Pearls of nature

Taimyrsky Reserve

State Reserve "Taimyrsky" was created on 23 February 1979. In 1995 it has been given the status of Biosphere Reserve.

This is one of the largest Russian reserves, located in the northern part of Krasnoyarsky krai, on the Taimyr Peninsula. The Reserve consists of Main territory, three Filials and protected area "Bikada".

The Reserve office is located in Khatanga village, which is one of the district centers in Taimyrsky (Dolgano-Nenetsky) autonomous okrug.

The reserve is located on Taimyr Peninsula. Reserve organizers tried to include the most diversity of zonal nature landscapes - arctic, typical and south tundra as well as for-tundra park forests (forest tundra).

There are 430 vascular plant species, 222 mosses species and 265 lichens species, growing on Reserve territory.

There are few rare species, included in the Red Book. These are Castilleja arctica Kryl. & Serg., Artemisia arctisibirica Korobkov, Braya siliquosa Bunge, Carex duriuscula C.A. Mey, Draba pohlei Tolm., D. taimyrensis Tolm., Oxytropis deflexa (Pall.) DC, Puccinella gorodkovii Tzvel., P. byrrangensis Tzvel., Pedicularis dasyantha Hadac and Rhodiola rosea L.

Mammal fauna of Taimyrsky Reserve is not rich - it includes only 23 species, more than half of which occur rarely or occasionally on the Reserve territory. However, this fauna is typical for these latitudes. Three mammals species are especially protected.

The smallest, but very important animals are lemmings - Siberian, Lemmus sibiricus, and Collared, Dicrostonyx torquatus.

Hare is a rather common inhabitant of the Reserve.

Arctic Fox is the most wide-spread predator.

Wolf is another predator inhabiting Reserve.

Stoat is the most common representative of martens in the Reserve. Glutton is another and extremely rare member of the marten family. It is still unclear, whether this species breeds on the territory of Reserve.

Ungulates are represented by reindeer and musk-ox in the Reserve. Taimyr population of reindeer is the most numerous in the world, and includes more than 700 thousand animals.

Being introduced to Taimyr in 1974, by the current time musk-ox dispersed at a very vast territory, from the Bolshaya Balakhna river on the south to the Leningradskaya river on the north, and from the Nizhnyaya Taimyra river on the west to eastern Taimyr coast.

Marine mammals of the Reserve are represented by white whale, ringed seal, bearded seal and walrus.

For the whole history of the Reserve, Polar Bear were twice recorded far inland - on the Bikada and Verkhnyaya Taimyra rivers (200-300 km far from the sea).

Some interesting data exist about appearance of Brown Bears in the Reserve. One of the records was made in early 90-th at Byrranga mountains foothills.

There are 116 species of birds represented in Taimyrsky Reserve , 73 of which nest, 3 - presumably nest, status of one is not clear, 14 - flies into the Reserve more or less constantly, 25 - were recorded 1-2 times for the observation period. 23 species are listed in Red data books of different levels.

Birds of the Reserve belong to 9 orders. Representatives of cranes (Gruiformes) - gray crane, asiatic white crane, and woodpeckers (Piciformes) - three-toed woodpecker - are only met on migration, divers (Gaviiformes), geese and ducks (Anseriformes), birds of prey (Falconiformes), groose (Galliformes), waders (Charadriiformes), owls (Strigiformes) and passerines (Passeriformes) breed in the Reserve.