Snow sheep were counted in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve in Kamchatka
Photo: Denis Kochetkov
For the first time in 17 years, an air count of the number of snow sheep was carried out on the territory of the Kronotsky Reserve, Kamchatka.Today reports with reference to the reserve’s press service.
Aerial surveys of these artiodactyls in a specially protected natural area have not been conducted since 2008. Today, this opportunity has appeared. The route covered previously explored animal habitats, which made it possible to compare the results obtained with data from 17 years ago. Accounting has shown that the number of species in the reserve, which is quite rare for our region, is stable.
During the aviation accounting on the Robinson R 44 helicopter, the main habitats of sheep were covered. These are the volcanoes of Unana, Townshitz, Kronotsky, Gamchen, Komarova, Schmidt, Konradi, Kizimen, the sides of the Uzon caldera, the Valaginsky range and the mountains at the headwaters of the Malaya Chazhma River.
“185 sheep of different genders and ages were counted, 120 of them visually and 65 by footprints. Preliminary results suggest that, in comparison with the data of 2008, the number of bighorn sheep in the Valaginsky Range remained unnamed, while in the Schmidt-Komarova–Gamchen mountain and volcanic massif doubled,” said Vladimir Gordienko, a researcher at the Kronotsky State Nature Reserve.
The Kronotsky Peninsula was not included in the flight accounting route, since land route surveys of snow sheep are planned there at the end of summer 2025. According to available information, the number of animals in this area has been stable for many years and amounts to 80 individuals.