had to breed hybrid animals.
Caucasian bison
In another way it was called Dombay and relate to mining and forest animals.This subspecies of the European bison lived in the forests of the Greater Caucasus Range.He was a little less than their European brothers and darker color.In addition, his curly hair and more strongly curved horns.
As life expectancy Caucasian bison Bialowieza somewhat inferior to his fellow man.A little more than 20 years, could spend the most hardy among them.
But people relentlessly slaughtered the animal.As a result of the mid-19th century Dombaev there are not more than 2,000 individuals, and after the First World War - 500 pieces.
The fact of poaching, which finally destroyed Dombaev.It happened in 1927 at Mount Alous.It then disappeared from the face of the earth Caucasian bison.IUCN Red List classifies it in the category of "extinct species".
revival of bison in the Caucasus
Of course, it was no longer Dombay.However, in the Caucasus bison appeared again.
the summer of 1940 in the Caucasian Reserve delivered a male and several females bison.They crossed with Bialowieza-Caucasian bison.The last still preserved in some zoos in the world.
work of scientists succeeded.Now the Caucasian bison is not very different from the native places of Dombey.However, in the freestyle nature bison do not live.They are found only in protected areas: the Caucasus and Teberdinsky and in Tseyskoe reserve in North Ossetia.
regional Red Book
In many regions of the Russian Federation published its own regional Red Books.This was done to give greater importance to the protection of rare species of animals, birds and plants in the region.Of course, not all of these species are significant on a global scale.But the local flora and fauna is not less important for the population living there than a single endangered species in the world.
However, some species of the regional Red Data Books have global significance.For example, the European bison.The Red Book of Krasnodar region includes the animal.Because the area of residence of bison in Russia extends to the basins of White and Malaya Laba, part of which is located in the Krasnodar region.And now they are there is very little.But in the mid-19th century was not uncommon bison Kuban.The Red Book is now warns of caring for these animals.
In addition, the Russian school educational program aims not only to instill in children a love for the native land, but also respectful of the flora and fauna.One of the most colorful among these is the bison.Red book for children in the pictures shows it in all its glory.This is a clear example of the fact that without protection could disappear from the face of the earth beautiful animals.
bison nursery in Russia
first kennel in Russia was established in 1948 in the Moscow region, Serpukhov district, within the boundaries of existing there Biosphere Reserve.Since 1959, it operates a nursery in Spassky district of Ryazan region.Since 1989 freestyle population of bison is in the Vladimir region.The reserve "Kaluga Zaseki" (border Kaluga, Orel and Tula regions) inhabited by several groups of bison in the amount of 120 individuals.
in 1996 were brought bison in a national park "Orel woodland", located in the northwest of the Oryol region.Now their population has increased to 208 individuals.
However, most bison live in their homeland - in the Bialowieza Forest, which is known to be located on the territory of the two countries: Belarus and Poland.The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" Republic of Belarus the number of bison is 360 individuals, and in Poland - about 400. Together they form the largest population of this rare species in the world.By the way, it is a symbol of Belarus bison.IUCN Red List, recall, refers to the category of the animal vulnerable.
