Pacific walrus included in the Red Book of Kamchatka
New species of wild plants and wild animals, including the Pacific walrus, are included in the Red Book of Kamchatka, Kamchatka.Today reports with reference to the regional Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology.
The Kamchatka community of research and educational institutions participated in the discussion of the updated lists. As a result, the list of taxa in the Red Book of the region includes seven species (subspecies) listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.
For some species, the rarity status category has been changed, and two domains have been introduced separately: “bacteria” and “archaea”. The inclusion of the Pacific walrus, which lives in the coastal waters of the Olyutorsky district, in February 2024 was supported at a meeting of the commission on rare and endangered animals, plants and fungi of the Kamchatka Territory in connection with a sharp decline in the number of this unique marine mammal.
“In addition to global causes, poaching has a significant impact on the catastrophic decline in the number of walruses: over the past 25-30 years, walruses have disappeared from most Kamchatka rookeries. All these years, the persecution of animals by poachers has not stopped, and the effectiveness of protecting walrus rookeries has decreased. Probably, most of the historical walrus rookeries should be considered extinct, and the animals may not return,” said Tatiana Gordienko, Head of the Department of Environmental Protection and State Environmental Expertise.
In total, the Red Book of the Kamchatka Territory includes more than 430 species (subspecies), of which 133 species are wild animals, 304 species are wild plants, fungi, thermophilic bacteria and archaea.
Photo: culture.ru