Unusual animals of Baikal. Animals of Lake Baikal. Descriptions, names, types and characteristics of animals of Baikal. Geography of Lake Baikal

According to scientists, the Baikal fauna is the oldest. According to the Limnological Institute, Baikal is home to 2,630 species and varieties of plants and animals, 2/3 of which live only in this body of water, i.e. they are endemic. This abundance of living organisms is explained by the high oxygen content in the entire thickness of Baikal water.

There are 52 species of fish in the lake, 27 of which are endemic. The most popular: Siberian sturgeon, taimen, davatchan (red fish), whitefish, grayling (black and white), soroga (Siberian roach), perch, pike, dace, catfish, carp, burbot, golomyanka and omul.

Golomnyanka is the most numerous fish in Baikal, it is distinguished by almost glass transparency, the only one in middle lane viviparous fish.

Omul can be Severobaikalsky, Selenga, Chivyrkuisky, Posolsky, and by the age of five it reaches a mass of 400-500 g. This is the main commercial fish on Lake Baikal. Salted omul is most valued; some prefer the “flavored” one, or raskolodka, which is made in winter from freshly frozen fish.

Davatchan and white grayling are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.

Baikal has an amazing diversity of gobies, 27 of which are endemic. There are also a huge number of tiny ones. They are very small and serve as excellent food for fish. And the crustaceans, together with the macroheptous crustacean (twice as long), clean the lake - it is to them that it owes its cleanliness and transparency.

In terms of species diversity in the fauna of protozoa, the leaders are free-living (more than 220 species) and commensal ciliates (about 170 species). Thickets of sponges give an amazing and unique appearance to the underwater landscapes of Baikal from the littoral zone to depths of 400 m. The similarity of Baikal sponges with sea sponges has given rise to several completely different theories of their origin from relics of the ancient sea. Also in the fauna of Baikal there are mollusks, which come in two classes - gastropods (150 species) and bivalves (more than 30 species). They are interesting not only for their high level of endemism and important role in the trophic system, but also as one of the few groups for which it is possible to reconstruct evolution based on fossil fauna in bottom sediments. This, in turn, makes it possible to reveal the paths and mechanisms of speciation in the giant natural laboratory of Baikal.

The only representative of Baikal mammals is the seal or Baikal seal, which has a common ancestor with northern seal. Scientists suggest that the seal entered Baikal from the Arctic Ocean along the Yenisei and Angara in glacial period. Currently, its population is about 60 thousand animals. The seal lives for more than 50 years; during its life, a female can give birth to up to two dozen cubs.

The average weight of a 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, and is capable of diving to a depth of 200 m. According to observations, the seal sleeps in the water as long as there is enough oxygen in the blood. It winters in lairs under the snow, often in hummocky areas of Lake Baikal. In the ice around the den, the seal makes holes with the claws of its forelimbs, the main holes are 40-50 cm in diameter, the auxiliary ones are 10-15 cm. The seal needs up to 5 kg of fish per day. The main food is golomyanka and gobies.

The most common coastal animals are bear, deer, wapiti, elk, roe deer, musk deer, wolf, hare, and fox.

There are also a lot of birds in the nature of Baikal: loon, Dalmatian pelican, great cormorant, heron, black stork, partridge, capercaillie, as well as birds of prey. One of them is the Eagle, whose image was played great importance in the worldview of the Buryat population of Lake Baikal. Since ancient times, the indigenous people of Siberia have especially emphasized and revered the Eagle, as well as trees with eagle nests. The myths of the Yenisei Ostyaks, Teleuts, Orochs and other Siberian peoples say that the first shaman was born from Orel or learned his art from him.

The nature of the Baikal region is a unique combination of various types of vegetation with great value to preserve the Earth and understand its biological and geological evolution, which is fully consistent with the concept of "World Natural Heritage".

The flora of Lake Baikal is rich in various exotic plants: unusual mosses and lichens (according to preliminary processing and literary data, the species composition of lichens is 212 species, mosses - 185 species), fragrant umbrella-shaped poplars, real cedar taiga, walking trees with bare roots.

As part of the vegetation of Baikal Siberia special position occupy the steppes. Making up only 7-9% of the region's area, they represent an original element of vegetation and are among the richest floristically (666 species of vascular plants, for comparison: forests - 625, meadows and swamps - 319, highlands - 550 species).

Coniferous forests mainly predominate on Lake Baikal. Of their representatives, a variety of Siberian spruce stands in a special row - Siberian blue spruce. It differs from ordinary Siberian spruce in the blue color of its needles, which is created by the presence of a bluish waxy coating. Tree up to 30 m tall, with a narrow pyramidal crown, gray fissured bark. Pine is also a common coniferous plant in the Baikal region.

Many plant species are disappearing, such as the Baikal orchid and blue spruce.

Vegetable world. The natural resource potential of the flora of the Irkutsk region includes 1,733 species of higher vascular plants, which include 605 species of medicinal plants. There are 224 species of plants that can be used as food plants. Their harvesting is carried out in an unregulated manner, often in a barbaric manner, which leads to the destruction of many berry tracts, especially near populated areas. Animal world. The fauna of the Irkutsk region is rich and diverse. It is represented by 68 species of mammals, 322 species of birds, 6 reptiles and 5 species of amphibians. Of these, specially protected ones are included in the main list of the Red Book of Russia, as well as those requiring special attention to their condition in natural environment, includes 35 species. In addition, the region is home to 81 regionally rare species. In total, 137 species (39% of total number noted in the region). Ungulates (elk, deer, roe deer, wild boar), fur-bearing animals (squirrel, fox, muskrat, sable), game birds (grouse, black grouse, partridge) are the main objects of hunting. As of January 1, 2000, there were 71 hunting grounds in the region with a total area of ​​assigned hunting grounds 84212 thousand hectares. The number of commercial game animals in the region is: Elk - 27 thousand heads Red deer - 1.3 thousand heads Roe deer - 22 thousand individuals Sable - 100 thousand individuals Fish resources. The ichthyofauna of the Irkutsk region includes 57 species. The region's stock of fishery reservoirs includes Lake Baikal (within the Irkutsk region), reservoirs and their tributaries, the Angara, Chuna, Biryusa, Katanga, Lower Tunguska and their tributaries and lakes in the basins of these rivers. The total area of ​​the fund is about 2 million hectares, including 800 thousand hectares of reservoirs. Lake is of the most important fishery importance for the Irkutsk region. Baikal, especially the Malomorsky fishing area, whose water surface area is 1019 km2. The presence of a vast shallow water zone and high water temperature ensure the development of a rich food supply for fish. The average biomass of zoobenthos is 200 kg/ha. The Malomorsky fishing area is the center of omul production in the Irkutsk region. The omul herds feeding in the Small Sea and adjacent areas of Lake Baikal are mainly represented by individuals of the Selenga and North Baikal populations migrating to this area for feeding. Among other fish of the Small Sea, the following species are important for fishing: whitefish, grayling, roach, perch, and pike. The fish resources of reservoirs are represented by low-value partial species (perch, sorog, pike, etc.). Their fish productivity is low - 2 kg/ha. This is due to bad ecological condition reservoirs (heavy contamination with wood, a large number of Wastewater). River reservoirs of the region serve for development recreational fishing. The fish productivity of rivers is usually lower than in lakes, but as places of reproduction for many commercial fish they are of invaluable importance.

The Irkutsk region accounts for 40% of the total length of the river. Lena, most of the river Angara and half of the river N. Tunguska, where the bulk lives and reproduces valuable species fish: taimen, lenok, whitefish, grayling, etc. Commercial fishing in the region is carried out on the lake. Baikal, Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk reservoirs. The total permissible catch of omul on Baikal is determined within 650 tons, on the Bratsk reservoir - 80 tons of omul, 80 tons of bream, in the Ust-Ilimsk reservoir - 8 tons of bream.

The exclusivity of many physical and geographical features of the lake was the reason for the extraordinary diversity of its flora and fauna. And in this regard, it has no equal among the fresh water bodies of the world. The food pyramid of the lake ecosystem is crowned by a typical marine mammal - the seal, or Baikal seal. The Baikal seal is the only representative of mammals in the lake. Throughout almost the entire year it lives in the water, and in the fall it forms mass haulouts on the rocky shores of the lake. The life of many animals characteristic of Lake Baikal is inextricably linked not only with the lake itself, but also with its coast. Gulls, mergansers, goldeneyes, scoters, scorches, white-tailed eagles, ospreys and many other bird species nest on the shores of the lake and on its islands. Another integral component of the great lake and a remarkable Baikal phenomenon is the mass emergence on the shores brown bears, entirely determined by the nature of the lake. In the mountain taiga of the Baikal region there is a musk deer - the smallest deer. Diversity organic world Lake Baikal is amazing, but its originality is no less phenomenal. Many of the animals and plants living in the lake are not found anywhere else in the world. Baikal has 848 species of endemic animals (about 60%) and 133 species of endemic plants (15%).

Lake Baikal- an amazing and unique natural laboratory where you can study life in abyssal fresh waters. New varieties and species of organisms are constantly developing in the lake. Throughout its history, both Baikal itself and the organisms inhabiting its world have undergone a complex evolution. Because of this, the lake is inhabited by both very ancient varieties of organisms that arose in a small lake that preceded Baikal, as well as younger ones that arose in Baikal itself. There are more than 300 species of protozoa and about the same number of the most interesting amphipod crustaceans, various flat and roundworms, crustaceans, insects, mollusks, fish and seals.

Plants of Baikal

Baikal has more than 1000 species of aquatic flora! In addition to algae, about 20 species of flowering plants have been found here. The lake's coves and mud lagoons, its sheltered bays and river deltas, support plants such as sparse, slender reeds, water buckwheat, reeds, antlers and sedges.

Baikal algae

Along the steep shores of Lake Baikal, the coastal areas of the deep-sea slope are devoid of flowering plants. However, algae live there. If you look closely at the rocks along the surf line in July, August and September, you will see a thick green moss-like plant on them - ulocrix. A little deeper, the rocks are covered with yellowish fibers of algae called didymosphenia, and even deeper (3-10 meters) you will see small bushes of Baikal draparnaldia, which once formed dark green thickets. At this depth other algae are visible.

Exceptionally rich and diverse are phytoplankton - tiny algae that mainly live in the upper layer of water, where they receive more light. These are diatoms, ancient golden algae. Many species of these algae grow intensively in early spring when the lake is still covered with a layer of ice. Among them are also cold-loving diatoms: melisira, cyctotella, sinedra. Ice and cold-loving advanced algae are especially abundant under patches of transparent ice.

In the summer, when the water warms up, cold-loving algae produce too many warm-loving varieties - green, blue-green, golden and some other types of diatoms. The amount of algae on Lake Baikal varies depending on the season.

Biological role of bacteria on Lake Baikal

The biological role of bacteria on Lake Baikal is no less diverse. They decompose and mineralize dead plants and animals, thereby participating in water purification. The bacteria also provide food for some plankton, crustaceans and other organisms.

The smallest inhabitants of Lake Baikal

In the summer when water surface calm, with vast thickets of bright, dark green freshwater sponges visible through the water in various shapes, each uniquely shaped.

All Baikal sponges live on rocky soil in open open areas of the lake. Research conducted by the deep-sea submersible Pisces shows that they live at depths reaching 1000 meters. The Baikal sturgeon uses sponge as food.

Among the wide variety of worms that inhabit Lake Baikal, the unusual flat ciliary worms (turbilaria in Latin) are abundant. Such worms, as well as sponges living in the vicinity of the Frohlich hot springs, contain about 60 percent of ancient carbon. This Baikal turbilaria shows wide variations in color and size. They have bright patterns in various shades and can reach a size of about 30 centimeters in length and 4-5 centimeters in width when unfolded. All of these worms are endemic; they live exclusively in open areas of Lake Baikal.

Baikal worms feed along the bottom of the lake, where they search for prey, paralyze it, then envelop it in mucus and slowly draw it into the body. By feeding on sick and weakened organisms, flatworms function as medical attendants.

Under the rocks on the clay and, to a lesser extent, on the sandy areas of the lake bottom, from surface level to the deepest water, live worm-like worms - oligocetes. This group of worms contains at least 70 species, 90 percent of which are endemic and live in open waters Baikal.

Among benthic inhabitants, Oligocetes occupy a leading position. A small part of oligichs are predatory; most of them are harmful. They usually serve as food for other more highly organized animals. Timid worms play a fairly significant role in the biological processes of the lake. I. Izosimov believes that oligichets are a relict of the tertiary fauna, which formed long ago and became endemic, while Baikal gave birth to a number of new species with their specific accommodative properties, allowing them to live in this great body of water.

In addition to the scarecrow species, the lake is home to a curious representative of the worm-like worms - policheta maasayunkia baikalica. It lives in small tubes built from particles of silt and sand held together by a certain substance. This typical representative In marine or fresh water bodies, it lives on coastal muddy soils, in spongy fields, on plant branches and in other places. It is still unclear how he got to Baikal, but there are several interesting assumptions on this matter.

Baikal shellfish

It is known that more than one hundred species of mollusks live on Baikal. They live on muddy or sandy soil, mostly at a depth of 15-20 meters. Mollusks are infrequent at depths of 20 to 30 meters, and only a few rare specimens of mollusks live at depths of 100-150 meters. They are small and have thin-walled shells due to cold water and lack of calcium salts. The mollusk provides good food for sturgeon, whitefish, grayling, goby and snake.

Almost all Baikal mollusks belong to the main families of Baikal; they are found in their fossil forms in lake deposits dating back a million years. Of particular interest is the endemic baicalid family various forms and the size of the shells, intricately decorated with ribs, keels, handles and thin spiral meshes.

Insects of Baikal

At the beginning of summer, late May-June, caddis flies, insects hatched in streams, begin to fly into full force. These insects, which are also known as “metlyak” in the south of Lake Baikal and “lipochan” in the north, fill the air near the shores and gather in dense masses on rocks, stones and trees and near the water. Their adult phase lasts several days. When adult insects lay eggs in water, they die. Their larvae turn into pupae, and in the spring they develop wings.

Because of the hatching of caddis flies, bears rush to the shore each spring, alone or in family groups, to feast on the insects. At the same time, graylings and omuls “stretch” along the shore - this type of food is extremely nutritious! Among other insects, chironomids are numerous, numbering about 60 species, but only one third of them live in open Baikal.

The main filter of Lake Baikal is episkhura

The most numerous inhabitant of the lake's waters is the crustacean Copepodae - Baikal Epischura. It's about about the size of a grain of manna; the size of 1.5 millimeters is “giant” for him. However, it is this crustacean species that makes up 96% of Baikal zooplankton. Epischura plays an exceptional role in life cycle Baikal. This crustacean is the main consumer of planktonic algae and subjects the lake's bacteria to thorough filtration. Without exaggeration, we can say that episkhur is the main filter of Lake Baikal. According to Academician G. Galazy, a famous scientist (Lake Baikal, 1979), “during the year, all crustaceans of this species filter from 500 to 1.

The development of crustaceans on Baikal is most unusual, especially amphipods, which number about 300 species in the lake (a third of all gammarids known in the world!). They mainly live at the bottom, where they can burrow into the ground, hide under stones, crawl along the bottom and rest comfortably on Baikal sponges, feeding at their expense. In shallow water they are distinguished by bright colors and good vision; at great depths they are colorless, blind and have long antennae, with the help of which they search for food on the ground.

Most amphipods are predators - carrion eaters. They eat invertebrates, dead fish and other organisms. Sometimes fishermen, if they do not have time to check their nets in time, pick up either “chopped” fish or skeletons devoid of all flesh. Amphipods are excellent medical nurses and also serve as food for fish.

Among amphipods, a special place belongs to the pelagic (living in the depths of water) crustacean - macrohectopus or Jurassic, as fishermen call it. Yur is one of the main food components for omul and also provides food for all types of fish. Macrogectopus is a typical inhabitant of open Baikal. During daylight hours, its bulk remains close to the most active upper layer of water 200-250 meters thick. At night, it moves through the surface layers, hunting for small planktonic organisms.

Fishes of Baikal

Baikal is home to 56 species of fish. Most of them are shirokokolobka gobies (“broad forehead”, as they are called locally). They developed on Baikal from an ancient form, akin to the Anadyr and Michigan bulls; in Baikal they are represented by 32 species, 29 of which are endemic. For the most part, gobies are typical bottom dwellers, occupying all water depths.

Baikal is also home to the most abyssal freshwater fish in the world. These fish managed to maintain vision even at the greatest depths, although they see only black and white images.

Two species of gobies, yellowfin and blackfin, live in the deep waters. These pelagic forms live in the upper layer 100 meters thick, feeding on epischura and jur. Roast pelagic bull bulls(young), especially those of yellowfin bulls, the so-called poyed (joyful food), constitutes one of the food components for omul.

Perhaps the most interesting fish Lake Baikal is the golomyanka (butterfish), which in many ways remains mysterious. Golomyankas - large and small - live only on Lake Baikal. Their size does not exceed 24 centimeters, they have no scales, they are nacreous (mother-of-pearl) in color and transparent. They contain up to 35 percent of medicinal oil, rich in vitamin A. Golomyanka is the most numerous fish on Lake Baikal, its resources amount to about 150 thousand tons. However, it does not swim in schools at any stage of its life, so it is not included in the list of food fish. Old residents say that a long time ago, after storms, golomyankas were collected along the shores, and the fat was melted and used to treat rheumatism, atherosclerosis and to heal wounds that would not hurt for a long time. Golomyanka is a viviparous fish, the only one in our latitudes. At the same time, 3000 live fry are born. Most women die after hearing a child. Rarely does a golomyanka give birth twice, and even less often - three times. In nature, golomyankas live no more than 6 years.

This small fish can withstand the greatest pressure in the depths of Baikal water. At night it rises to the surface of the water, and during the day it swims at great depths. Limnologists had the opportunity to observe the behavior of the holominka in deep water. At a depth of 1000–1400 meters or more, the golomyanka moves freely both horizontally and vertically, while at such a depth even a cannon cannot fire due to the enormous pressure.

It is noted that golomyanka is very sensitive to water temperature. Its optimum temperature is up to +5°C and this avoids higher temperatures. It cannot survive at +10°C or higher.

The main food fish on Lake Baikal is omul. When it comes to tenderness and taste of meat, omul has no competitors. There are five populations of omul: Selenginsky, Chivyrkuisky, Posolsky, North-Baikal and Barguzinsky.

In autumn, during the spawning period, each population moves to its own river. The instinct to continue generation forces the omul to overcome stormy rapids and river shallows. The eggs remain on a sandy and pebble bottom with moderate water flow, and the development of their larvae lasts 8 months. By various reasons Most of the eggs die: they are either buried under sand and silt, or eaten by predators. To help preserve the population, fish hatcheries were built on Lake Baikal, where valuable food fish are grown under artificial conditions.

80 percent of the larval eggs survive on the breeding plants, but when they are dumped on Baikal, they are exposed to numerous dangers. Only one in a hundred fry survives to return to the spawning site. By ichthyological standards, this is a normal percentage! Admiral Nelson once remarked that "three cods would be enough to feed London if their generation were preserved..."

It is known that all omuls belong to three ecological and morphological groups: benthosabyssal, pelagic and coastal. The resources of omul are determined by the intensity of fishing. It should be noted that large-scale fishing is gradually declining, while there is an increase in licensed recreational fishing. It is noteworthy that today in settlements on the shores of Lake Baikal, local residents can offer you salted and smoked omul, still hot, cooked before your eyes.

Even more delicious than omul is the Baikal whitefish, a juicy, fatty fish weighing up to 12 pounds or more. Black and white Baikal graylings offer excellent sport fishing. After the ice breaks up in the spring, the black Baikal grayling, an amazingly graceful fish with a tall dorsal fin and sparkling rainbow colors, rises into the rivers that flow into Baikal. It overcomes rapids and zaiomas (wooden piles stuck in the river) up to a meter high before spawning. Seventeen days later, the eggs give birth to larvae, which slide back to Lake Baikal. Black grayling lives both in the quiet waters of the lake and in fast mountain rivers.

Taimen and lenok live on Baikal, but a special place in the ichthyofauna of the lake is occupied by the Baikal sturgeon, which mainly lives in the areas of the main tributaries of Baikal: in the delta zone of the Selenga River, in Provalsky Bay, Chivyrkuisky and Barguzinsky Bay. Sturgeon migrate widely throughout the lake, especially along coastline where they swim in bays and bays. At one time, sturgeon caught weighed about 250 pounds. However, they grow slowly and mature late. Males enter spawning schools at the age of 15–28 years, females at the age of 21–37 years.

On Baikal there are perches, roaches, idae, crucian carp, cockroaches, eels and other types of fish that are widespread throughout Siberia. They inhabit lake tributaries, shallow bays and mudflats.

In the 1940s, Amur carp acclimatized to the lake, now the eastern bream itself lives here, and the Amur whale entered the lake through the Khilok-Selenga river system.

The Baikal seal, or nerpa, as it is more often called, has always aroused great interest. How does this animal live on Lake Baikal, since its closest relatives live in the northern Arctic regions and in the south of the Caspian Sea? According to one theory, the seal came to Baikal from the Arctic Ocean through the Lena River in prehistoric times, when it was part of a single system with Baikal. This theory is supported by the fact that chromosome analysis and other data confirm that the Arctic fur seal is its closest relative. However, there are many differences between seals and their sister seals. Baikal seals are more graceful, especially the females. They are also distinguished from others by their silver-gray skin color and the fact that they have 2 liters more blood.

According to the observations of workers at the Limnological Institute, the seal is capable of diving to a depth of almost 300 meters. During the dive, his metabolic processes stop, and due to myoglobin, he switches to intraviceral breathing, while the walls of the blood veins get rid of cholesterol. Its population, according to information received by researchers E. Petrov and M. Ivanov, is at least 100,000 animals. However, two centuries ago, Peter Simon Pallas sadly wrote that “through spears and swords, irreparable damage was done to Baikal, and seals are no longer visible in Southern Baikal...”

IN winter time When the lake is covered with a thick layer of ice, the seal makes sharp claws through the airways (holes in the ice). Nearby, in a snowy den, a cow gives birth to one or, rarely, two seal cubs. At first they are yellow-green in color. After two weeks they become white, and later acquire a noble silver-gray hue.

The seal feeds on fish, which do not play a significant role in fisheries, but are important to the Baikal ecosystem (gobies make up 20 percent and golomyanka 80 percent of their diet). Every day he consumes at least 3 kilograms of fish (a ton per year!). No words can describe the feeling that remains after meeting a live seal somewhere in a quiet bay or near the Ushkany Islands. The trusting, open look of the seal's large, intelligent eyes will charm everyone. For several hours, the animals can bask in the sun while playing with their relatives.

To some this may 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 known features(stock fresh water, unique seal, etc.), but also thanks to unknown animals and phenomena.

However, you should not get too excited about this if you are too rational person. In fact, there are a number of convincing arguments that everything in the lake is clearly not as simple as it seems.

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

It is curious, but almost all the lakes that are under such suspicion have a number of surprisingly similar descriptions, which cannot be a pure coincidence.

For example, what is similar between Baikal and the most famous anomalous lakes in the world like the Scottish one? Loch Ness and Chinese Kanas? Let's put aside the fact that there is definitely nothing unknown in Loch Ness, except for huge otters and the occasional seals and other mammals swimming through the 10-kilometer channel. The fact that there are similarities is important.

Firstly, all these lakes are deep.

Secondly, they are all located in places of geological faults.

Thirdly, they all have cold water.

Fourthly, tectonic activity is observed underneath them.

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

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

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

Three-quarters of the unknown 20% are probably animals that do not exist anywhere else and, of course, 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 Lake Baikal is the Baikal seal.

In addition, remember the age of the lake, which is at least 20 million years. Actually, just like that record time The life of the lake allowed it to preserve such a unique flora and fauna. Many creatures have existed almost unchanged since then.

Of course, there were no dinosaurs then, since they died out 45 million years before the birth of the lake, but there were other, no less amazing creatures. And they might as well have survived.

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

For example, to this day, 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 to this day, as others have managed to do. Of course, this only applies to the inhabitants of the waters, where climate change was not as critical as on land.

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

There is a lot of evidence of encounters with creatures that are very similar to those seen in other similar anomalous lakes. But all this evidence would not be worth a penny if there were not famous and competent scientists who were also confident that the lake could harbor huge, unprecedented creatures, which local residents and fishermen talk about with such persistence.

As such a competent person, it is first of all worth mentioning the famous Soviet and Russian ecologist Matvey Shargaev.

Matvey Aleksandrovich Shargaev is a famous scientist, honored ecologist of the Russian Federation, 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 a zoology laboratory at one of the scientific research institutes of the Academy of Sciences. Candidate biological sciences, author of many scientific developments, educational programs, books, articles, one of the creators of the Buryat Red Book. Has many government awards. Died on February 22, 2002.

This famous Siberian ecologist, who knows nature well, has enormous 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 the average person can imagine.

His confidence was so strong that, together with his like-minded people and followers, he organized several search expeditions 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 the possibilities of the lake’s biosphere and the information that was well known to him from the indigenous population.

It is clear that the scientist did not intend 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 the unknown animal is especially often observed in the Baikal and Kabansky regions. It is seen less often in some others. Frequent witnesses are fishermen and ordinary vacationers.

However, the “testimony” 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 many times boiled down to the fact that people saw simple seals, and not prehistoric dinosaurs. The only problem is that these animals should not have been there.

However, many lakes have such a feature as a close connection with the seas, where there are many seals. They could easily swim deep into the continent along rivers and thus end up in the most unexpected places. And if a person has not seen a seal alive, then he may mistake it for a monster, even if he sees it in natural environment a habitat. What can we say when you can meet him in the lake?

In the story of the unknown creatures of Lake Baikal, this situation only gets worse. It is officially home to a seal called the Baikal seal. In more than 90% of cases of encounters with an unprecedented monster, ordinary seals are mistaken for it.

Could similar monsters live in Baikal?

Such cases especially often 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 the influence”, then there is no chance at all for a reasonable explanation of what is happening.

Therefore, we should immediately dismiss most 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 eyewitness accounts, this is an incredibly huge creature up to 10 meters long. It has dark color skin. 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 of this is very high. It's hard to say how much mysterious creature may correspond to its external "giant" descriptions, since it may also have a more modest physical body.

But this cannot in any way diminish the very uniqueness of such an unknown creature, which is still so successfully hidden from a competent human gaze.

Mikhail Raduga

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

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 a traditional way of life. Thanks to this, this place attracts ecotourists from all over the planet 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, the seal, a cute animal that has long become a symbol of this lake. Or golomyanka fish - completely transparent! In Lake Baikal, the fauna is represented by a huge number of different fish, seals, etc. On the shore live squirrels, sables, deer, wild boars, foxes, which tourists see very often. Wolves, bears and lynxes stay away from 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 Lake Baikal, we can note 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 along ice-dammed rivers.

The amazing beast spends almost its entire life in water, surfacing every 20 minutes for a portion 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 spends the winter in lairs, making them in hummocky parts of the lake under the snow. There are more than 10 different auxiliary vents around the lair. They can be tens of meters away from the main one. It has been proven that the ability to make breath 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 the female becomes sexually mature. Males also reach sexual maturity 1-2 years later. In seals, 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 snowy lair, on ice, and feed on their mother's milk. Basically, the seal gives birth to one, sometimes two babies, weighing up to 4 kilograms. The cubs have white fur, which allows them to remain almost invisible in the snow.

The average weight of a 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 stay at a depth of up to 500 m during the day, rising to 50 m at night. Since the water of Lake Baikal is very clean, you can see these beautiful fish Pink colour, shimmering with all shades of the rainbow and measuring about 20 centimeters. The golomyanka has a translucent body due to its huge fat content (about 45%).

It is In this case, the birth of larvae in a large individual occurs in the fall, while in a small one it is already in June. The large golomyanka has about 4,000 larvae, and the small golomyanka has 2,500 larvae.

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 Lake Baikal allows four races of omul to live in it: Chivyrkuiskaya, Selenga, North Baikal, Posolskaya.

In autumn, during the spawning period, all races go to their own river. The spawning run into rivers begins when the water temperature equalizes in August-September. In October, spawning occurs 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. Young omul, having reached the estuary areas, lower reaches of rivers, litter, and bays, stay 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 throughout Lake Baikal, the fauna of which is so rich and diverse.

The 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 average weight reaches 255 grams in summer catches.

Weight Limit fish - 5 kilograms.

Baikal sturgeon

The fauna of Lake Baikal is very rich. Briefly speaking about it, we should also talk about the Baikal sturgeon. It constantly lives here and is associated with rivers mainly during breeding, which occurs in V. Angara, Barguzin and Selenge. Although it can live in rivers permanently, especially in the first 3 years. The young subsequently roll into the lake. Within its boundaries, sturgeon is distributed over a vast area of ​​water. It has mastered the shallow water zone up to 200 m. During the spawning period, the fish migrates along rivers almost 100 km from the mouth.

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

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

The composition of fish food is varied, which is determined by the richness of Lake Baikal. The fauna that attracts sturgeons are worms, mollusks, stonefly larvae, chironomids, amphipods, broadheads, and periodically juvenile carp fish and perch.

Black Baikal grayling

The endemic Siberian variety is distributed throughout Lake Baikal (Russia), especially near the mouths of 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 motley, bright outfit. In black it occurs in May. After this, the fish rolls into the lake, and the fry and larvae of grayling linger there for a long time. By autumn, they also roll into Baikal and the beds of large rivers.

Black grayling reaches sexual maturity at four years of age.

Food: chironomids, gammarids, mayflies and insects.

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

White Baikal grayling

The endemic species of Siberian grayling differs from black grayling in lighter colors and some biological features.

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

The white look is more 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 and weighs 500 g.

Fish reach sexual maturity at seven years of age. Moreover, the average fertility of the white species is 5 times higher than that of the black species.

Spawning occurs in May, when the water temperature is 14˚C. At this time, eggs are deposited on sandy coastal shallows at a depth of about 50 cm. The migration of fry and fish occurs in the same way as for black grayling.

The food is the rich fauna of Lake Baikal: larvae of stoneflies, caddisflies, chironomids, mayflies, and dragonflies.

elk

Elk is the largest animal in the Baikal region. Its average weight is 400 kilograms, some males weigh up to 0.5 tons. The body length reaches 3 meters with a height at the withers of about 2.3 m. At the same time, males differ from females large sizes, and also because they have spade-shaped horns that change annually. The most powerful horns appear in males at 15 years of age. The antlers fall off in January, and new growth 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 live in groups of 4-6 individuals or alone.

In winter they feed on bark and shoots of trees, in summer on 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 and weighs about 17 kilograms. The hind legs are much longer than the front ones. There are no horns, although males have curved, long tusks.

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 Lake Baikal, it should also be noted that this species is rapidly disappearing. This is mainly due to the fact that it is actively hunted. This is due to the musk gland located on the stomach of males. Musk is a gelatinous, thick substance with a very strong odor that is used in perfumery and medicine.

Baikal is not only a lake or a nature reserve, it is an amazing, unique world with its own unique characteristics, which every person knows about since school.

Indeed, many plants and animals that can be found on its shores are not just listed on the pages of a book, they live only in one, only place on our planet, on the shores of Lake Baikal.

Baikal seals

All the inhabitants of this amazing natural reserve are calm about the presence of people, to whom they are accustomed thanks to developed ecotourism. But the most popular Baikal animals for photos- and video lenses of tourists, these are, of course, seals.

These unique animals, like seals, are on the verge of extinction. In this case, the reason is poachers. Male musk deer are a source of musk, a unique substance of origin that is the basis for many recipes for both perfumers and doctors.

This is one of the smallest deer on Earth. The maximum weight of a musk deer is 18 kg, and its body length is only a meter. They do not have horns, but the males have charming fangs that can easily be used to pry lichens from trees - a favorite delicacy of musk deer. The rut begins at the end of October, and after 190-200 days small fawns are born.

Wolverine

Clumsy and, at first glance, somewhat defenseless, Baikal wolverines are actually dexterous, fast and ruthless predators from the mustelid family. Very similar to a miniature bear, on average it reaches a meter in length.

This is a hunter and a tireless traveler; in a day he effortlessly walks 40-50 km in search of prey. This cutie feeds on rodents, eggs, if it encounters a nest, does not disdain carrion and is quite capable of attacking a wounded or dying deer. Local indigenous people have many tales about a cunning, treacherous wolverine who easily defeats dull-witted moose.

They do not have a specific time for mating, but females usually give birth in winter, building a den from tunnels in the snow. Moreover, the fathers somehow find out about what is happening and find themselves nearby, taking care of the family and bringing food to the female and the babies.

“Girls” wolverines can give birth twice a year, but according to observations carried out since 1969, this happens very rarely. These shaggy beauties live for 10-15 years, and in the reserve they have only one, but very serious enemy - the wolf.

Red Wolf

Rare today, whose appearance seems to have mixed features, and once lived in our country throughout Altai, Buryatia, and Primorsky Krai. Today, on the territory of lake shores, this species is restored artificially, using Northern China animals.

These fluffy beauties, the size of German shepherds, have taken root well on this moment, there are already several small groups in the reserve that... Over time, they will become serious flocks.

The handsome creatures lead the same lifestyle as ordinary wolves. They hunt together, for ungulates, however, if they see a wolverine wandering along the path, they forget about everything in the world, immediately starting to chase the predator.

They do not have a specific time for mating; a she-wolf's pregnancy lasts 60-65 days, and wolf cubs are born from two to ten. Wolves reach sexual maturity at one and a half years, but begin to mate at two.

Moreover, this species, like other wolves, is characterized by “lifelong love,” fidelity and constancy. Flocks live in caves and grottoes.

These cute predators live from 12 to 15 years, and they once disappeared from the territory of Russia solely because of hunting and poaching. Moreover, red wolves were shot exclusively for their incredible tails, 50 cm long, very similar to foxes.

Bear

Although bears, like moose, live throughout Eurasia, only in the lake reserve they are the real kings of nature. The body length of these beauties, living near the waters of Lake Baikal, is 2.5-3 meters, the height at the withers is from one and a half meters. The beast is important, sedentary, unhurried. However, if necessary, it will easily travel up to 300 km in search of food, and then return back.

Baikal fish are omnivores, like everyone else, but they prefer any other food. Even honey is inferior to fresh fish; bears can stay in the water for half a day for its sake. Hibernation on lake shores lasts for six months; bears build dens here much more thoroughly than their European relatives.

They do not have a dedicated time for mating; from one to four babies are born at a time, who spend their first hibernation together with the female bear. And the bears live in the reserve for 20-25 years.

Lynx

- This business card reserve. A graceful, strong cat that you will have to try very hard to meet. Moreover, the lynxes themselves perceive tourists completely calmly, without thinking about hiding or running away. They simply live in the most inaccessible places of the reserve.

A cat is a cat, even if this one is a Baikal lynx. This animal is a loner. Lynxes do not breed every season, there are usually 3-5 kittens, and the father does not care about the family.

The lynx hunts anything; its diet includes hares, deer, and foxes. Everything she sees and can catch. It will never pass by a nest with eggs, but often does not eat, but simply knocks it over with its paw.

The lynx attacks from an ambush, developing speed instantly and quite high. But the prey has quite a lot of chances to escape, since it runs out of steam already at the 70th meter of pursuit.

However, if the lynx succeeded and immediately jumped on its prey, even the elk has no chance of survival. Lynx has no respect for anything fauna of Lake Baikal, but, oddly enough, remains completely neutral in relation to the Wolverines.

Irbis

A legendary animal, almost fabulous - the snow leopard of Lake Baikal. This beast is not just among animals of the Red Book of Baikal, he has a special status - he is untouchable under any circumstances, including a threat to life.

If a leopard attacks, the tourist can only use darts with sleeping pills, according to customary practice. federal level regulations on the protection of rare species of fauna.

In general, throughout the history of the reserve. Since 1969, no cases of leopard attacks on people have been recorded. These predators live throughout the entire reserve, hunt ungulates and, in general, are very reminiscent big cats. Each animal is microchipped. Today, 49 leopards live on the territory of the reserve.

The weight of these beauties ranges from 55 to 65 kg, length strong body, filled with steel muscles - from 1.05 to 1.1 meters. Leopards like to mate from January to the end of March, and after 100 days, two to four snow-white kittens are born.

When hunting, snow leopards always start with ungulates, however, since the leopard lies for a long time without moving in ambush, it often skips nearby. In this case, the stupid hare is overtaken by a blow from his paw, which is so fast that the person simply does not notice it.

The hunt ends here, the leopard calmly eats the carcass of the hare, and if at that moment a deer or a deer appears, they are in absolutely no danger until the snow leopard gets hungry again. At one time, this big cat requires from 3 to 5 kg of meat.

Hare

When they talk about animals of Baikal, first of all, they remember predators, their rare and endangered species, forgetting about. The hare is an animal, without which many of the “predatory and beautiful” would simply die of hunger. Hares live throughout the reserve and serve as food for almost all predators.

The white hare themselves are large animals. They weigh from 2.5 to 5 kg, and can reach 50 cm in length. It is generally accepted that hares are active in the evening and at night, but on Baikal hares are always active.

They dig deep minks, from 8-9 m, this is due to the fact that hares still prefer not to become prey to the hungry inhabitants of the “book”. White hare eats absolutely all plants, including leaves, fruits and flowers, and roots. In winter they eat bark and branches.

Bunnies love to reproduce; a year a hare brings 3-4 litters of 2-6 hares. Hares live in large “families” on the territory of the reserve, and they are quite social and often “help out” each other.

Fox

Those living all over the globe, on the shores of the lake reserve, are, oddly enough, unique. Only here the red foxes treat people absolutely calmly, and when they see a group of ecotourists, they not only do not leave, but begin to “pose”, smiling with all their charming faces.

It should be noted that this tactic has borne fruit and the popularity of red-haired sly ones among tourists has surpassed the rarest Pallas's cats, lynxes, and even snow leopards.

At the same time, the foxes themselves, of course, do not care about their own demand; tourists simply always leave something tasty, for example, cookies, which the foxes eat with great pleasure. Guides turn a blind eye to such things, because rave reviews from those who “talked” with foxes attract new tourists to the reserve.

- a graceful beast. Individuals living along the shores of the lake are slightly different from those living in European forests. The weight of the local chanterelle ranges around 10-15 kg, and the length reaches 80-90 cm, excluding the tail. The tail is from 60 cm, and foxes grow it not for human fur coats, but as a “stabilizer” while running.

42-toothed red beauties are usually nocturnal, but not on Lake Baikal. Whether this is due to tourists or to the round-the-clock activity of the fox’s main food, hares, is not clear.

Chanterelles all over the world live from 3 to 10 years, but in the reserve their life is longer; according to statistics collected with the help of rangers, local foxes begin to die at 15-17 years.

Foxes use burrows only for shelter from danger or bad weather and for hatching fox cubs. If the weather is good, there are no enemies around and the fox is not going to give birth - she will simply lie down to sleep under a bush, curled up.

Foxes are excellent hunters, but on Lake Baikal they are also excellent fishermen and lovers of eating worms and larvae. This also distinguishes the local “redheads” from everyone else.

A specific time for " marital relations“They don’t, but they prefer to give birth in early spring. Cases have been recorded when a female drove away a male in a cruel manner, and if the fox had succeeded, the cubs would have appeared in the “winter”.

Both parents participate in raising children. What does the family of foxes have to do with it - for life, just like with wolves. Each family has its own territory. However, if there is enough food, foxes calmly treat “guests”.

Generally, animals of Lake Baikal, just like birds and fish - they all created their own unique, special world. All of them are closely interconnected, both with each other and with the lake itself.

This is evident at first glance; it is not without reason that, despite the high price of the tour, the number of ecotourists is constantly increasing, and those who have already been will definitely come to the reserve again.