Inspectors of the national park found the bones of an extinct sea cow on the Commander islands
State inspectors are conducting spring patrols and monitoring on Bering Island in the Aleutian Archipelago, Kamchatka.Today reports with reference to the Commander Islands National Park.
They not only check different routes for violations of the security regime, but also collect primary scientific data, phenological observations, record animal encounters, and update markings on winter roads.
“The weather in March is not good, but our staff were able to catch a day and conduct a 43-kilometer foot patrol to Polova Bay and back. It was important to get back in time so as not to be “trapped” by suitable bad weather,” the national park said.
Along the route, the inspectors encountered reindeer, arctic foxes, sea otters, antlers and various waterfowl.
“When patrolling on foot, it is easier to find the bones of marine mammals. So, on this day out, the staff found several ribs of an extinct sea cow. They will be delivered to the scientific department of the National Park for analysis and, possibly, inclusion in the exhibition of the visitor center,” the environmental institution added.
The sea cow, Steller’s cow or cabbage cow (Latin Hydrodamalis gigas) was discovered in 1741 by the expedition of Vitus Bering. The mammal from the siren group was named after the expedition’s doctor, naturalist Georg Steller, who described the animal in detail.
Photo by Gleb Shevtsov and Eduard Baldin/Commander Islands National Park.