The history of our state is inextricably linked with fur animals. An ideal example is the Monomakh Hat trimmed with the fur of the Barguzin sable. His story is very sad. She shows how the whole species can be brought to the brink of complete extinction due to immoderate and predatory fishing.
This is an extremely dexterous and very strong animal. He prefers cedar and fir forests, loves the proximity of rivers and lakes, and often sets up ambushes for squirrels in the thickest crowns of trees.
Even if there are many individuals of the Barguzin sable in the forest, the uninitiated will not even see their tracks, not to mention the animals themselves.
Thanks to the wide paws, abundantly trimmed with dense fur, even deep and loose snow does not stop him. The animal arranges a den in the hollows, often requisitioning a squirrel farm for this, after having bitten by the owner himself.
Despite the lack of pronounced daily activity, he prefers to hunt at dusk and in the morning. A characteristic way of moving the Barguzin sable is by jumping. That is why his tracks are somewhat similar to hare.
The sable practically does not make any loud sounds, but it can rumble, strongly reminding at the same time an ordinary domestic cat. The animal is omnivorous, but prefers mouse-like rodents, of which its diet in some years consists of 70-80%. He is a real thunderstorm of voles and gray mice.
He does not disdain squirrels, climbing after them to
the highest trees. In one year, the
population of these predators can eat more than one million squirrels, reliably preventing their unlimited distribution. If the snow is deep and friable, hares often become the prey of the Barguzin sable, which in such conditions cannot escape.
It is known that he also attacks grouse and capercaillie, but does it periodically, since birds are not the basis of his diet.
Oddly enough, but the Barguzin sable loves forest berries, eating kilograms of blueberries, lingonberries and cloudberries. So he makes up for the lack of vitamins and provides his digestive tract with fiber. In addition, sables love sweets, which has been repeatedly proved when observing domesticated individuals.
You should know that the hunting territory of the animal alone is about 200 hectares (!) Of forest. In mountainous areas, the animal makes huge vertical migrations annually. Every five to seven years, sables en masse begin to be removed from their places and relocated 150-200 km from their former possessions. This is due to the periodic depletion of the feed base.
Mating takes place in June or July, and pregnancy is characterized by the presence of a frozen phase. They puppy in May, and in the southern regions in April.
Cubs are born tiny: their weight does not exceed 40 gr. After four months, the babies reach the size of an adult. They begin to breed only from two years, and the active reproductive stage lasts up to 13-15 years.
In the territory of the young USSR, by the 30s of the last century, almost their entire population was exterminated. Tough laws were established, as a result of which in our time the Barguzin sable (the photo of which is in the article) almost completely restored its number.