Baikal animal world. Animal world of Lake Baikal. White Baikal grayling

To some, this will seem impossible and even stupid, however Lake Baikal can be considered one of the most amazing places in Russia and in the world, not only because of its well-known features (fresh water supply, unique seal, etc.), but also thanks to unknown animals and phenomena.

However, do not prematurely get excited about this if you are an overly rational person. In fact, there are a number of convincing arguments that the lake is clearly not as simple as it seems.

Before starting a very controversial conversation about the presence of incredible animals in Baikal, we note its relationship with some other well-known geographical objects. Many of you have probably read stories about monsters that may inhabit different lakes of the world more than once.

Curiously, almost all the lakes that are under such suspicion have a number of remarkably similar descriptions, which cannot be pure coincidence.

For example, what do Baikal have in common with the most famous anomalous lakes in the world like the Scottish loch ness and Chinese Kanas? Let's put aside the fact that there is absolutely nothing unknown in Loch Ness, except for huge otters and sometimes seals and other mammals swimming through the 10-kilometer canal. The fact that there is a similarity is important.

First, all these lakes are deep.

Secondly, they are all in places of geological faults.

Thirdly, they all have cold water.

Fourthly, tectonic activity is observed under them.

These and a number of other features are inherent in both these lakes and many others, in which the presence of creatures unknown to science is suspected, even if not at all fantastic and not even dinosaurs, although not a fact.

In general, the geological portraits of these lakes could mean nothing if you do not know that Baikal itself is a huge mystery for scientists. Due to the fact that more and more new species of animals are discovered here every year, it is considered that the real living world of the lake is known by no more than 80%.

What may be hiding among the remaining 20%, only God knows. Theoretically, they could even include prehistoric dinosaurs, and there are good reasons for this.

Three-quarters of the unknown 20% are probably animals that do not exist anywhere else and, naturally, they are completely unknown to science. Who they might be is anyone's guess. We have every right to do this, because three-quarters of the known Baikal creatures also live only here and were first discovered in this huge lake.

Officially, the largest animal living in Baikal is the Baikal seal.

In addition, let's remember the age of the lake, which is at least 20 million years. Actually, it was such a record life of the lake that allowed him to preserve such a unique flora and fauna. Many creatures have existed almost unchanged ever since.

Of course, then there were no dinosaurs, since they died out 45 million years before the birth of the lake, but there were other, no less amazing creatures. And they could also survive.

We have no right to 100% rule out that among the supposed unknown 20% of living species there are even huge prehistoric monsters leading a particularly secretive lifestyle.

For example, until now, at the bottom and along the shores of the lake, the remains of creatures that once lived in it are found, which could survive in some quantities and still, as others have managed to do. Of course, this applies only to the inhabitants of the waters, where climate change was not as critical as on land.

Once the lake was in very warm climatic conditions, and a huge number of animal species lived in it and its surroundings. Everything on land is dead. Moreover, mammoths apparently died out quite recently, since from time to time their skeletons even come across in fishing nets, which indicates their historical youth, because otherwise they would have been dissolved long ago or were buried under stones or silt.

There is a mass of evidence of encounters with creatures that are very similar to those seen in other similar anomalous lakes. But all these testimonies would not be worth a penny if there were not well-known and competent scientists, who are also sure that the lake can hide huge unseen creatures, which local residents and fishermen talk about with such persistence.

As such a competent person, first of all, it is worth noting the well-known Soviet and Russian ecologist Matthew Shargaev.

Matvey Aleksandrovich Shargaev, a well-known scientist, Honored Ecologist of the Russian Federation, was born on October 26, 1932 in the village of Belchir, Irkutsk Region. In 1956 he graduated from the Irkutsk Agricultural Institute.

For many years he was an employee of the laboratory of zoology in one of the research institutes of the Academy of Sciences. Candidate of Biological Sciences, author of many scientific developments, curricula, books, articles, one of the creators of the Buryat Red Book. He has many government awards. Passed away February 22, 2002.

This well-known Siberian ecologist, who knows nature well, has great authority as a scientist and a fighter for saving the environment, was absolutely sure that the waters of Lake Baikal contain much more secrets than an ordinary person can imagine.

His confidence was so strong that, together with his associates and followers, he organized several expeditions to search for an unknown creature in the 1980s. Unfortunately, nothing was found. However, there is no smoke without fire.

The scientist was confident in the existence of an unknown animal, based on his theoretical knowledge of the possibilities of the biosphere of the lake and the information that was well known to him from the indigenous population.

It is clear that the scientist was not going to look for a two-headed dinosaur in Baikal as tall as the Ostankino Tower. According to M. Shargaev, it was probably always about some unknown mammal. By and large, it is simply impossible to refute his idea: it is theoretically justified and completely realistic.

As for the evidence of encounters with an unknown monster, there are really a lot of them, and listing them is a waste of time. One has only to say that an unknown animal is observed especially often in the Baikal and Kaban regions. Less often it is seen in some others. Frequent witnesses are fishermen and ordinary vacationers.

However, the "testimonies" of the latter should be treated with caution. Especially if they are not local. It's all about... seals.

Stories about unknown creatures in other lakes of the world have been reduced many times to the fact that people saw simple seals, and not prehistoric dinosaurs. The only problem is that these animals were not supposed to be there.

However, many lakes have such a feature as a close connection with the seas, where there are just a lot of seals. They could easily swim deep into the continent along the rivers and thus find themselves in the most unexpected places. And if a person has not seen a seal alive, then he can take him for a monster, even if he sees him in his natural habitat. What can I say when you can meet him in the lake?

In the story of the unknown creatures of Baikal, this situation is only getting worse. A seal officially lives in it, which is called the Baikal seal. In more than 90% of cases of encounters with an unprecedented monster, ordinary seals are mistaken for it.

Can such monsters live in Baikal?

Especially often such cases occur with vacationers who decided to swim and noticed a huge carcass of a curious mammal underwater. And if you see such a spectacle “under a degree”, then in general there is no chance for a reasonable explanation of what is happening.

Therefore, we should immediately dismiss most of all the evidence that can certainly relate to the seal.

As for the descriptions of the monster, which has a chance of being a real animal, it has completely different external features. Judging by the stories of eyewitnesses, this is an incredibly huge creature up to 10 meters long. It has dark skin color. It can crawl ashore and attack livestock and sometimes even people.

Surprisingly, very similar descriptions appear in the areas of the famous anomalous Chinese lakes, and also, oddly enough, in relation to Loch Ness.

Summing up the possibility for the existence of an unknown huge creature in the lake, we can confidently say that the likelihood is very high. It is difficult to say how much the mysterious creature can match its external "giant" descriptions, since it can also have a more modest physical body.

But this cannot in the least belittle the very uniqueness of such an unknown creature, which is still so successfully hidden from the competent human eye.

Mikhail Rainbow

Baikal is inhabited by aquatic animals, which are distinguished by their amazing originality, and the vast majority of them are found only in this reservoir.

This became known relatively recently - at the end of the 19th century. Until then, the fauna of the Baikal waters was poorly and irregularly studied. So, the leader of the Kamchatka expedition in 1732-1743. Academician Gmelin first described the Baikal seal; in 1771 - 1772 academician Georgi, a member of the expedition of the famous naturalist, academician Pallas, studied the life of seals on the lake. The latter gave the first description of a curious Baikal fish - golomyanka - and several other invertebrate inhabitants of the lake. Then, for almost a hundred years, no new information about the Baikal fauna was received. And only in 1855-1857. G. Radde, a member of the Siberian expedition, who compiled a general description of Baikal, having collected very scarce faunistic data, concluded that the Baikal population is extremely poor in invertebrate animals. This erroneous conclusion extinguished interest in the fauna of Baikal for more than ten years. It was completely refuted by the brilliant works of Dybowski and Godlevsky carried out by them in 1869-1870. in South Baikal.

In order to correctly assess the contribution of these science enthusiasts to the study of the Baikal fauna, it should be remembered that Dybovsky and Godlevsky carried out their research at their own expense, the researchers themselves even manufactured equipment for catching aquatic animals from great depths. And only later did the Siberian Department of the Geographical Society provide them with a little help.

The data obtained completely dispelled the idea of ​​the poverty of the animal world of Baikal. Dybovsky and Godlevsky collected specimens of invertebrates that had not even been seen by zoologists. Moreover, their collections showed the exceptional diversity of the Baikal animal world, the presence in it of a large number of endemic forms, i.e., those that are not found anywhere except Baikal.

It is clear that after these discoveries, interest in the fauna of Baikal increased greatly. However, further research in this area was undertaken only after 30 years. Special zoological expedition, led by A. A. Korotnev, in 1900-1902. for the first time, it covered the entire Baikal with faunistic collections. The researchers had a special vessel at their disposal. The vast collections collected by the expedition not only significantly enriched science with knowledge about the aquatic population of Lake Baikal, but also made it possible to approach the solution of the question of the origin of the unique and completely exceptional Baikal fauna. Later, in 1916 and 1917, two more small expeditions - the Zoological Museum of the Academy of Sciences and the Zoological Museum of Moscow University - brought new data to the field of faunistic study of Baikal.

At that time, the task of organizing constant observations of the life of Baikal was already set. In 1919, near the village. Bolshiye Koty on the shores of South Baikal The Academy of Sciences created a permanent expeditionary base, which later became the biological station of Irkutsk University. Work at the station is still ongoing. Extensive biological studies of the fauna of the lake were carried out by the Baikal expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1925-1927. Her work prepared the creation in 1928 of the Baikal biological (later limnological) station of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the village. Listvenichny, reorganized in 1961 into the Siberian Limnological Institute.

Stationary work opened up new aspects of life in the lake. Scientists have obtained a fairly complete picture of the patterns of distribution of the population of Baikal depending on the depth, type of soil and other conditions of existence, found out the nature of seasonal phenomena in the life of the lake, collected quantitative data on the population of Baikal, the number and weight (biomass) of plants and animals living on a unit area bottom or per unit volume of water. In recent years, commercially important fish and their food - mass forms of invertebrates - have been more fully studied.

At present, it is known that the total number of species inhabiting Baikal exceeds 1700. Of this number, more than 500 species and varieties are plant organisms and about 1200 are animals. At the same time, about 2/3 of this richest and most diverse population is found only in Baikal. And yet, the faunal riches of Baikal have not yet been fully elucidated, they are waiting for their researchers.

In Baikal, as in any other body of water, many aquatic organisms live on the bottom or near the bottom. Some of them burrow into the ground, others are attached to stones for life, and others crawl along the bottom. There are also those that swim above the bottom, without leaving, however, the bottom layer, where they find food. The totality of these organisms, animals and plants, one way or another connected with the bottom of the reservoir, is united under the name benthos.

Other organisms inhabit the water column of the lake. Some of them - small and microscopically small algae, unicellular animals and small invertebrates - have adaptations that support them in the water column, but they themselves are not able to actively move over considerable distances. This group of organisms is called plankton. Another group of inhabitants of the water column are larger organisms, good swimmers, able to actively move over long distances. This is Nekton. In Baikal, nekton is represented by fish and one species of crustaceans - amphipods.

Aquatic organisms inhabit the entire Baikal, including its greatest depths. Here, under conditions of darkness, few, but the most peculiar representatives of the Baikal fauna live.

Benthos - the population of the bottom of Lake Baikal. The population of the bottom of almost all reservoirs is located according to a well-known pattern. It is based on the heterogeneity of the conditions for the existence of organisms at the bottom. These conditions regularly change with distance from the coast and increasing depth. All this can be successfully applied to Baikal, however, concretized in accordance with its originality. In addition, attention should be paid to some specific features that are inherent in the composition and distribution of the bottom population of such parts of the lake as strongly isolated bays, bays and bays, and shallow-water sors separated from the lake.

What are the most important conditions for the existence of the inhabitants of the Baikal bottom?

As is known, with increasing distance from the coast and increasing depth, the strength of wave movements decreases, reaching a maximum in the surf zone. Decreases with depth and speed of currents. An increase in depth, as we have already seen, entails a change in the nature of the soil. Rocky and rocky soils are replaced by coarse and fine-grained sands, the latter are replaced by silty sand and silt. Unlike open shores, in sheltered bays, shallow bays and bays, there is a different wave force, a different nature and distribution of soil.

Rainwater and wind carry soil particles, vegetation residues, etc. from land to the coastal strip of the lake. As they move away from the coast, their amount in the water decreases. At the same time, the conditions for the existence of benthic animals that feed on this material are deteriorating.

Temperature conditions and illumination change with depth. The location of bottom vegetation (phytobenthos) mainly depends on the nature of the latter. Phytobenthos is especially abundant in Baikal up to a depth of 20 m. Solar radiation penetrating to these depths ensures a high level of photosynthesis. Below this limit, the number of bottom plants sharply decreases. This is due to lack of light. Individual microscopic algae are found at the bottom of Lake Baikal and at depths up to 100 m, content with negligible amounts of light energy.

Seasonal fluctuations in the temperature of Baikal water, as already mentioned, are most significant to a depth of 10-15 m. In the second half of summer and early autumn, the water here warms up to 15-17°C, and in winter it cools down to almost 0°C. Deeper seasonal temperature fluctuations quickly fade away: in summer, at a depth of 20-25 m, the temperature rarely rises above 8-10 °, and deeper than 100-150 m it stays at the level of 3-5° all year round. In isolated bays, bays, bays of Lake Baikal, the water heats up much more strongly in summer.

Life on the bottom is especially rich and varied in the coastal shallow waters of open Baikal within those depths where benthic algae develop well. However, the complex of favorable conditions that ensure the flourishing of bottom life is sharply disturbed in a narrow strip adjacent directly to the water's edge and limited by depths of 1-1.5 m. This disturbance is associated with the surf, which reaches great strength near the open unprotected shores of Lake Baikal. Powerful wave impacts in themselves make the surf unsuitable for the existence of many bottom organisms. In addition, the waves here continuously move stones, boulders, pebbles, and also move and stir up the sand. As a result, some organisms are not even able to attach and grow to the substrate, others are deprived of their shelter, and all of them together are in danger of being crushed. Seasonal fluctuations in the level of Baikal, reaching 1 m and more and causing periodic drying of parts of the coastal region.

In the surf zone, on rounded boulders, pebbles and sands, constantly moved by waves, there is almost no vegetation. Algae, ulotrix, develops predominantly on stones. In summer, its green cover covers all coastal stones. In autumn, this algae dies off and the stones are again exposed until the warm season.

Sponges cannot exist in the surf. The absence of the latter and the weak development of vegetation further worsen the living conditions of the bottom inhabitants of this part of the lake. There are no shellfish here either. Their shells would inevitably be crushed by moving boulders and pebbles. Very few amphipods. Of these crustaceans, only gmelinoides, a few species of the genus Eulimnogammarus, and some others have adapted to the conditions of the surf. Of the small setae worms, one mesenchytreus thrives in this zone. This small yellow worm, hiding in the sand, pebbles and among the stones, not only in the water, but also on the shore, often accumulates here in huge numbers. Among the fouling of ulothrix algae, a small small bristle worm - nais, as well as larvae of special species of mosquitoes - chironomids, which are widespread in all continental waters, are very common. In calm weather, inhabitants of deeper regions often enter the surf zone. However, when the excitement begins, they again leave the shore.

The population of the surf zone becomes even poorer in autumn, when the algal cover of stones dies off. In winter, this zone is completely lifeless: it freezes to the bottom. Its population moves away from the shore, and the mesenchytreus burrows deep into the ground.

Below the surf zone, along the open shores of Lake Baikal, on rocky ground, a strip of thickets with a width of 20-30 to 100-200 m is clearly visible through clear water. m. An exceptionally beautiful spectacle is the emerald-green curtains of algae didymosphenia, tetraspores, draparnaldia, hetomorphs, etc., attached to stones and towering several tens of centimeters. This unique strip of lush growth of algae is the area of ​​existence of the most diverse and abundant animal population (zoobenthos) of Baikal. There are the most favorable conditions for his life here.

Among the algae, bright green branches of a characteristic representative of the endemic Baikal fauna, the sponge of the genus Lubimirskaya, are especially common. With its base, the sponge overgrows stones, and its branches rise by 60-70 cm above the bottom, often forming entire thickets. In addition to this large sponge, there are several other smaller species. All Baikal sponges are combined into one family, the representatives of which are very different from their freshwater relatives and have common features with marine sponges.

The strip of thickets also abounds with other unique representatives of the endemic Baikal fauna - amphipods. There are more than 300 species and varieties of them in Baikal, and they all belong to the same family of gammarids. Only a few Baikal species of amphipods penetrated from the lake to the Angara and Yenisei. Baikal gammarids are exceptionally diverse in size, shape and color. In this respect they are very different from the amphipods of other freshwater bodies (see incl. p. 105 (in)). On the surface of the sponges, green amphipods with orange speckles, spinacanthus, are found in masses. At their foot, on the stones, live Brandtia and hyalelopsis armed with thorns and ribs, which in shape and color are so similar to the irregularities of stones that while they are motionless, it is difficult to even notice them. Smooth and flat brightly colored (red, purple, green, yellowish) eulimnogammarus sit in the cracks between the stones. Numerous representatives of the genus Pallasea live in the thickets. They are light green with dark spots of tone and have outgrowths that make them almost invisible among the vegetation (see incl. p. 112).

Numerous gastropod mollusks are found on stones overgrown with algae (see incl. p. 105 (a, b)). Most of them are also endemic Baikal species. The main food of molluscs is algae.

On stones not overgrown with algae, ciliary worms (turbellaria) crawl. These are all endemic Baikal species, distinguished by their bright coloration, variegated pattern, and many of them are large in size. To give an idea of ​​the number of flatworms on stony soils, it is enough to indicate that from the surface of a stone of 25-30 cm you can collect up to hundreds of copies of different types. All turbellarians are predators and feed on various small animals.

Some species of Baikal oligochaete worms also live under stones and at the base of sponges overgrown with stones. Often on 1 m 2 up to 1000 or more specimens can be found on the bottom surface. Small-bristle worms are not limited to the stony soils of the thicket strip; they love soft sandy and especially muddy soils. It is not surprising that they are found both in shallow waters and at the deepest depths of Baikal.

At the base of the sponges and in the holes on the surface of their body, another curious representative of the Baikal fauna has taken root - the polychaete worm - the Baikal manajunkia (Fig. 38). This worm, a few millimeters long, sits in small tubes glued together from particles of silt or grains of sand. At the anterior end of the worm there is a bundle of filiform gills and mouth appendages for capturing food. Manajunkias prefer silty and sandy soils, where they are more common, and in huge quantities. The Baikal Manajunkia is the rarest representative of freshwater polychaete worms, these typical inhabitants of the seas. Currently, only about 10 of their species are known, living in some large lakes, desalinated sea bays, in estuaries, etc.

Often, shallow water stones near open shores within a depth of 20 meters are densely covered with sandy tubes, in which larvae of peculiar insects - Baikal caddisflies - sit. Baikal caddisflies differ from their numerous relatives widely distributed in fresh waters in a number of ways. Especially peculiar are tamastes and baicalina, which have lost the ability to fly - the result of the almost complete disappearance of the posterior pair of wings in adult insects. But, thanks to the special structure of the legs, they swim nimbly (on the surface of the water.

Adult caddis flies begin to emerge from their larvae as early as April, when the ice on Baikal breaks down only off the coast. In May and June, caddisflies appear in such numbers that on calm days they cover the surface of the water and coastal stones in masses (Fig. 39). The larval life of the Baikal caddisflies lasts at least three years, while the adult insect lives only a few days and, after laying eggs in the water, dies off.

Owing to their enormous abundance, caddisflies play a significant role in the diet of Baikal commercial fish - grayling and, to a lesser extent, omul. During the mass appearance of adult insects, a halt occurs, i.e., an approach to the shores of shoals of these fish. Sometimes you can see the "omul swimming": the fish hunts for caddisflies floating on the surface of the water. Many sculpins also feed on larvae of caddis flies.

These peculiar representatives of Baikal fish can usually be found among stones at shallow depths. Their numerous species and varieties are very characteristic of Baikal. Some species of sculpins live on the bottom at shallow depths. These are small fish, often brightly colored, known locally as sculpins. The most common are: stone, sandy and large-headed sculpin - a predatory fish with a large head, resembling a toad.

With the transition from stony to sandy soils in the area of ​​shallow depths of open Baikal, the composition and number of the population of the bottom changes. Algae and sponges, for which the stones served as a place of attachment, disappear. There are also no caddisflies that attach their tubes to stones as well. They are being replaced by other species.

On coarse-grained sand, distributed to depths of about 10 m, many species of amphipods are disappearing. They are replaced by others - from the genera Mikruropus and hyalelopsis - characteristic inhabitants of the sands. In addition to species of gastropod molluscs typical of sands, bivalves appear here, belonging to the genera Spherium and Pisidium, as well as a larger one, up to 15 mm, the form of the worm is manaunkia. Often there is a sand sculpin and some other gobies.

At depths of 10 to 20 m, in the zone of fine-grained sands with an admixture of silt particles, the population of the bottom again becomes more diverse and abundant: here the feeding conditions are more favorable. Along with new species of small-chaete worms and amphipods, representatives of the large silty form of the polychaete worm, the manajunkia, are found in large numbers in this zone. But there are especially many representatives of mollusks of the genus Baikal and small bivalves at these depths. The fauna of microbenthic organisms is also rich here. In particular, there are many copepods and barnacles.

The composition of the benthic population of Baikal varies greatly beyond the zone of shallow depths. As already mentioned, this is the result of a change in a number of vital conditions of benthos: the nature of the soil, water temperature, lighting, etc. So, often beyond depths of 20-25 m The bottom of Lake Baikal is very steep. These steep slopes, formed in places by a rocky slab or rocky soil, are of little use for the existence of benthic organisms. And, indeed, their population is exceptionally sparse. Algae are found only in the form of individual bushes, and disappear altogether with depth. Sponges come across, but only in the form of green crusts that have grown on stones. Several species of large amphipods and a few species of mollusks constitute a rare and uniform population of these parts of the bottom.

Where the bottom slopes are smaller and the soils are represented by silty sands with an admixture of organic remains of dead animals and plants, more favorable living conditions are created for the benthos. The benthos is more abundantly developed opposite the mouths of the rivers, the waters of which carry a lot of nutrients that settle to the bottom.

The nature of soils strongly influences the composition and number of benthic populations and coastal slopes of open Baikal. Only some representatives of the population of the shallow-water strip descend here, but new inhabitants of the lake that have not been seen before appear. A variety of amphipods, mollusks and oligochaete worms mainly live here. The latter, represented by species other than in the shallow zone, are typical inhabitants of soft soils and constitute the bulk of the population of this part of the Baikal bottom.

At depths of about 100 m the last plant organisms disappear. The already dark and cold regions of Baikal lie even deeper. Most of the inhabitants of these Baikal depths are predators and corpse-eaters. These include molluscs - benedictia, and giant flatworms - polycotylus, reaching 30 cm length, and numerous amphipods. They quickly devour the carcasses of animals. Omul caught in deep bottom nets is often attacked by a mass of ommatogammarus crustaceans. It happens that only the skeletons of fish are in the fishing net: their meat is completely eaten by amphipods. On this property of amphipods, the method of their extraction is based. Traps with bait in the form of dead fish or a piece of meat are lowered to the bottom. A few hours later, the trap turns out to be full of amphipods (see incl., p. 112).

The study of the benthic population of the great Baikal depths is not an easy task. Research in this area is ongoing and new discoveries should be expected. So far, it is only tentatively possible to speak about a very small population of the deepest depths of Baikal, which is tens and even hundreds of times poorer than the population of the overlying regions of the lake.

At present, we already know a fairly large number of deep-water Baikal amphipods - representatives of the genera Abyssogammarus, Ommatogammarus, Garyaevia, etc. (Fig. 40). Constant darkness left its mark on these organisms. Their bodies have lost their bright colors, taking on a whitish or pale pink color; the eyes, which have also lost color (pigment), apparently do not perform the functions of the organs of vision. On the other hand, some amphipods have developed long, flexible antennae (antennae) that perform tactile functions.

Of the mollusks in the deep region, there are single representatives of the genus Baicalia (at depths of 600-800 m) and kind of Benediction (at a depth of up to 1400 m). The deep-sea mollusk valvata batibiya has a completely colorless shell. Some deep-sea oligochaete worms spread to the deepest depths of Baikal. In addition to them, on rocky soils of great depths live: a large white crustacean - Dybovsky's water donkey and a bluish-green sponge.

These are the main features of the composition and distribution of the benthos of open Baikal throughout its vast extent. However, the picture of the bottom life of the lake will not be complete, unless we look into its separate parts: vast shallow sors, bays and bays.

At the bottom of large bays - Barguzinsky and Chivyrkuisky, as well as the Small Sea, representatives of endemic species live, the same as in open Baikal. The exception is two or three species of molluscs, common in fresh waters and found in Baikal sors. They stay close to the shore.

The general appearance and composition of the benthic population changes noticeably in small isolated bays, inlets and bays located in areas with a strongly indented coastline. Such are the bays in the southwestern part of the Small Sea, in the Olkhon Gates and the southern part of the Chivyrkuisky Bay. Here, in a strip of shallow depths, on sands of varying degrees of silt, the widespread Siberian lacustrine fauna and flora dominate: extensive thickets of higher (flowering) aquatic plants, numerous gastropods and bivalve mollusks, among which there are toothless, ephidatia and spongilla sponges, oligochaete worms and other common inhabitants of fresh waters. Baikal species also join this complex of the Siberian fauna. Basically, these are amphipods from the genera Pallasea, Gmelinoides, Mikruropus, etc., and from mollusks - the Baikal spherium and one representative of the genus Baikal. There are also typical Baikal species of algae - tetraspore and draparnaldia. As we approach the exit from the bays, bays and bays to open Baikal, the number of Baikal species noticeably increases.

As already mentioned, the geographical and hydrological features of the sors sharply distinguish their nature from the nature of open Baikal. In turn, the benthic population of these shallow water areas differs especially strongly from the Baikal bottom dwellers proper. Thus, extensive thickets of widely distributed higher aquatic plants develop in all sors: pondweed, urut, hornwort, pemphigus, water buckwheat, egg-pod, etc. For viscous silts that form the bottom of Rangatuy and Severobaikalsky sors, a very uniform population is characteristic, consisting of chironomid larvae, bivalves mollusks and common lake gammarus. All these are common species, very widespread in the rivers and lakes of Siberia. And only the amphipods Gmelinoides and Mikruropus indicate a connection with Baikal.

In the composition of the benthic population less isolated from Baikal - Bolshoy Posolsky Sor - along with the same organisms widespread in Siberian waters, there are already several species of amphipods.

In the gulf-sor Proval, widely open to Baikal, many species of the fauna of freshwater Siberian reservoirs are represented. But at the same time, here you can find up to a dozen Baikal amphipods, several species of Baikal oligochaete worms, and even the Mana-Yunky-Baikal.

Thus, the benthic population of sors is a widespread Siberian freshwater fauna, but there are few Baikal species in its composition, and the more the sor is isolated, the fewer of them.

Plankton is a microscopic population of the Baikal water column. The water column of Lake Baikal is inhabited by countless planktonic organisms. All of them move freely along with the waters of the lake. At the same time, various turnings carry them over long distances in the horizontal direction, and excitement and other types of mixing of Baikal waters also in the vertical direction. It is not surprising that plankton differs from benthos in a very large variability in spatial distribution and variability in their composition.

Planktonic organisms are very sensitive to environmental conditions such as lighting, water temperature, its chemical composition, and transparency. Moreover, the requirements for these conditions are different for individual organisms. With changes in environmental conditions, which often occur in the surface waters of Lake Baikal due to the weather, the composition of plankton changes dramatically. It also changes seasonally and in individual years. Plankton is especially rich and varied in spring and summer. In the winter months (from November to January), only rare planktonic animals and single cells of algae are found. But already in the second half of winter, the Baikal plankton begins to awaken, as it were.

The composition of plankton includes both plant organisms - phytoplankton, and animals - zooplankton.

The phytoplankton of Lake Baikal is quite diverse. It includes about 200 species of algae. But of these, only a relatively small number, about 40, are permanent inhabitants of Baikal, the rest are random species brought with the waters of tributaries or from the sors. The composition of phytoplankton of open Baikal is dominated by diatoms.

One of the vital factors on which the distribution of phytoplankton depends is light. Therefore, living planktonic algae are concentrated mainly in the upper 25-meter illuminated layer. Phytoplankton is brought to great depths only temporarily with strong mixing of Baikal waters during storms. Only dead and slowly settling planktonic algae are found in the deep layers.

There are three stages in the life of the phytoplankton of open Baikal during the year.

The first stage starts from the second half of February and ends at the end of July. Unlike most fresh lakes in Baikal, when it is still bound by a thick ice cover, conditions are already being created for the development of some cold-loving algae. Transparent Baikal ice, from the smooth surface of which the wind blows snow in places, allows enough sunlight to pass through, which is necessary for photosynthesis. Among the planktonic algae at this time, diatoms dressed with flint shells predominate: various types of melosira, cyclotella, synedra. Peridinium algae - gymnodinium, glenodinium, etc. - reproduce in huge quantities. During this period, 1 l Baikal water can be found from 400 thousand to 1.5 million of their cells. All of them are characteristic representatives of the cold-loving spring phytoplankton of open Baikal, and many species are endemic. By May, the abundance of phytoplankton reaches its maximum, after which the algae, dying off, begin to settle into the deeper layers of the lake. At the end of July, when the surface layers of water in open Baikal heat up above 8°C, the cold-loving spring plankton algae almost completely disappear.

Since the beginning of August, the second stage begins in the life of the Baikal phytoplankton. Summer algae are replacing spring algae. Now dominate: blue-green algae anabena, diatom asterionella and some others. However, these heat-loving algae are not specific to Baikal: they are widespread in lakes and rivers. Summer Baikal phytoplankton is more monotonous and poor than spring.

In autumn, the plant plankton of the lake is different than in spring and summer. In October-November, diatoms, especially cyclotella, again develop in open Baikal. But the amount of algae in autumn is usually lower than in spring.

It goes without saying that in such a vast and complex water body as Baikal, seasonal changes in the composition and abundance of phytoplankton throughout the lake will not strictly correspond to the above scheme. The transition from one stage to another does not always occur simultaneously in different parts of Baikal. In many respects, this depends on the distribution of currents, water temperature, weather conditions, etc. The composition of Baikal phytoplankton is not distinguished by constancy, as well as uniformity: at the same time of the year, one or another algae may prevail in different parts of the lake.

Separate parts of Baikal also differ greatly in composition and abundance of phytoplankton. For example, the cold-loving spring plankton in such vast and slightly isolated areas as the Small Sea, the Barguzinsky and Chivyrkuisky bays is the same as in the open Baikal. But the summer plankton here is more abundant, more diverse and - most importantly - differs in its composition. In the Barguzinsky and Chivirkuysky bays, green algae often predominate, which are very few in open Baikal. Many species of these algae bring here the waters of the tributaries. The mostly shallow-water Chivyrkuisky Bay, whose shores are strongly indented and form numerous bays and bays, is especially different in composition and quantity of summer phytoplankton. In August, one can often observe the “blooming” of water here: it becomes cloudy green from the presence of a huge number of algae. For the Small Sea and the Barguzin Bay in the summer, a green filamentous algae is especially characteristic - tatrana binuclearia, which is not very common in other areas of the lake.

Some peculiar features characterize the phytoplankton of shallow-water areas lying in front of the mouths of large tributaries of Baikal (the Angara-Kichersky region and the Selenginsky shallow water). If in composition and abundance of cold-loving spring plankton these areas almost do not differ from open Baikal, then in summer the differences are very noticeable. In conditions of well-warmed shallow coastal areas, heat-loving plankton is abundant. Its composition is enriched with many species of blue-green and green algae, which have found favorable conditions for themselves in shallow waters. Among them there are also species brought here by river and sor waters - from the sors of Istoksky and Posolsky.

The plant plankton of the Baikal sors is also distinguished by its originality. In summer, their waters, strongly warmed by the sun, are literally saturated with phytoplankton. There are especially many blue-green algae here. According to the composition of phytoplankton, sores are similar to ordinary warm shallow lakes. They almost do not contain algae characteristic of the open Baikal.

All this indicates that in the annual cycle of the development of Baikal phytoplankton, two complexes are clearly distinguished. The first is the spring cold-loving one, in which mainly diatoms participate. In spring, when the temperature is low throughout the lake, this complex is distributed in all areas of Baikal, including its bays and bays. The spring complex includes many endemic Baikal species. The summer heat-loving complex is characterized by the development of blue-green and green algae. In contrast to the spring one, this complex is observed mainly in coastal areas, in shallow waters, in bays, bays. There are almost no endemic Baikal species in the summer phytoplankton of the lake.

Unlike phytoplankton, zooplankton spreads in Baikal to the greatest depths. True, it is mainly concentrated in the upper layers to a depth of 200 m. In summer, from 70 to 90% of planktonic animals are kept in the upper 50-meter layer. The bulk of the lake's zooplankton are several specific Baikal species. They are the most important food source for some commercial fish of Baikal.

Of greatest interest in all respects is the small one, about 1.5 mm in length, crustacean - Baikal epishura (Fig. 41). Its closest relatives live in Lake Khanka in the Far East, in Lake Kronotsky in Kamchatka, and in some lakes in North America. During the year, the number of epishura in Baikal fluctuates greatly in accordance with the periods of its reproduction. Already in the winter breeding season (February-March), the number of its larvae noticeably increases, which turn into adult crustaceans by May-June. In June they begin summer breeding. During the greatest warming of the waters of Lake Baikal, in late August - early September, the number of crustaceans increases again. In years favorable for the development of the epishura, the summer number of crustaceans and their larvae in some places of the lake reaches an enormous value. The calculation showed that 1 m 2 The surface of the lake accounts for up to 3 million specimens.

The distribution of epishura in the thickness of Baikal waters is quite peculiar. The vast majority of crustaceans stay in the upper 50-meter layer in summer, but they are also found at depths up to 500 m and more. Of even greater interest are the vertical movements, or migrations, of the epishura. In summer, during the daytime, crustaceans are more or less evenly distributed in the upper 50-meter layer; on quiet dark nights they rise to the surface, accumulating in the upper 5-meter layer. In winter, the epishura descends to great depths, apparently avoiding the strongly chilled upper layers. Being a typical inhabitant of open Baikal, epishura is almost never found in the depths of isolated bays and bays.

Another, no less interesting inhabitant of the Baikal water column is the macrohectopus amphipod, which is called “yur” by local fishermen (Fig. 42 ). This large crustacean, reaching a length of up to 30 mm, differs from its counterparts, benthic amphipods, in a number of adaptations to life in the water column: its thin elongated body is translucent and colorless, swimming legs are well developed.

Amphipod macrohectopus "yur"

Macrohectopus is a typical inhabitant of open Baikal. It is also found at depths up to 1400 m. But its main mass is kept in the summer in the upper layers to a depth of 200-250 m. The Jurassic distribution in this layer is very variable; the crustacean can form large aggregations in the form of flocks at different depths. In the coastal strip, where the depths are less than 180 m, macrohectottus occurs as an exception. Of great importance in the life of the Jura are its periodic vertical movements. With the onset of dusk, adult crustaceans and their juveniles rise to the upper layers, and with glimpses of the morning dawn, they return to the depths. Their migrations are highly dependent on weather conditions, lake disturbances and moonlight. On quiet dark nights, masses of crustaceans gather in the upper 10-meter layer, often at the very surface of the water. In this case, ripples appear on the surface from their movements. On moonlit and stormy nights, yur migrates very weakly.

Night movements of epishura, macrohectopus and some other planktonic animals in the upper layers of the lake are associated with the search for more abundant food - planktonic algae and other small organisms, most of which are concentrated in the surface layers. Epishurai macrohectopus themselves serve as food for the most important commercial fish of Baikal - the omul, as well as the yellowfly goby.

A peculiar Baikal fish - the golomyanka - feeds mainly on macrohectopus, which, in turn, feeds on epishura.

In addition to these two endemic Baikal crustaceans, several species of lower crustaceans are found in the plankton of Baikal, mainly from among those widely distributed in the fresh waters of Siberia. These crustaceans - bosmins, hidoruses, daphnia, etc. - appear in Baikal during the warm season, mainly in the coastal strip, in bays, in bays and sors, as well as in areas where large tributaries flow. With an increase in water temperature, they temporarily spread in the upper layers of open Baikal.

In some years, crustaceans - cyclops play a significant role in the zooplankton of open Baikal. In harvest years, it is an essential source of nutrition for juveniles of some Baikal fish.

The composition of the Baikal plankton also includes microscopic organisms - rotifers. They inhabit mainly the upper layers of the water. Most of the Baikal rotifers are similar to ordinary inhabitants of fresh waters, but differ in larger sizes. Among them there are several endemic species. Rotifers are found in Baikal all year round, but they breed in mass numbers in August - October.

A characteristic feature of the Baikal plankton is an extraordinary variety of ciliates. Some of them, sitting in houses, belong to the family of tintinnids. These ciliates are mainly typical inhabitants of the seas. Only a few species are known in fresh waters. In this regard, Baikal is an exception. Another group of ciliates is also interesting, in which even special endemic Baikal families stand out. These ciliates breed in the summer in the upper layers of open Baikal in huge numbers. Some of them are found up to a depth of 600 m.

Speaking about the representatives of Baikal plankton, it is necessary to mention the larvae and fry of the Baikal fish - golomyanka. Its larvae are found in the lake more often from February to May, and fry - in June. The main mass of golomyanka larvae and fry throughout the year during the daytime stays in a layer from 50 to 250 m, but often accumulates at different depths. In the upper layers, only single individuals are found during the day. At night, on the contrary, golomyanka juveniles move to the upper layers of the lake.

Thus, typical Baikal cold-loving organisms predominate in the zooplankton of the open deep-water part of the lake. As they approach the coast, their number decreases and they disappear completely in shallow coastal areas, bays, bays, and sors. Here they are replaced by planktonic species widespread in fresh waters. The boundaries between the habitats of different species are extremely unstable. They vary depending on weather conditions, seasons and meteorological features of individual years. Only in special conditions of such areas as the Small Sea, Barguzinsky Bay, Selenga shallow water and others, is there a constant abundance of zooplankton in certain seasons. The abundance of food attracts plankton-eating fish, mainly shoals of omul.

Baikal fish. According to their way of life, some Baikal fish constantly live near the bottom and belong to the benthos. Others are inhabitants of the water column, good swimmers, capable of actively making wide wanderings. They are representatives of the nekton, or pelagic fish.

The majority of Baikal sculpins belong to the bottom fish of Baikal. The whole appearance and behavior of these fish characterize them as inhabitants of the bottom. These small fish are poor swimmers. Their body shape is adapted to life on the ground, among the stones, under which they find refuge. The masking color of sculpins is also adapted to life at the bottom: it is similar to the color of the soil.

Fish that live in the water column, on the contrary, are distinguished by signs of good swimmers: a streamlined body shape and powerful muscles, a notched caudal fin. The color of most of them is also adapted to the conditions of life: they have a dark upper (dorsal) half of the body and a silvery lower (abdominal) half. The Baikal golomyanka fish is peculiar - an inhabitant of the water column. It has a translucent body. This fish is a poor swimmer and most of the time it seems to “float” on its huge and delicate pectoral fins. The pelvic fins of golomyankas are not developed.

In total, 50 species of fish are known in Baikal. Among them there are endemics, i.e., found only in Baikal, and species widespread in fresh waters.

The former include mainly fish from the suborder of sculpins (cottoid). 35 species and varieties of these medium-sized fish are known only in Baikal, and two of them have been identified by ichthyologists as a special family of golomyankovs endemic to Baikal. Different types of Baikal gobies are very different in their way of life. Most of them are typical bottom-dwellers, known locally as shirokolobok (see incl. p. 128). Several species can be found in the coastal strip at shallow depths. On stony soils, the large-headed and stone sculpins keep, on sandy soils - sandy.

Shirokolobki are distributed throughout Baikal. Coastal sculpins feed on crustaceans - amphipods and partly other benthic invertebrates. Many lie in wait for prey, disguising themselves at the bottom, thanks to the corresponding body color. They are able to change color depending on the nature of the lighting and the color of the soil.

With depth, the diversity of species and varieties of sculpins increases. At great depths, sculpins of the genera Asprocottus, Cottinella and Abyssocottus live. Representatives of the last two are found even at the greatest depths of Baikal. These are the deepest among the freshwater fish of the globe. They have a pale yellowish-grayish color, very small or, on the contrary, very large "telescopic" eyes protruding from their orbits - a consequence of living in the dark.

Some sculpins show a tendency to transition to life in the water column, such as sandy and oily sculpins. Representatives of the genus Cottocomephorus have already become inhabitants of the depths of open Baikal. These fish have acquired a more streamlined shape and a "pelagic" type of coloration. However, their pectoral fins still play the role of supporting planes (goby fish do not have a swim bladder) and are very large. In male yellowfly gobies, during the breeding season, they are painted in a bright yellow color (see incl. p. 128).

Pelagic gobies keep mainly at depths up to 100 m, but sometimes they go even deeper. Their main food is planktonic crustaceans - epishura and macrohectopus. But often they eat their own juveniles. Pelagic gobies breed in spring and early summer off the coast. A huge number of their fry attracts omul. Stocks of pelagic gobies in the lake exceed stocks of benthic sculpins. There are especially many yellow-winged gobies here. Its main fishing area is Southern and Middle Baikal. Its subspecies, Alexandra's goby, is found in abundance in Northern Baikal. Usually yellow-winged gobies are caught with venters. He goes to the manufacture of canned food and fodder flour.

The golomyanka fish, known only in Baikal, has already been mentioned above. Two of its species: the big golomyanka, or Baikal (Fig. 43), and the small golomyanka, or Dybovsky, are inhabitants of the depths of the open Baikal. The name itself - golomyanka - comes from the Pomeranian word golomen - open sea. The length of a large golomyanka does not exceed 20 cm, and small - 15 cm. The scaleless body of golomyankas is translucent, especially in the tail part, it has a pale pink color with iridescent mother-of-pearl shades. A large head and a large mouth, equipped with numerous teeth, reveal predators in them. The main food of golomyankas is a large amphipod macrohectopus and its own juveniles. Like some other inhabitants of the water column of the lake, they make diurnal migrations, rising at night to a depth of 10 m(in winter) and returning during the day to depths of 200-500 m. Golomyankas are cold-loving fish: when the water temperature rises to 8 °, they fall into a stupor and die.

The latest observations of the life of these fish show that reproduction in the big golomyanka takes place from June to November, and in the small golomyanka - from February to July. Golomyankas do not spawn, but produce up to 2 thousand larvae. After the hatching of offspring, part of the spawning herd of fish dies off. The small golomyanka and the males of the big golomyanka fall to the bottom, where they are eaten by benthic fish and invertebrates, but the females of the big golomyanka, containing up to 30-35% fat in the body, do not drown and sometimes are thrown ashore in masses. The fat melted from them is used for economic and medicinal purposes. Two fish, weighing 40-50 g each, are enough to provide a person with a daily intake of vitamin A.

The reserves of golomyanka in Baikal are large, but its fishing is almost impossible: this deep-sea fish keeps scattered, without forming clusters.

The second group of fish found in Baikal is the widespread common freshwater fish. They are represented in it by 18 species. And only a few of these species form special varieties.

The first place rightfully belongs to the famous Baikal omul (Fig. 44). Its catch is about 2/3 of the entire annual production of fish in Baikal, i.e. 60-70 thousand tons. c. This typical pelagic fish moves throughout Baikal, avoiding, however, small bays, bays and sors. Migrations of omul are connected, firstly, with its passage to the rivers for spawning and, secondly, with the search for areas abounding in food. In addition, omul, like other salmon fish, is sensitive to water temperature: in summer it prefers a temperature of 9-12 ° and rarely appears in waters with temperatures above 15-16 °, while in winter it stays in the zone of the warmest waters with a temperature of 3- 3.5°, descending to a depth of 250 m. At these depths, the omul is subjected to a pressure of about 20 atmospheres. That is why these fish, caught in the net, die when they rise quickly. The bulk of the commercial Baikal omul are fish in the 6-7th year of life, with an average size of about 30 cm and weighing 300-450 G. Rarely found specimens 40-45 long cm and weighing up to 2 kg and very rarely - omuls of 13 years of age, weighing about 3 kg. The females of the omul are larger than the males.

In August, the accumulation of sexually mature omul in spawning shoals begins. Preparations are underway for spawning. In September, the omul is already moving to the pre-mouth areas of the rivers, and at the end of September and the beginning of October, when the water of the spawning rivers becomes colder than in Baikal, the omul enters them and rises to the spawning grounds. At the end of spawning in late October, November and early December, the omul returns to the lake and leaves for the winter.

Throughout the winter, the development of eggs continues in cold river water, and larvae appear in April-May. They are carried by the river current to Baikal, where they begin to feed on their own. Since ancient times, Baikal fishermen have distinguished the omul living in one or another area of ​​the lake. However, only relatively recently, scientists have proved the existence of four races of the Baikal omul - Selenga, Ambassadorial, North Baikal and Chivirkuy. The differences between them are insignificant, but each race goes to spawn in certain rivers. The attachment of individual races and herds to known areas, rivers and spawning grounds is generally characteristic of most salmonids.

The first, most numerous, Selenga race goes to spawn in the river. Selenga; embassy - in the river. Bolshaya, Abramikha, Kultuchnaya and other small tributaries flowing into Posolsky sor; the northern Baikal one - to the Upper Angara, Kichera, etc. If the Selenga omul enters the river at a temperature of river water of 8-13 °, then the northern Baikal one - at 6-7 °, and its mass flow occurs when the water cools to 3.5-5 °. In summer, fish of the embassy race is widely distributed in Southern Baikal, in the southern part of Middle Baikal, even entering the Small Sea. Omul of the North Baikal race is distributed throughout Northern Baikal and in the Small Sea. In the latter, the omul accumulates in especially large numbers, finding here abundant food in the form of plankton crustaceans.

The Chivirkuy race is the least numerous. The omul belonging to it spawn in the tributaries flowing into the Chivyrkuisky Bay: the rivers Big and Small Chivyrkui and Bezymyanka. Their spawning run begins in early October, when the river water cools below 7°C, and ends at the end of October. The distribution of this race is mainly limited to the Chivyrkuy Bay. Here, in front of the entrance to the bay at depths of 200-300 m omul stays for the winter.

Seasonal feeding and spawning migrations of the Baikal omul are regular. However, depending on the state of the weather, water temperature and other conditions, the timing of migrations in individual years may vary. In addition to seasonal migrations, omul constantly moves throughout the summer in search of more abundant food and favorable temperatures.

All these movements of the omul have long attracted the attention of fishermen: knowledge of migrations ensures the success of the fishery. Biologists have worked hard, studying the movements of the omul. Recently, thanks to many years of work by the famous explorer of Baikal - M.M. Selenga, in the Small Sea and the Barguzin Bay.

Another representative of the Baikal salmon fish is also interesting - the grayling, which differs from the grayling widespread in Siberia in a number of features and larger sizes. Two types of Baikal grayling are known - black and white. The latter is large.

Graylings are cold-loving fish. They are widely distributed throughout Baikal. The black grayling (Fig. 45) keeps on the rocky soils of the coastal strip at depths of no more than 25 m, gathering in small flocks. The white grayling is also an inhabitant of the coastal strip. However, it descends to depths of 30-40 m and prefers sandy soils. Both of them are at the bottom. The black grayling mainly feeds on insect larvae - chironomids and caddisflies, amphipods and mollusks, as well as gobies and their young; white feeds mainly on fish.

Black grayling spawns in May at a water temperature of 2-4°C in small tributaries of Lake Baikal. The spawning grounds of the white grayling have not been precisely established. It is believed that it enters for spawning in larger tributaries, mainly in the Selenga.

Whitefish are also common fish on Baikal. They can be found in many areas of the lake, but they are not of great commercial importance. In Baikal there are lake whitefish, i.e. those that spawn in the lake itself. There are also river ones that go to spawn in various rivers: Barguzin, Selenga, Turku, Upper Angara, Kichera. Baikal whitefish are still little studied.

Lake whitefish at the age of 15-20 years reach 60-75 cm length and weight 5-8 kg. The average weight of whitefish caught in the fields is 1.5-2 kg. Whitefish stay in the bottom layers of the lake, mainly at depths up to 120 m, and in winter, apparently, even deeper. They feed on benthic organisms, and a large place in their diet is occupied by mollusks, which are almost not consumed by other fish. Lake cities usually spawn in November. To do this, they go to the southern part of the Small Sea and the southeastern part of the Chivyrkuisky Bay.

Of the river whitefish, for example, the Barguzin are included in the river. Barguzin in the second half of August and a month later, having covered a distance of up to 250 km, reach spawning grounds. They return to Baikal in October.

Taimen and lenok play a very insignificant role in the Baikal fishery. But on the other hand, these are the best objects of sport fishing.

Extremely rare in Baikal and davatchan salmon. It inhabits the mountain lake Frolikha, located 8 km from Baikal.

Of the other fish inhabiting Baikal, the Siberian sturgeon should be mentioned. The main area of ​​\u200b\u200bits habitat was considered the coastal strip at the confluence of the Selenga, Barguzin, Upper Angara lakes, in which the sturgeon went to spawn. The sturgeon was also found in the Chivgrkuysky Bay. Sturgeon in Baikal reaches a length of 180 cm and weight up to 100-120 kg. Much larger fish weighing up to 200 kg. Feeding on bottom animals, the sturgeon keeps to the bottom layer. Sturgeons go to spawn at different times: in the Selenga - in early spring, when the ice cover on the river opens; in the river Barguzin - in August. Sturgeons partly enter the rivers for spawning and stay there for the winter, partly they winter in Baikal, accumulating in the lower parts of the bottom, pits. Predatory fishing for sturgeon, especially at the beginning of the 20th century, radically undermined the stocks of this most valuable fish in Baikal. Now a complete ban has been imposed on his fishing. A plant for incubation of sturgeon caviar is being designed in the Selenga, as well as the construction of special ponds for rearing juveniles.

You can talk about other fish that are widespread in fresh waters. True, all of them are uncharacteristic for Baikal. For the most part, these are the inhabitants of the Baikal tributaries, shallow bays and sors. From here they penetrate into the coastal strip of an open lake, usually in summer, when the water warms up to 10-11 ° and above. In very large, often huge, quantities, the Baikal roach, or roach, lives in sors and shallow bays; dace and ide coming into Baikal from its tributaries. These fish are used in the Baikal fishery in the same way as another inhabitant of sors and shallow bays - perch, which appears in large numbers here in summer and sometimes in winter. There are quite a lot of pike in the litters and shallow waters of the lake, but its commercial value is much less than that of horned and perch.

Of particular note is burbot. This fish is found in Baikal in large numbers, but it is still poorly hunted. Lake-river burbot is found in Baikal, spawning in rivers from January to the second half of March, and lake burbot, spawning in Baikal itself. Usually burbot keeps in the coastal strip, but descends to a depth of 200 m. It feeds on benthic animals: sculpins, amphipods, mollusks.

Back in 1943-1949. Amur carp was brought to the Posolsky Sor. To date, it has settled along the eastern shore of the lake to the Barguzinsky Bay, but has not yet reached commercial abundance. The bream released into the reservoir of the Irkutsk hydroelectric station also inhabits Baikal. Several spawners of bream were caught in the Small Sea. The Amur catfish entered the lake along the Khilok-Selenga river system. Apparently, this is the result of its unauthorized transportation by fishermen from the river. Onon (Amur River basin) to Lake Shaksha (Baikal basin).

The description of the fauna of Baikal will be incomplete without mentioning its largest representative, the only mammal - the Baikal seal, or seal.

Nerpa is the first representative of the Baikal fauna, noted in the scientific literature as early as the first half of the 18th century. Already at that time, the question arose about the ways by which the seal penetrated into Baikal, thousands of kilometers away from the water bodies where its closest relatives live. Even I. D. Chersky in the second half of the 19th century. proved that the seal penetrated into Baikal from the Arctic Ocean in the Ice Age through the Yenisei-Angara system. This view is shared by most scholars. At the same time, there is another hypothesis, according to which the Baikal seal is an older, pre-glacial inhabitant of Baikal.

The seal lives mainly in the least developed and rarely visited parts of the Northern and Middle Baikal, in the southern part of the lake it is less common. The seal is cautious and is not often seen at close range. You can more often observe the seal in the spring - in April-May, when it goes out onto the ice and basks in the sun on fine days (Fig. 46). Industrialists are taking advantage of this moment. Disguised, they approach the beast for a shot. In late spring and autumn, a lot of seals keep on the edges of the ice and on floating ice floes. The seal spends the whole winter under the ice, breathing through holes made in the ice. Such vents are supported by seals from the time of freezing up to the opening of the lake.

The seal feeds mainly on gobies - pelagic yellow-winged and especially golomyanka. Valuable commercial fish in its diet are rare. In February-March, seals give birth to cubs. Each female gives birth to one cub, covered with fluffy almost white hair. For newborns, among the ice floes and hummocks, nests are arranged, covered with a snow canopy. There is a hole near the nest, through which the female periodically goes to the cub. Milk feeding continues for 1.5 to 3 months, after which fish feeding begins.

The Baikal seal has long attracted the attention of hunters. And this is not surprising. An adult animal, can reach a length of 1.7 m and weight 130 kg. He usually gives 30-40 kg fat used for food and for technical purposes, as well as silver-gray, valuable fur, going to various crafts. In former times, several thousand heads of seals were caught annually. In subsequent years, especially during the war, the stocks of this valuable animal were noticeably reduced. Today they are being restored again.

Baikal, together with its surroundings, is a very beautiful place, the amazing landscapes and wonders of which can be told for a very long time. This is a land with a very picturesque nature: fabulous landscapes, bizarre capes, magnificent cliffs, as well as other beauties found here at every turn.

The fauna of Lake Baikal is extremely diverse, since nature here has been preserved almost in its original form, and the indigenous population lives according to the traditional way. Thanks to this, this place attracts ecotourists from all over the world every year.

Fauna of Lake Baikal

A huge number of animals live here, some of which can only be found in this place. For example, a seal - a cute animal that has long become a symbol of this lake. Or golomyanka fish - completely transparent! In Lake Baikal, the animal world is represented by a huge number of different fish, seals, etc. Squirrels, sables, deer, wild boars, and foxes live on the shore, which are very common for tourists. Wolves, bears and lynxes stay off the tourist trails. Birds sing here all day long. And if we talk about fish, then sturgeon, grayling, whitefish and omul are typical inhabitants of local waters.

Baikal seal

Here the only representative of mammals is the Baikal seal (or seal). And if we consider the problems of Baikal, then it can be noted that this animal is on the verge of extinction.

There are several hypotheses about how the seal ended up here. There is a version that it penetrated here from the Arctic Ocean into the rivers dammed with ice.

This amazing animal has been in the water almost all its life, surfacing every 20 minutes for a portion of fresh air. In winter, he breathes through special vents - small vents that he creates by raking the ice from below with the claws of his front paws. The seal winters in lairs, arranging them in the hummocky parts of the lake under the snow. Around the lair, there are more than 10 different auxiliary products. They can be tens of meters away from the main one. It has been proven that the ability to make puffs is an innate instinct.

The main food of the seal is golomyanka-goby fish. She eats 3-5 kg ​​of fresh fish per day. An adult seal eats up to a ton of fish per year.

At about 4 years old, the female becomes sexually mature. Males also reach sexual maturity 1-2 years later. The seal's pregnancy lasts 11 months. Until the age of forty, she is able to bear offspring.

Puppies are born in February-April. They appear in a snow lair, on ice, feed on mother's milk. Basically, the seal gives birth to 1, sometimes two babies, whose weight is up to 4 kilograms. The cubs have white fur, which allows them to remain almost invisible in the snow.

The average weight of the seal is 50 kg, the maximum is 150 kg. The speed of a swimming animal is up to 20 kilometers per hour.

Big golomyanka

There are 2 species of golomyankas living in Baikal - small and large. These 2 species are found at considerable depths. They keep during the day at a depth of up to 500 m, rising to 50 m at night. Since the water of Lake Baikal is very clean, you can see these beautiful pink fish, shimmering with all shades of the rainbow, about 20 centimeters in size. In the golomyanka, the body is translucent due to the huge fat content (about 45%).

It is. At the same time, in a large individual, the birth of larvae occurs in the fall, while in a small one already in June. In a large golomyanka, the number of larvae is about 4000, in a small golomyanka - 2500.

The fish live up to 5 years. They eat young fish and crustaceans.

Baikal omul

Omul is the main commercial fish. The clean water of Baikal allows four races of omul to live in it: Chivirkuy, Selenga, North Baikal, embassy.

In autumn, during the spawning period, all races go to their own river. Spawning in the rivers begins when the water temperature equalizes in August-September. In October, spawning takes place at a water temperature of no more than 5 ° C. The development of eggs lasts 8 months, and the migration of young larvae ends by the end of May. Juvenile omul, having got to the estuarine areas, in the lower reaches of the rivers, in the sors, bays, lingers here for 1.5 months, since in May-June these areas are characterized by the best warming of the water.

Juveniles in the warm shallow water zone intensively feed on small chironomid larvae, plankton, etc. The larvae become fry, and as soon as the waters of the coastal areas of the lake warm up to 11 ° C or more, the omul juveniles gradually disperse over Lake Baikal, whose animal world is so rich and diverse.

Omul becomes an adult in the 5th year of its life.

The sizes of fish of different races differ. The largest is the Selenga race. In summer catches, the average body weight reaches 404 grams with a body length of 35 centimeters. The smallest size is the North Baikal race, in which the average weight in summer catches reaches 255 grams.

The maximum weight of a fish is 5 kilograms.

Baikal sturgeon

The fauna of Baikal is very rich. Briefly speaking about it, we should also talk about the Baikal sturgeon. It constantly lives here and is connected with the rivers mainly during the breeding season, which occurs in V. Angara, Barguzin and Selenga. Although he can live in rivers all the time, especially in the first 3 years. Juveniles subsequently slide into the lake. Within its limits, the sturgeon is distributed over a vast area. He mastered the shallow zone up to 200 m. During the spawning period, fish migrate along the rivers almost 100 km from the mouth.

Baikal sturgeon grows for a relatively long time. Males reach sexual maturity at 15 years old, while females only at 20 years old.

Once upon a time, fish were caught, whose body weight reached 200 kilograms; at the moment, a representative weighing up to 90 kg is rarely found. In females, the average body weight is 22.5 kilograms with a length of 160 centimeters, in males about 13.5 kilograms with a length of about 130 centimeters. The average fecundity of fish is 420,000 eggs.

The composition of fish food is diverse, which is determined by the richness of Lake Baikal. The animal world that attracts sturgeons is worms, molluscs, stonefly larvae, chironomids, amphipods, sculpins, occasionally juveniles of cyprinids and perch.

Black Baikal grayling

The endemic variety of the Siberian is distributed throughout Lake Baikal (Russia), especially near the mouth of the rivers, where it breeds. Lives at shallow depths (up to 15 m) near the coast, where there are rocky soils.

During warm periods, it migrates to the largest tributaries of Lake Baikal. At this time, males acquire a colorful, bright outfit. Have black occurs in May. After that, the fish slides into the lake, and grayling fry and larvae stay there for a long time. By autumn, they also roll into Baikal and the channels of large rivers.

In black grayling, puberty occurs at the age of four.

Food: chironomids, gammarids, mayflies and insects.

The average dimensions are 250 mm with a body weight of 300 grams. The maximum length of the black grayling is 530 mm and weighs 1.2 kg.

White Baikal grayling

The endemic species of the Siberian grayling differs from the black one in a lighter color and some biological features.

It lives throughout the lake, while tending to spaces at the mouths of large tributaries, mainly in the northeastern and eastern parts of the lake.

The white appearance is greater than the black. Its maximum weight is about 2 kg or more with a body length of about 600 mm. The average size of the fish is 300 mm with a weight of 500 g.

In fish, sexual maturity occurs at the age of seven. At the same time, the average fecundity of the white species is 5 times greater than the black one.

Spawning occurs in May when the water temperature is 14˚C. At this time, eggs are laid on sandy coastal shallows at a depth of about 50 cm.

The rich fauna of Baikal serves as food: larvae of stoneflies, caddisflies, chironomids, mayflies, dragonflies.

moose

The elk is the largest animal in the Baikal region. Its average weight is 400 kilograms, individual males weigh 0.5 tons. The body length reaches 3 meters with a height at the withers of about 2.3 m. horns. The most powerful horns appear in males of 15 years. In January, the horns fall off, the growth of new ones begins in March.

The rut occurs at the end of September. In May, the fauna of Baikal is enriched - females give birth to calves.

Moose are kept in groups of 4-6 individuals or singly.

In winter, they feed on bark and shoots of trees, in summer - a variety of herbs.

musk deer

Musk deer is the smallest deer that lives on the shores of Lake Baikal. The fauna of these places is very diverse. Musk deer is of particular interest to many. The body length is 1 meter with a weight of about 17 kilograms. The hind legs are much longer than the front. There are no horns, although the males have curved, long fangs.

Lives in the taiga, feeds on terrestrial and tree lichens.

The rut occurs in November, pregnancy lasts about 190 days. One, sometimes two cubs are born.

Assessing the problems of Baikal, one should also note the rapid disappearance of this species. This is mainly due to the fact that it is actively hunted. This is due to the musk gland located in males on the abdomen. Musk is a gelatinous, thick substance with a very strong odor that is used in perfumery and medicine.

Animal world of Baikal

The flora and fauna of Baikal is unusually rich. Currently, 1550 species and varieties of animals, 1085 plant organisms are known. Of the algae, the most numerous are diatoms, of animals - golomyanka-goby fish, amphipods. There are 848 species of endemic (i.e. unique) animals and 133 species of unique plants in Baikal.

According to scientists, the Baikal fauna is the oldest, consisting of marine and freshwater forms, which has become an independent zoogeographical object.

Millions of years ago, after another cataclysm that shook the young Baikal ridge, a flat lake with sandy shores, with its southern life forms (there were subtropics here before the ice age), fell into a gap in the earth. The hollow was gradually filled with new waters and ancient forms of animals and plants were preserved in a closed stone bowl.

There is another theory that Baikal is the beginning of another, fifth ocean: its shores diverge from year to year, moving away from one another by about 2 cm per year.

There are 52 species of fish in the lake, 27 of which are endemic. Main types:

During the Great Patriotic War, fishing brigades replaced ordinary nets with fine-mesh ones, but this was no longer fishing, but devastation. Military norms remained in later years, and with difficulty scientists managed to prove that such exploitation of Baikal is disastrous. For many years, fishing in the lake was prohibited. And until now, omul fishing is limited. And during spawning is generally prohibited.

Salted omul is most valued - whipped and unwhacked, some prefer "with a smell". It is fried, boiled, smoked, baked on rags by the fire. In winter, they make a split from freshly frozen omul - they beat it with a hard object, remove the skin, break it into pieces and eat it, dipping it in salt and pepper (oh-oh-oh, already saliva has gone :-)).

Baikal has an amazing variety of gobies, 27 of which are endemic. There is also a huge number of tiny crustaceans - distant relatives of ocean lobsters, crabs, shrimps. Only the Baikal inhabitants - and there are more than 300 species of them - are extremely small. But, despite this, the crustacean is not only food for fish. So the tiny crustacean Epishura Baikal is one of the main cleaners of the lake. The length of the crustacean is only 1.5 mm, but under one square meter of the surface of the lake, scientists counted up to 3 million of them. Such an armada of insatiable crustaceans is capable of clearing the upper fifty-meter layer of water from bacteria and algae residues three times in a year. And the crustacean amphipod macroheptous (up to 3 cm long) destroys everything that can pollute the water - drowned insects, dead fish and even animals captured by the abyss. Here is another secret of the purity of Baikal water. If only it wasn't for the man...

In the second decade of May, an interesting phenomenon can be observed on Baikal: when the sun warms up, innumerable strings of living creatures appear on the surface of the ice, millions of them move towards the shore. Here are the pupae of the Baikal caddis flies, and the larvae of mayflies. Where did they come from in the middle of the open sea? Under the influence of solar heat, the upper layers of ice gradually collapsed, the ice became loose, porous, and insects crawl out to the surface of the ice through many cracks. Their local name is "lipachan". Caddisfly pupae turn into flying insects resembling a small black butterfly, this is an adult form of a caddisfly, an adult. 37 species of caddisflies live on Baikal, several waves of their appearance are observed.

The appearance of caddisflies on the surface of the lake, the transformation of pupae into adult insects is a very impressive sight. The air is filled with a myriad of fluttering black flakes. The entire mass of caddisflies is concentrated in the coastal strip up to 30 m. They are plastered with coastal trees and stones. After mating, the caddisflies die; in the second half of June, a 2-3 cm layer of dead insects accumulates in the surf zone. Grayling and omul come to the shore for feeding. Birds, squirrels, chipmunks at this time also feed only on caddis flies. And for bears comes a feast: they go into the water and devour them up to 5-7 kg in one "sit".

The only representative of the Baikal mammals is the seal or the Baikal seal, which has a common ancestor with the northern seal. Scientists suggest that the seal entered Baikal from the Arctic Ocean along the Yenisei and Angara during the Ice Age. Its number is currently about 60 thousand heads. The seal lives for more than 50 years, during the life of the female can bring up to 2 dozen cubs.

Most of the seals appear in mid-March, they are born on ice, in a snowy lair, and while they feed on their mother's milk, they do not dive into the water. cubs have white fur - this is their protective coloration. With the transition to feeding on fish, their color changes: silver-gray in 2-3-month-olds, brown-brown in older ones. A young seal is called a hubunk, and a molted animal for the first time is called a kumatkan. St. John's slaughter goes mainly on kumatkans.

The average weight of the seal is 50 kg, the maximum is up to 110 kg. The length is 1.3-1.7 m. It can reach speeds of up to 25 km / h, it can dive to a depth of 200 m. According to observations, the seal sleeps in the water as long as there is enough oxygen in blood. It winters in lairs under the snow, often in hummocky areas of Lake Baikal. In the ice around the lair, the seal makes vents with the claws of its forelimbs, the main vents are 40-50 cm in diameter, the auxiliary vents are 10-15 cm. The seal needs up to 5 kg of fish per day. The main food is golomyanka and gobies.

They hunt seals in the spring; hunting begins in April and continues during the spring ice drift from boats. The locals consider the meat and especially the fat of the seal to be healing. Hubunks have especially tender meat, it is almost devoid of the smell of fish, unlike the meat of an adult seal.

The skins of adult seals are used to make high fur boots, lining hunting skis. The most beautiful, durable and expensive fur of 3-4-month-old seals, silver-gray, is highly valued at international fur auctions. Local craftsmen make wonderful men's and women's hats from it, which can only be bought from us in the North Baikal region.

A little about coastal nature. In our Severobaikalsky region, the taiga comes close to Baikal itself and therefore the animal world is quite diverse here. Of course, the main game animal is the sable.

It is very difficult to meet a bear in the remote taiga, because. he is the first to detect you and manages to escape unnoticed. Much more often it is possible to find not the bear itself, but numerous traces of its vital activity :-). The appearance of a bear on the shores of Lake Baikal has the character of a mass, regularly repeating phenomenon. They can be seen here from the 2nd decade of June, depending on when the ice on Baikal disappears and the summer of caddisflies begins. Baikal attracts bears with a variety of different food, the lake throws out beetles, dragonflies, mollusks, dead gobies, golomyankas, and sometimes wounded seals. In shallow water, sculpins spawn, bears enter the water, turn over stones, find “cakes” of caviar and lick it off.

But mainly bears are attracted to the coast by a huge number of caddis flies. As a rule, they appear at dawn or before sunset. The mass appearance of bears at the lake continues until July 5, all late visits are rare and short-lived.

On open, grassy areas of the mountains, bears also find a plentiful table - various types of umbrella and legumes. It is in these landscapes and only in strictly defined periods of the year that so many bears can be observed. The northern shores of Lake Baikal are unique and unique in this respect.

Everyone knows Baikal as the deepest lake in the world, but not everyone is aware of its beauty. A person who comes to its shore plunges into an atmosphere of bliss and peace. All because these waters are beautiful.

Animals of Lake Baikal For many years, scientists have been surprising with their diversity. There are more than 2.5 thousand of them. Some representatives are unique. The extensive local fauna is explained by the large amount of oxygen in the lake.

Interesting, but there is no exact answer to the question about the origin of the name "Baikal". Most experts believe that this is how the ancestors of the Buryats, who came here in the 2nd century BC, called the lake. From their dialect, the name was translated as "mighty stagnant water."

A feature of this reservoir is that in almost the entire territory, it is surrounded by a mountain range. This creates conditions for the life of some representatives of the animal world.

Since the nature and fauna of Lake Baikal are unique, the authorities classify it among the reserves of a planetary scale. Nevertheless, everyone can relax here, but only from late spring to mid-autumn. Almost the entire territory of Baikal is densely populated with mammals, insects, birds and other fauna.

Most of them are widespread in the world, but scientists identify some of the animals that are rare and endangered. Endemics of Baikal, that is, the species of animals that live exclusively here surprise with their diversity. Among them: seal, mustachioed night bat, omul and others.

Mustachioed bat

This is one of the rare species of bat. It is distinguished by its small size and bright brown-red color. A feature of the mustachioed bat is the oblong shape of the ears. It can be found here near the mountain zone, mainly at night. The mustachioed bat is a herd animal. In one group there are from 3 to 20 individuals. This animal is a predator. He hunts at night, near a wooden crown.

The mustachioed bat flies fast enough, because of this, it is almost impossible to follow its turn. She is afraid of the cold, so she flies to the South for the winter. Every year, the number of mustachioed bats is declining. Scientists do not have an exact answer to what this is connected with. There is an assumption that its population is negatively affected by cutting down trees on Baikal.

Mustachioed night bat Baikal

Baikal seal

This representative of Baikal animals is the most famous endemic of this lake. The seal is the main symbol of these places. This is due to hunting for it in order to obtain valuable fur, meat and fat. Today, seal hunting is not punishable by law, however, due to the rapid decline in the population, the authorities have introduced restrictions on its hunting.

It is interesting, but to this day it is not known exactly how the seal settled on Lake Baikal. According to the most popular version, the beast came here from the Arctic Ocean during the Ice Age.

In fact, a seal is a large one, which, swimming in the water, periodically swims ashore to get some air. It should be noted that the seal is the only Baikal mammal.

To get fish, they dive deep into the water, more than 150 meters. They can stay there for 20 to 30 minutes. The seal is a unique creature, as it can terminate a pregnancy on its own, in the case when it understands that there are no appropriate conditions for raising offspring.

However, this rarely happens in nature. Sometimes the development of an embryo in the womb of a female seal stops, that is, it falls into suspended animation. In this state, he can stay until the next pregnancy. Thus, a female seal can give birth to 2 individuals at once.

Red Wolf

List animals of the Red Book of Baikal replenished red, the number of which, today, is less than 100. Those who have ever seen this beast say that with its appearance, it looks more like a fox than a wolf. This is justified, since the color of this small-sized animal is bright red, like that of a fox.

But, in behavior and habits, he is completely like a wolf. This is a pack animal. The red wolf hunts only in a group. Its role in the pack is determined by its size and behavior. The leader of the red wolves is a large male who is not afraid to challenge others, thereby declaring his rights.

Baikal red wolf

Fox

Among unique animals of Baikal, a fox who is not at all afraid of people. This is its main feature. Due to the lack of fear, many foxes even approach tourists, allowing them to touch them.

Males weigh up to 15 kg, females - up to 12. Without a tail, the length of a medium-sized individual is 80 cm. In the local area, foxes live from 15 to 18 years, although their average life expectancy in other parts is only 10 years.

Each such animal has a hole. It is especially necessary for females. In the hole, the fox leaves its offspring, recovering in the forest for food. But small game is not all the livelihood of this beast. When there is no time for hunting, the fox eats fish and worms.

saker falcon

Because fauna of Baikal is diverse, unique birds of the falconiformes order are found here. One of them is the saker falcon. In size, this creature resembles, rather, a raven than a falcon. The back of the saker falcon is brown, and the front is light with black-gray circles. The color of young individuals is more variegated.

Saker Falcon is a bird of prey that preys on small game, mainly gophers. He builds nests only on tall trees, so that, when taking off, he can have a good view of the area, in search of food. Less commonly, the saker falcon settles on a mountain range near the water.

Due to the rapid deforestation of the local forest in the last 10 years, the food resource has significantly decreased. Therefore, now this bird of prey is on the verge of extinction.

Baikal omul

This animal belongs to the salmon class. Its capture is very valuable for the Russian fishing industry. This creature is found exclusively in the local waters. Fish soup, casserole, pies are prepared from omul. They boil it, fry it, smoke it, etc. Each dish made from this fish is very tasty, so tourists often ask to cook Baikal omul for them.

In the period from mid to late autumn, she goes to spawn. Small 1-cm larvae appear in the water in April. The size of an average individual is 50 cm, and the weight is 900 gr. Very rarely it is possible to catch a large omul, the weight of which would reach 4-6 kg.

moose

One of the largest Baikal animals. The weight of a medium-sized male is 500 kg, body length is 2 m. They settle mainly on the coast, less often in the forest.

The older an elk gets, the stronger its antlers grow. At the age of 15, they stop developing. By the way, the average life expectancy of this beautiful animal is 30 years. The animal's horns fall off and grow back annually.

Yes, this is a very rare animal. No more than 50 individuals are found on the local territory. Irbis is a predator, but it almost never attacks a person, as it is afraid. As for hunting, it is very difficult to catch this powerful beast.

The weight of a male snow leopard is from 50 to 65 kg. Females are smaller overall than males, so they weigh less, up to 45 kg. Since this animal belongs to the cat family, it hunts mainly from an ambush.

The snow leopard attacks suddenly, having previously taken cover. Once he has chosen a victim, the likelihood that she will be able to escape is minimal. The beast hunts for ungulates, rabbits, hares, rams and goats. To eat, the snow leopard needs from 2 to 4 kg of fresh meat per day.

Sandpiper

This is a small and very beautiful bird that lives on Lake Baikal. It belongs to the class of sandpipers. A feature of the sandpiper is its thin straight beak, which is much shorter than that of other birds. He is also distinguished from others by long thin fingers.

Due to the special structure of the legs, the bird moves very quickly on the ground. Therefore, tourists often manage to see small running waders on the shore of Lake Baikal, which they confuse with small animals.

The bottom of them is painted white, in front - brown. During the winter season, they become darker. Waders build their nests on the tops of trees, less often on bushes. To do this, they use last year's grass or willow leaves.

Visually, the nest of this small bird is rather weakly expressed. It is a plane with a small notch. Sandpiper eggs are laid at the beginning of summer, later - in its middle. The chicks are covered with feathers already 1.5 months after hatching from the egg.

white hare

This is one of the most widely distributed animals in the world. Due to rapid reproduction, the population of the white hare in these parts is increasing every year. Despite the cute appearance, all predators of Baikal feed on it.

This type of hare is quite large. The weight of a medium-sized male is 3-4 kg, and females - 2-2.5. Growing up, they reach up to 60 cm in length. Another distinctive feature of the Baikal white hare is their excessive activity. Almost the entire period of wakefulness, they are in motion.

The white hare belongs to the group of herbivores. In the warm season they eat roots, berries and leaves, and in the cold season they eat wood bark. Everyone knows this animal as a fast breeder. Every year, an adult hare gives from 2 to 5 offspring, that is, about 30 rabbits.

Siberian sturgeon

The population of this fish in Baikal is decreasing every year. This is due to the increased frequency of sturgeon captures. This fish is widespread in these parts, it is found both in shallow water and in the depths of the lake. The Siberian sturgeon is a long-lived fish. Its average life expectancy is 50 years. The standard length of an individual is 1.5 meters, weight is 120 kg.

mallard duck

This living creature, like the seal, is the "calling card" of Baikal. The Baikal mallard duck is 1.5 times larger than the usual one. It can often be found on the shore of the lake. The head is painted bright green, the beak is yellow, the sternum is brown, and the back is orange. To many, such a bird may seem colorful, but the lower the air temperature drops, the darker it becomes.

Mallard ducks build their nests only near water. The Baikal mountain massifs do not have them. Closer to winter, they migrate to the South, where the water does not freeze. Surprisingly, such a bird as a mallard duck is very sensitive to hatching offspring. The female mother spends with her chicks, which have not yet hatched, from 3 to 4 weeks, hatching them regularly. For 1 time, she carries about 10 eggs.

mallard ducks male and female

musk deer

Having met such an animal for the first time, having not heard anything about it before, you can be frightened in earnest. Indeed, at first glance, he is a hornless deer, but if you pay attention to his mouth, he will immediately visually transform into a tiger. The presence of large fangs in this animal is associated with its need to eat lichen. He easily pry it from the tree, thanks to his teeth.

The locals have a legend that the musk deer was born as a result of the love of a deer and a lynx. Of course, there is no scientific evidence for this. Today, the animal is at the stage of extinction.

The reason is the great attention of hunters to their musk, a substance that has found application in cooking, medicine and even perfumery. The body length of an average individual is 90 cm, weight is 15 kg. Male musk deer are slightly longer and larger than females.

Cotton muzzle

It is impossible to call such a large snake. The average length of her body is 70 cm. A feature of this species is a well-shaped and pronounced neck, as well as a rather large and rounded head, hence the name - muzzle.

There are 4 types of such a snake on Baikal:

• Eastern;
• Water;
• rocky;
• Ussuri.

The entire body of the muzzle, regardless of its type, is covered with brown spots. In adults, there are about 40 of them.

Wolverine

This predatory animal belongs to the mustelid class. At first glance, it may seem that the wolverine is a fearful and overly cautious animal. This is an erroneous opinion. In fact, he is one of the most ferocious predators in the world. In appearance, this beast resembles a reduced brown bear. The average body length of an adult is 90-100 cm.

A feature of the wolverine is that he loves hiking. On Baikal, you can often meet peacefully walking, cute, at first glance, living creatures. However, it is at the moment of walking that the animal seeks out prey.

It feeds mainly on rodents. If it was not possible to find a favorite delicacy, the wolverine will not disdain bird eggs, which it will find in the nest, and even carrion. Very rarely, this predator attacks large herbivores, such as, for example, deer. But they easily attack a wounded or dying animal.

Mongolian toad

The population of this animal is decreasing every year. The size of the Mongolian toad is average - 6 cm - females and 8 cm - males. Its main feature is white and green color. The older the toad, the darker its back. Knowing this, you can easily distinguish an adult from a young one.

This species settles in the mouths of local tributaries, mainly in swampy areas. Tourists rarely manage to meet the Mongolian toad on the modern Lake Baikal.

Muskrat

This funny animal belongs to the class of semi-aquatic rodents. The muskrat is smaller than the coypu or beaver. Its average weight is 1.5 kg. Despite the fact that the animal is in the water for a long time, it practically does not freeze. This is due to the special fur that does not get wet.

The belly of the muskrat is lighter than its back. Each of the limbs of the animal has several small membranes. This allows him to swim well and move quickly in the water. By the way, an important role in water movement for the muskrat is played by the tail, which, like many other rodents, it uses as a “rudder”.

On Baikal, these animals live from 3 to 8 years. She chooses the place of settlement very carefully. An important condition for him is a large amount of vegetation and the presence of fresh water. The muskrat feeds on small fish and vegetation.

This is a unique animal that in nature plays the role of a real architect. Muskrat builds 2-story dwellings in case the water level rises. They often build additional rooms, using them as a pantry to store food for the winter. To enter such a "hut", the animal will have to dive under the water.

Baikal muskrat

Brown bear

This is one of the largest mammals in the world, which is also found on Lake Baikal. Here they are real natural emperors. Other animals are afraid of being eaten by a bear, so they prefer not to face it. And if, nevertheless, this happens, there is nothing left but to run.

However, this is not always advisable, because, as you know, a brown bear attacks only if it is hungry. A much greater danger to small game is the female bear, who takes care of her offspring. If she smells movement in the nearest radius, she will certainly attack.

The average body length of this beast is 1.5 meters, and its weight is 250 kg. Males are much larger than females. The favorite food of this animal is fish. It also feeds on berries and roots. But the love of fish makes the brown bear spend a lot of time by the river. They winter in dens.

Dropsy

This small animal belongs to the class of hamsters. It was called "dropsy" because of the desire to settle near the water: rivers, lakes, streams, etc. There are many of them on Baikal. Dropsy is one of the most widespread rodents in Russia, which can be found in almost any region. The body length of an individual is up to 30 cm. A feature of this animal is its small ears. Behind the large dense fur, it is almost impossible to see them.

Despite its cute and funny appearance, dropsy is considered a pest, because, during the flood period, it prefers to settle in vegetable gardens, digging deep holes there.

Her favorite food is worms. In addition to them, dropsy eats wood bark and shoots of some plants. She justifies the title of "pest" by eating the garden crop. One such individual in 1 agricultural season can cause damage to more than 50 square meters of crop.

Boar

The first thing that distinguishes the Baikal boar from an ordinary pig is a long thick bristle that covers its entire body. By the way, speaking about the body of an animal, it should be noted that it has a slightly oblong and flat shape.

The second difference between a boar and a pig is the presence of 2 sharp fangs protruding from the mouth. They prefer to settle in dense forests. But wild boars often go to meadow highlands.

The diet of the Baikal wild boar includes: acorns, nuts, bulbs of some flowers, worms, rhizomes and insects. Sometimes they do not mind eating bird eggs or small animals.

The boar rarely attacks a person. To activate the defense mechanism, you need to cross its territory. All the species we have considered today, together, create a unique natural world that is definitely worth protecting.