The Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region: Animals and Plants

Unfortunately, human activities on the planet have led to the fact that many species of animals and plants that inhabited it either disappeared or are on the verge of extinction. The only biological species, whose population grows from year to year, is the man himself.

Today in Russia there are Red books of federal, regional and state level, in which flora and fauna are introduced. The Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region (photo below) contains a complete list of animals and plants that a person must protect.

Red Book

The need for such a document became the most acute in the 90s of the 20th century. The industrialization of the country gave its negative results by the end of the century in the form of the disappearance of whole species. The Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region includes animals and plants that need human help. For some of them, it's a matter of life and death.

All natural objects subject to protection are divided into categories:

• The first includes species that can completely disappear if proper measures are not taken to save them;
• In the second group - species, whose numbers are rapidly declining, and they can at any time go into the category of disappearing;
• In the third category - representatives of flora and fauna, rarely found;
• The fourth group includes specimens that have been poorly studied, and there is no information on their true number.

The Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region mainly consists of representatives of the second category, although there are animals that can be considered almost extinct from these places.

Siberian Shank

To meet this kind of newts in the region is becoming more complicated. It's amazing that this glacial relic , which existed for thousands of years, is now on the brink of survival. With his ability to survive the cold, few will compare. For example, a Siberian shrew found in permafrost, after the ice in which he was found melted, came alive and began to look for a food source. The age of this specimen was 90 years, most of which he lived in a state of suspended animation.

These species feed on mollusks, earthworms, crustaceans and various insect larvae. Their disappearance from the Arkhangelsk region may be due to the destruction of their natural habitat and their habitual diet. It is unlikely that the relict creature can quickly adapt to the rapidly changing conditions.

The Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region is unlikely to be able to help him if a person does not stop interfering with the natural ecosystem of the region.

Butterfly mnemosin

This insect is extremely unlucky. Its caterpillars feed exclusively on one kind of plant (crested fish), and if it disappears, the mimosin butterfly will simply cease to exist in this region. All animals of the Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region are indirectly or directly related to endangered species of plants, which once again proves that there are no unnecessary creatures in nature.

Mnemosin is a medium-sized butterfly of white or yellowish color with two black spots near the outer edge of the wings. The diet of her caterpillar is the plant of the crane, on which she leaves her eggs. Butterfly leads a nocturnal life, preferring to hide in the damp forests during the day.

It is listed in the Red Books in all regions of Russia, where it lives. Due to deforestation and, consequently, the disappearance of the plant, which is necessary for the feeding of caterpillars, it may soon not be in the country at all. To avoid this, it is necessary to identify where the population is located and to protect these areas of the forest from logging.

Whale of Greenland

Animals listed in the Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region include this mammal. A resident of the polar waters belongs to the suborder of toothless whales.

This mammal does not have a dorsal fin, but it is completely replaced by lateral and powerful tail. The males of this whale reach a length of 21 meters, the female - 18 m. Hunting for it is universally forbidden by the whaling commission, but the fact that they are not killed does not mean that they are safe.

Today, the loss of whales is most often associated with fishing nets in which they become entangled and, unable to rise to the surface for inspiration, drown.

It is the bowhead of the bowhead who can make beautiful jumps out of the water with the subsequent falling on his side, which so delight people.

To feed, he needs to eat 2000 kg per day of crustaceans, fish larvae and small mollusks. If due to water pollution their number decreases, this will also cause whales to die. Therefore they are in the second category in the Red Book. To solve the problem of their survival should be at the international level, as it concerns the pollution of water with oil waste and other poisonous substances.

Walrus

Marine animals of the Red Book of the Arkhangelsk region, with a description of which can be found on its pages, although they are considered to be inhabiting its waters, often migrate, so it is difficult to monitor their safety.

Unfortunately, people mercilessly exterminated these beautiful and noble animals for their fat and tusks, but today hunting for them is prohibited. The walrus population grows much more slowly than was their extermination. Currently, their rookeries are on the islands in the Laptev Sea, in the Chukchi Sea, off the coast of Alaska and Kamchatka.

These animals live in herds, which have their own hierarchy and division into duties. For example, when all the individuals go to bed on the shore, sentries are always exhibited. In case of danger, they make a trumpet sound, and the awakened flock immediately rushes to escape into the water. Sometimes a baby can die in the crowd, but this happens rarely, because the females protect them with their bodies even with a threat to their own lives.

Red-throated loon

The Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region includes insects, fish, and birds on its lists. Red-throated loon is a small and very cute bird, named so because it has a bright red spot on its neck.

This migratory bird prefers not the seashore, like its other relatives, but the rivers and the tundra zone. She flies very fast, making a vertical takeoff right out of the water, and on the ground almost helpless and walks with difficulty, sometimes just crawling, helping herself with fins. In the native element, she dives deeply behind the prey, which is the fish. As additional food can eat shellfish, crustaceans and aquatic insects.

For the sake of her feathers and down, people put this bird at risk of extinction. Today, the population in the Arkhangelsk region is gradually growing, perhaps in some foreseeable future it will be removed from the list of rare species.

White-tailed eagle and golden eagle

Many birds belong to rare species and are subject to protection throughout the territory of the province. The Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region in the section "Rare Animals" has been replenished with such birds:

• White-tailed eagle: dwells next to the seashore or large freshwater reservoirs. These beautiful predators are large enough: in length - up to a meter, and the wingspan - more than 2 meters. The beak and legs of their bright yellow color. The white-tailed eagle feeds mainly on fish or what it takes from other waterfowl hunters. If the "fishing" is not successful, it can attack the water-swamp bird.
• Berkut is most famous in the region, although this predator lives in the mountains. Hunting leads to game of completely different sizes - from the mouse-voles to the hare and the young deer. Jacks suit high in the mountains. Disappeared due to the extermination of peasants, protecting their hens, and pesticides, which are sprayed with forests.

Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon belongs to the falcon family. It is believed that this is the fastest living thing on the planet. Is able to develop speed during a dive flight over 300 km / h. During the hunt, he so hits his prey with his paws at the entire rate of fall, that even a large game can lose its head. It is also endangered due to pesticides, which are sprayed with trees and fields.

Unfortunately, the Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region, whose animals and plants are numerous, does not provide a guarantee of their safety, but all inhabitants of the region should get acquainted with the disappearing species.

Disappearing flora

As already mentioned above, each creature has its own cell in the ecosystem. If it is broken or destroyed, a domino chain reaction can begin , when the disappearance of one flower will result in the death of a whole species of insects that birds eat.

Plants of the Red Book of the Arkhangelsk Region are also on the verge of survival, for example:

• Lobelia Dortman. This bell-shaped bluish flower is an indicator of the purity of the pond near which it grows. Apparently, just the pollution of the lakes and rivers of the region caused its disappearance.
• A tetrahedral water lily becomes rare for the same reason. Most likely, if people cleared water in lakes and rivers and stopped polluting the coast, nature itself would restore the balance it needed.
• The present shoe refers to the family of orchids and loves the moistened soil of forest meadows and mountain forests. Disappears due to warming, which dries up the soil.

This is not the whole list of endangered species of plants and animals in the Arkhangelsk region. To get acquainted with it, you should get a copy of the Red Book.