Biology of the Barguzin sable

The history of our state is inextricably linked with fur-bearing animals. An ideal example is the Monomakh's hat trimmed with fur of the Barguzin sable. His story is very sad. It shows how an entire species can be put to the brink of complete extinction due to an immoderate and predatory fishery.

This is an extremely agile and very strong animal. He prefers cedar and fir forests, loves the proximity of rivers and lakes, often arranges ambushes on squirrels in the thickest tree crowns.

Even if there are a lot of Barguzin sables in the forest, the uninitiated will not even see their tracks, let alone the animals themselves.

Thanks to its wide paws, richly trimmed with dense fur, it does not stop even deep and loose snow. The animal arranges a lair in hollows, often requisitioning the squirrel economy for this purpose, after having bitten the master himself.

Despite the lack of pronounced daily activity, prefers to hunt in the twilight and in the morning. A characteristic way of moving the Barguzin sable is by jumping. That is why its tracks are somewhat like hare.

Sable does not make any loud sounds, but it can rumble, strongly recalling the usual domestic cat. Zverek omnivorous, but prefers mice-like rodents, of which his diet in certain years is 70-80%. It is a real thunderstorm of voles and gray mice.

Do not disdain squirrels, climbing after them to the highest trees. In one year the population of these predators can eat more than one million squirrels, reliably preventing their unrestricted distribution. If the snow is deep and loose, it is not uncommon for the barguzin sable to become a hare, which in such conditions can not escape.

It is known that he attacks also grouse and grouse, but does it periodically, since birds are not the basis of his diet.

Strangely enough, but Barguzin sable loves forest berries, eating kilograms of blueberries, lingonberries and cloudberries. So he replenishes the lack of vitamins and provides his digestive tract with fiber. In addition, sables love sweet, which has been repeatedly proven by observations of domesticated individuals.

It is necessary to know that the hunting territory of a single animal is about 200 hectares (!) Of forest. In the mountainous terrain the animal annually makes huge vertical migrations. Every five to seven years, sables are being massively withdrawn from their places and resettled for 150-200 km from their former possessions. This is due to the periodic depletion of the food base.

Mating occurs in June or July, with pregnancy characterized by the presence of a frozen phase. They puppet in May, and in the southern regions - in April.

Cubs are born tiny: their weight does not exceed 40 grams. Within four months the babies reach the size of an adult. They start to multiply only after two years, and the active genital stage lasts up to 13-15 years.

In the territory of the young USSR, by the 1930s almost the entire population was exterminated. Strict laws were established, as a result of which in our time the Barguzin sable (photo of which is in the article) has almost completely restored its strength.