What animals live in the taiga. Taiga fauna - mammals, birds, insects, rodents, predators and herbivores living in the taiga

Today we will talk about one of the most beautiful, priceless natural attractions of Russia - the taiga.

Can you imagine, there are still people among us who, when asked “what is the taiga and where is it located?” — they can, thoughtfully scratching the back of their heads, assume that this is either a city in Siberia, or a region in Kamchatka, or even Alaska. Also, some are confident that Russia is the only owner of the taiga on Earth; in addition, people do not know what part of Russia belongs to coniferous forests, or how long the bear’s hibernation lasts.

What is taiga for you? A dense forest, once famous in fairy tales about Baba Yaga? An unknown coniferous windfall with swamps and endless secrets? In fact, we know almost nothing about the taiga, which occupies more than half of our largest country in the world. In the wilderness of the taiga there are enough areas where man has never been, and there nature lives according to its own laws...

“Taiga is a biome characterized by the predominance coniferous forests, formed mainly by boreal species of spruce, fir, larch and pine. The word “taiga” also denotes one of the geographical subzones of the northern temperate zone.”

More than half, namely 60%, of the territory of our country is taiga, or, as it is also called, the forest zone. Russia is the most big country in the world, accordingly, no country in the world has as many coniferous forests as we have. In addition to Russia, there is taiga in countries such as Finland, Canada, and Norway.

Taiga of Russia - unique natural phenomenon, animals listed in the Red Book live in coniferous forests and rare species animals, birds. Grow rare plants. They have become rare due to destruction by humans and fires, even flowers such as frying flowers, lady's slippers (similar to orchids), and several types of lilies.

In the deep taiga wilderness, where no human has ever set foot - most of the forests of our great vast homeland are virgin, despite the growth of cities, new buildings, hazardous industries - we are still saved by the abundance of green flora.

But you shouldn’t get your hopes up: firstly, the taiga is unsuitable for life in its current state, in addition, it is dangerous due to the abundance of predatory animals, ticks and other evil spirits, for humans it has only aesthetic, environmental value, and secondly, humans are reckless attitude and behavior towards the gifts of nature kills the existing flora and fauna, so that the taiga may come to an end with such progress.

Annual fires due to human fault (due to an unextinguished cigarette or a fire in the wrong area) are just worth it, one such fire can destroy several hectares of forests, people die in the fire unique plants and animals. The cutting down of green thickets adjacent to cities upsets the balance that has existed for centuries, as a result of which, for example, bears come out to people (they lose orientation and look for food), and roe deer die on busy roads.

Almost all of Siberia and Far East literally covered with taiga. Yakutia (most large region Russia), Krasnoyarsk region(the second largest region in Russia), regions of Siberia - at least half of their territory has coniferous forests.

For example, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory the most popular nature reserves where you can see the taiga with your own eyes are Ergaki Park, Stolby, Sayano-Shushensky, Tungussky Nature Reserves. But there it is not virgin, although in Ergaki Park there are places as if there had never been a person there, wild nature can be found beasts of prey. Foxes and bears constantly come out to people on poles, and this is near the city. But in the city limits, as they say, there is no smell of taiga... There is a lot of construction, dirt, smoke and noise, clean forests are far from people.

Animals of the Russian taiga

Of course, some of the most popular animals in the taiga are brown bears, foxes, wild boars, hares, moose, and wolves. We have all heard many stories about brown bears walking along the dacha streets of villages near taiga forests, rushing at people.

Bears in the taiga

Bears do often come out to people, especially if they were “awakened” ahead of time from hibernation, if there was little food or there was not enough of it to form fat reserves for hibernation, and the bear was unable to fully complete its sleepy seasonal ritual. Especially in the spring, bears go out in search of food anywhere, including residential buildings and people, and are especially aggressive during these periods; those who wake up ahead of time are also called “rods.”

A bear's hibernation is an average between anabiosis and sleep: the number of heart beats decreases to a minimum, body temperature decreases slightly, the bear does not absorb food, does not produce waste products, metabolism drops to 50%, and this state can last from several months, more often from six months to eight months. In case of danger - for example, a person decided to stir up a bear’s den in order to kill the animal, or decided to kill one while another was sleeping nearby - the animal can suddenly wake up and show aggression.

In spring, summer and part of autumn, bears actively search for food, stocking up on fat in order to sleep peacefully for six months.

The bear's weight is 300-600 kg, length is 1.2 meters, height at the withers is about 1 meter.

“The total population of brown bears on the planet is about 200,000 individuals, while Russia is home to greatest number– close to 100,000 individuals.”

Bears also come out to people because the population is oversupplied, and despite the fact that the ecology has become worse and in the wild bears live much shorter lives than in captivity, all this does not prevent them from reproducing.

Wolves in the taiga

In addition to bears, predators in the taiga are wolves, which keep in packs of 3-4 to 8-9 animals, hunt mainly ungulates, and the packs are united and friendly.

The wolf is called one of the most noble animals, and this is a little strange for those who are little familiar with the character of these animals, because they can harm people, steal, kill domestic animals, for example, cows, while the wolf is a cunning, shrewd, insightful creature, and can predict a person's moves in advance. Why is he noble? And why aren’t, say, a bear or a fox noble?

According to many versions, the wolf is careful and tries to avoid communication with people as much as possible, intuitive, senses danger and avoids it, cannot be trained (it is not for nothing that it is not used in circuses), proud, independent, smart, does not attack small game like a jackal, does not eat carrion.

But these are all myths: in fact, the wolf eats everything that moves, including weak and wounded animals, and in the absence of food it can eat carrion; if, against the background of a long hunger, it comes across a person, then the latter will become the victim of the former. This is also a cowardly animal, and they call him a forest orderly for a reason: a pack surrounds a sick or wounded animal, one that strays from the pack gnaws it to death, thereby ridding the world of a weak gene pool... And when meeting a stronger enemy, the wolf simply runs away... Nothing noble in general.

The wolf's body length is on average 160 cm, height at the withers is up to 90 cm, body weight is 40-80 kg. The wolf population, according to official data, is twice the norm, and therefore (frequent attacks on livestock) predators are shot in some Russian regions.

Foxes in the taiga

Well, with the fox everything is clearer: a cunning trickster, she, without double natures, is always clearly cunning and predatory. It feeds on rodents, hares, birds, and fish. Foxes live and hunt alone. In the absence of food, they can visit villages and steal poultry and small animals.

Body length is 60-90 cm, tail length is almost the length of the body, weight is only 6-10 kg.

The population of foxes in some regions is exceeded, and therefore their shooting is permitted.

Lynx in the taiga

One of the most beautiful predators of the taiga. It is not too afraid of people, however, according to official statistics, not a single reliable case of a lynx attacking a person is known. And despite the fact that she is little afraid of people, you rarely see her like a bear near villages.

90% of lynx live in Siberia, according to official data, but you won’t see them on the streets. The European lynx population numbers about 10 thousand individuals. The lynx is a relatively miniature animal: body length up to a meter, weight 8-30 kg. The lynx lives 12-30 years.

Also found in the taiga are wolverine, sable, beavers, squirrels, and deer:

“The fauna of the taiga is richer and more diverse than the tundra, but poorer than the fauna of broad-leaved and mixed forests. Lynx, wolverine, wolf, fox, brown bear, otter, sable, weasel, ermine, etc.; there are numerous hares, shrews, rodents: beavers, chipmunks, mice, voles, squirrels and flying squirrels.”

In conifers Russian forests More than 300 species of birds live here.

Plants of the Russian taiga

Of course, the main vegetation of the taiga is coniferous trees: larch, spruce, pine, cedar, spruce, fir, etc.

IN Russian taiga The most common coniferous representatives are spruces. Other trees in the taiga are aspen, birch, alder, linden, and rowan.

There is little light in the taiga, as we understand it, which is why there is weak undergrowth and an abundance of mosses. There are a lot of berry bushes: raspberries of different varieties, honeysuckle, currants, juniper, cherries, and also a lot of berries growing on the ground: cranberries, lingonberries (especially near the swamps), blueberries, stoneberries, sorrel.

Going to the taiga to pick berries is a useful activity, because there are a lot of berries there, they are often large and tasty, but at the same time it is dangerous. After all, bears are also no strangers to eating berries; we have all heard about cases where bears killed seekers of berries and mushrooms.

Mushrooms are another wealth of the taiga.

A lot of rose hips, from flowers and flowering shrubs: wild rosemary, wild rosemary, snowdrops, dream grass (yellow and purple), Daurian rhododendron, columbine, anemone, rosemary (yellow lily), wildflower, aconites (poisonous and beautiful flowers), fireweed .

People living in the taiga

Life in the taiga for us, completely saturated with the benefits of civilization, ordinary sinful people, is inconceivable in any form... Even in tents, spending a couple of nights in the remote taiga is like a horror film for many. Firstly, it’s cold there at night even in the heat, secondly, mosquitoes and insects of unreal sizes bite to blisters, thirdly, it’s dangerous: bears and other predators literally roam nearby. Yes, besides predatory animals there are also dangerous snakes, if the venom of a viper may not be so terrible, then the venom of a copperhead is more dangerous.

And also: ticks are carriers of various viruses and infections...

People who decided to live in unity with nature, refusing worldly life, as a rule, believers, Orthodox, Old Believers. There are a lot of them in Siberia.

The most popular hermit in the Russian taiga is considered to be Agafya Lykova, the only surviving woman from the Lykov family of Old Believers... This family was found by geologists while exploring the area (the Sayan Range) back in 1978. In 1981, 3 members of the Lykov family died, and in 1988, Agafya’s father died, and she was left to live completely alone.

Volunteers help her from time to time, but most of the time the elderly woman who at the moment 74 years old, lives alone, face to face with taiga nature. For her, television is a demonic icon, songs are idolatry, products with barcodes are evil, and in general, she does not regret her choice... She makes fire without matches, lights the house in the evenings with a candle.

For such a life no one modern people will not dare, because we will not be able to find out what the taiga is in its entirety, but only timidly, being careful of mosquitoes and vipers, we can spend one night in the forest, clogging the car windows, and then be proud of conquering the previously unknown. And people like Agafya Lykova - they actually know the taiga from all sides, and maybe that’s why they stayed in it.

The taiga zone in Russia occupies a very significant part of its territory. Ninety percent of all forests belong to the Taiga.

Coniferous tree species predominate - tall spruce, larch, pine, cedar and fir.

The climate typical of Taiga is characterized by strong temperature changes. In summer the temperature exceeds thirty degrees, and in winter it sometimes drops to fifty degrees below zero. All year round taiga forest provides fauna different feeds. The taiga fauna is represented by about forty species of mammals and more than two hundred and fifty species of birds.

Characteristic animals and birds of the Taiga

The climate of the taiga zone has become acceptable for lynx, wolverine, squirrel and marten. It is not terrible for weasels, chipmunks, weasels and hares.

The brown bear is the master of the Russian taiga.

Elk. At the beginning of summer, the grown male is kicked out of the group. The head of males is decorated with spade-shaped horns, which fall off in winter and new ones grow in spring. Depending on the season, they eat different foods. In summer they like marsh plants, foliage and young tree branches, and in winter they do not disdain bark and tree lichen. They often run out onto roadways, and sometimes even enter cities.

Brown bear. An omnivore with a body weight of up to seven hundred kilograms and average duration life forty years. By autumn they accumulate the required amount nutrients, sufficient for hibernation. In February, tiny bear cubs are born. The father does not take part in raising the offspring.

The sable is an agile taiga animal.

Sable. An agile and graceful predator with fluffy, valuable fur. It feeds on small rodents, birds and their eggs, as well as various berries and plants. Has excellent hearing and sense of smell. Leads a lonely lifestyle. He changes his “living space” every two to three years.

Birds have also adapted to the difficult conditions: chukar, hazel grouse, Asian grouse, nightingales and bluetails, owls, bullfinches and woodpeckers. Some people like it climatic conditions Taigas and other birds are forced to fly to other regions for the winter.

Capercaillie is another taiga attraction.

A fairly large bird that feeds on buds, flowers, plants, berries and insects. Feature- a short current song, during which the bird loses its hearing. In winter, during severe frosts, wood grouse, like the white hare, spend the night in the snow.
Spruce crossbill. A songbird that has a crossed beak that helps it climb. It feeds mainly on coniferous seeds, so it migrates to places rich in harvests.

Rare animals and birds of the taiga

Deforestation, poaching and fires have a negative impact on the life of wildlife. These factors negatively affect the numbers of various species of animals and birds.

Musk deer is a deer with fangs.

A deer-like animal with fangs that feeds on plant matter. Thanks to the musk gland, the male emits a smell that attracts females and poachers.

Giant shrew. It feeds mainly on earthworms. It burrows very deftly and quickly even into dense soil.

Golden eagle - vigilant and strong predator with wings.

Golden eagle. Large bird of prey with a keen eye and strong claws. In food he prefers hares, gophers, marmots and more. The nest is placed in inaccessible places. In spring you can see little eaglets in it.

The wide Russian taiga captivates tourists and travelers with its unbridled beauty, natural luxury, mystery and mystical appeal. Its dark coniferous forests seem to be planted under a ruler, and the spruce trees growing in them are distinguished by straight and high, up to 60 meters, trunks. Animals and plants of the taiga cannot boast of a large variety of species, such as in deciduous forests.

Animals and plants of the taiga

Animals and plants of the taiga - sable and cedar

Among the mammals found here are: white hare, squirrel, flying squirrel, weasel, sable, chipmunk, weasel, ermine, musk deer, deer and elk.

Among the birds: capercaillie, hazel grouse, black grouse, great owl, tawny owl, hawk owl, nutcracker, bullfinch, spruce crossbill, white-winged crossbill, three-toed woodpecker, as well as many waterfowl.

Among the amphibians: grass frog, sharp-faced frog and four-toed newt.

Also, in the taiga there are also some species of reptiles: viviparous lizard and viper, and in the southern regions the copperhead is found.

The taiga is home to large numbers of blood-sucking gnats. dipterous insects and a variety of ticks, many of which are carriers of dangerous diseases.

The reservoirs contain burbot, pike, perch, vendace, muksun and other types of fish.

The harsh climatic conditions of the taiga make life difficult for its inhabitants, but the animals have learned to adapt to them. For example, by winter some animals are covered with long, thick fur, which reliably protects them from the cold. And the lynx, hare and wolverine grow coarse hair on their wide paws, allowing them to move through the snow without falling through.

The taiga is rich in food reserves for all its inhabitants. Moose feed on young pine needles, shoots, and bark of trees and shrubs.

Rodents and birds feed on the seeds of coniferous trees, especially pine nuts. Pine nuts are sometimes consumed by predators - foxes, bears, sables and wolverines. In summer, the main part of the diet of animals and birds consists of mushrooms and berries.

Due to the abundance of fur-bearing and valuable game animals and birds, hunting is very developed in the taiga.
Flora taiga is represented by such coniferous tree species as spruce, Sayan spruce, fir, pine, Siberian cedar. All these trees are extremely shade-tolerant; photosynthesis in their needles can occur even in low light, which allows young shoots to develop under the canopy of other trees.

In addition to coniferous trees, the taiga also contains birch, oak, linden, Norway maple, larch, and alder. In the southern part there is Mongolian oak, Manchurian walnut, Amur velvet. Shrubs include currants, juniper, rowan, and willow. Herbs include strawberries, blueberries, lingonberries, ferns, sedge and some types of cereals.

Animals and plants of the taiga play an important role both in the life of the peoples living on its territory, and in the development of industry in our country as a whole. Wood mined in the taiga is used to produce paper, artificial silk, valuable technical and medical products, and is used in construction, furniture production and many other industries.

Fishing and extraction of valuable furs are also carried out here, and medicinal plants, herbs and berries, which grow in abundance in the taiga, are collected. Located on the territory of the taiga large number protected and park areas.

Let's watch the video - animals and plants of the taiga - in all their splendor!

taiga forest all year round provides animals with a variety of food: grasses, shrubs, leaves and branches of trees, buds and seeds of tree species, pine needles, berries, mushrooms. In the forest, which has its own special microclimate, animals suffer less from sudden changes in weather, in particular from strong winds. Forest crown, tree hollows, and dead ground cover provide good protection from predators and are convenient for making nests.

Typical mammals of the taiga are elk, brown bear, lynx (Fells lynx), flying squirrel (Pteromys volans), sable (Martes zibelina), chipmunk (Eutamias sibiricus), weasel (Kolonocus sibiricus), mountain hare; Of the mouse-like rodents, red and red-gray voles (Clethrionomys rutilys, Cl. rufocanus) are very common. Found in swamps and lichen forests, although not often, reindeer, in the past a fairly ordinary inhabitant of the taiga. In the south of the zone, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and brown hare (Lepus europaeus) are known.

The bird population of the zone is quite diverse. The most typical are the capercaillie, hazel grouse, yellow woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus), great spotted woodpecker (Dryobates major), lesser spotted woodpecker (Dryobates minor), jad (Perisoreus infaustus), nutcracker or nutcracker ( Nacifraga caryocatactes), spruce crossbill (Loxia curvirostra), brown-headed tit(Parus cinctus), great owl (Aegolius funereus), hawk owl (Surnia ulula). The increase in the number of taiga birds as they move from west to east is indicative. There are 23-26 species of typical taiga birds in the European taiga, 30-33 in the Western Siberian taiga, 57-7 east of the Yenisei 9. Reptiles appear - common viper(Vipera berus), viviparous lizard (Lacerta vivipara), common grass snake ( Natrix natrix); Several species of amphibians are found. The world of insects is exceptionally diverse and rich. Suffice it to say that only the Diptera fauna in the forest landscapes of the USSR (including coniferous-deciduous and broadleaf forests) has at least 7000-8000 species. The total reserves of zoomass in the taiga are noticeably increasing, amounting to 100-150 kg/ha in the north of the zone, in the south ( Yaroslavl region) – from 160 to 300 kg/ha. The main part of it comes from earthworms; the share of vertebrate animals in the total reserves of zoomass is insignificant - on average 2.24 kg/ha.

The coniferous forest of the taiga and the animals inhabiting it are in a complex relationship. The dependence of the animal world on the forest is quite obvious. At the same time, the forest itself is under a very powerful, diverse influence from animals. In order to feed itself, a squirrel chews about 30 spruce cones, or up to 130 larch cones, or up to 200-300 pine cones in one day, using all the seeds they contain. It is estimated, for example, that in the spruce stands of the Arkhangelsk region, only 38% of the seeds are used to seed the soil; the rest of the seeds are destroyed by squirrels, woodpeckers and crossbills. Enormous damage to pine nut stocks is caused by nutcrackers, squirrels, chipmunks, and voles. The nutcracker, which creates numerous storehouses of pine nuts - from several hundred to several thousand on each hectare, actively contributes to the spread of cedar. Up to 5 kg of selected pine nuts were found in chipmunk burrows.

In winter, the capercaillie eats about 6 kg of dry pine or cedar needles every month, thereby severely oppressing many trees; The hazel grouse plucks leaves of deciduous trees in large quantities. Woodpeckers not only prepare hollows, but also “ring” trees to drink sap, as a result of which the bark of some trees, especially birch, resembles a sieve. Pine undergrowth, aspen, mountain ash, and willows suffer greatly from moose. By spring, the bark and shoots of aspen, willow and many other tree species are eaten by the hare. Voles, which lead an active snow-covered lifestyle in winter, completely eat up blueberries, lingonberries, mosses and lichens in the places where they move. Such places in summer resemble miniature fires. “Obviously, it is the winter activity of voles and lemmings that is the main reason for the extreme uneven distribution of ground shrub cover, which is so characteristic of the northern taiga (in particular, in Kola Peninsula). In the summer, many animals willingly eat a lot of mushrooms... In the taiga, reindeer specifically look for mushrooms and eat them greedily, and according to some data, they even undertake special migrations after them” (Animal World of the USSR, vol. IV, 1953, p. 617, 619).

Dangerous pests of coniferous forests include many insects. The Siberian cedar silkworm (Dendrolimus sibiricus) causes drying out of cedar trees on hundreds of thousands of hectares. The larch leaf roller (Steganopticha diniana) causes no less damage to larch in Siberia. Coniferous forests On the Russian Plain, the pine silkworm (Dendrolimys pini) and the nun butterfly (Ocneria monacha) are particularly affected. In forestry practice, chemical and biological control with forest pests.

Animals influence more than just vegetation. In some cases, under their influence, special landscape complexes are formed. An excellent example of zoogenic forest tracts are animal solonetzes. According to the observations of E.N. Matyushkin, in the Sikhote-Alin mountains, each such salt lick is visited daily by up to 30-50 moose and wapiti. The grass cover on the salt licks is completely destroyed, there are no trees or there are very few of them. In the center of the tract there are pits and cave-like depressions where animals live in salt licks. Along the outskirts - from animal paths - there is eroded soil, erosion furrows, fallen trees. Thus, an open clearing appears in the middle of the forest, where there is a concentration of blood-sucking dipterans, predators (brown bear, wolf, sometimes tiger), scavengers (ravens), edge and even meadow birds are found (gray-headed bunting, spotted pipit, stonechat, white-rumped swift) - that is, a complete landscape complex brought to life by the activity of animals.

Another example is beaver logging, development in areas where beavers live. These are areas of heavily cluttered floodplain forest with tree trunks (preferably aspen, poplar and birch) randomly scattered and piled on top of each other, with a mass of branches and shavings. In the north of the taiga, where forest regeneration, in particular birch, occurs with difficulty and slowly, such fellings, even abandoned ones, preserve characteristic features for more than a decade.

Literature.

1. Milkov F.N. Natural areas USSR / F.N. Milkov. - M.: Mysl, 1977. - 296 p.

Forest zone It borders on the tundra zone in the north, and on the steppe zone in the south. It occupies more than half of the territory of our country. In this vast space, the climatic conditions are not the same, and therefore the types of flora and fauna are different. The forest zone consists of taiga, mixed and deciduous forests. Most of it is occupied by taiga, dominated by coniferous trees.

TAIGA

The fauna of the taiga is not as rich and diverse as the fauna of deciduous forests and especially tropical forest. The most common mammals here are: elk, musk deer, squirrel, flying squirrel, chipmunk, mountain hare, brown bear, lynx, weasel, ermine, weasel. Typical taiga birds are wood grouse, Ural owl, hawk owl, great owl, three-toed woodpecker, cuckoo, nutcracker, bullfinch, white-winged crossbill and spruce crossbill. There are also reptiles in the taiga - the common viper and viviparous lizard, and among amphibians only one four-toed newt is widespread.

The climate of the taiga and the living conditions in it are harsh. But taiga animals are well adapted to these conditions. Many animals grow thicker fur in winter and develop protective coloring. Some animals make temporary homes in the snow. For example, the white hare and black grouse spend the night under the snow, and in severe frosts they remain there for the day.

The snow cover in the taiga is deep and loose, making it very difficult to move around. Different animals have adapted to this in different ways. The mountain hare, lynx and wolverine have wide paws. In winter, long, coarse hair grows on their paws, and this allows the animals to walk in the snow without falling through. Many birds have also adapted to life in the taiga. For example, the capercaillie and hazel grouse have their toes trimmed with a horn-like fringe. In winter, this fringe grows and helps birds stay on icy tree branches.

There is enough food for animals in the taiga even in winter. Reindeer dig up the snow and take out moss lichen from under it. Snowshoe hares feed on tree bark. But the main food for most taiga animals is the seeds of coniferous trees, especially pine nuts. They are eaten not only by birds, squirrels, chipmunks and other rodents, but also by some predators: bear, sable, and sometimes even fox and wolverine. Some animals, such as squirrels, collect food reserves for the winter, others, such as bears and badgers, hibernate. The chipmunk stores food in the fall, but sleeps in the winter, and eats the reserves in the spring, after waking up. In summer, mushrooms and berries play an important role in the diet of taiga animals. Most taiga predators hunt small rodents.

One of the most characteristic representatives of the taiga fauna is the elk. It prefers low-lying places with young growth of deciduous trees: old burnt areas, cutting areas, the coast forest rivers and lakes, swampy swamps. Moose feed on young needles, tree foliage, shoots, bark and near-water plants. Attempts are now being made to tame moose. They can make useful pets.

Animals of the taiga: in the foreground on the left: - sable, on the right - a lynx that caught a white hare; in the center - a brown bear with cubs; in the distance - elk; on the right on the tree is a squirrel; A capercaillie flies over the taiga.

Reindeer live in the northern part of the taiga. They spend the winter in the forest, but in the summer they migrate to open places, to moss swamps, to the banks of rivers and lakes, and in mountainous areas they climb to alpine meadows. There they find abundant food and escape from midges.

The smallest of our forest ungulates is the musk deer. She belongs to the group of deer. The musk deer does not have horns, but the upper fangs are very developed; in males they protrude far outward. Musk deer feed mainly on lichens. The male has a pouch in the middle of his abdomen containing musk, a substance with a strong odor that is used in medicine and perfumery. It is for this musk that taiga hunters hunt musk deer.

The sable lives in the taiga wilderness, most often in areas overgrown with tall trees, littered with windbreaks and dead wood, crossed by streams and rivers. The sable also loves thickets of dwarf cedar on the rocky screes of mountain spurs. It reluctantly climbs trees and makes its nests under tree roots, in low-lying hollows, or in rock crevices.

Another small predator- Siberian weasel is distributed throughout almost the entire taiga. There are especially many speakers in South-Eastern Siberia and Altai. The Siberian weasel makes burrows under stumps, dead wood and stones. It feeds on small rodents, fish, frogs, birds and bird eggs.

Lynx is widespread in the taiga. In Siberia this is the only species wild cat. Like most cats, it leads a terrestrial lifestyle, but is an excellent tree climber. A unique taiga predator is the wolverine. It mainly feeds on carrion, but also hunts animals, sometimes even such large ones as roe deer, reindeer and mountain goats.

The flying squirrel's lifestyle is interesting. Outwardly she resembles common squirrel, but a little less than it. On the sides between the legs, the skin of the flying squirrel forms a fur-covered fold.

During a jump, this fold stretches and allows the animal to make large gliding jumps. Flying squirrels live in the most remote areas of the taiga, where tall trees. They make their nests in hollows.

They were brought to the swampy areas of the Siberian taiga from North America a large rodent - a muskrat. This valuable fur-bearing animal has acclimatized well here. The muskrat does not get out of the water for a long time and feeds on aquatic plants, and digs minks on the shore of a reservoir or builds so-called “huts” above the water surface from stems.

Each species of bird living in the taiga has adapted to taiga conditions in its own way. This adaptation is especially interesting in crossbills. They feed almost exclusively on the seeds of coniferous trees, and this is reflected in the structure of their beak. The ends in the upper and lower parts of the crossbill's beak intersect and form a kind of tool that allows the bird to easily extract seeds from the cones of spruce, larch and even pine. Crossbills feed their chicks not with insects, like most granivorous birds, but with crushed seeds. Unlike all other northern birds, they hatch their chicks in winter, when coniferous trees many cones with ripe seeds.

Woodpeckers play an important role in the lives of many taiga birds. The taiga is poor in natural hollows, and many birds make nests in hollows hollowed out by woodpeckers.

They live in the taiga various types owls Among them, the hawk owl is interesting. All other owls are typical nocturnal birds, but this one is diurnal.

There are many waterfowl in the taiga. Of these, the Gogol duck is most associated with taiga reservoirs. Almost all waterfowl make nests near bodies of water. But the flood is on northern rivers As a rule, later, water fills ordinary nests. And so the goldeneye makes nests in tree hollows, up to which spring water not enough.

Both species of reptiles common in the taiga - the viper and the lizard - are viviparous. Apparently, this feature is an adaptation to a cold climate. The vast majority of all other lizards and snakes found further south lay eggs.

In the taiga there are a lot of different mosquitoes and other blood-sucking dipterous insects - the so-called “midges”. The conditions there are favorable for their development: the larvae hatch in numerous swamps and reservoirs; The usual calmness in the taiga promotes the development of insects. There are a lot of ticks in the taiga. Some types of them are very harmful, since they are carriers of infectious diseases (see article "").

The taiga abounds in valuable game animals and birds. Therefore, hunting is highly developed there. Of the furs mined all over the world, the taiga zone supplies the largest amount.

In the first place in the fur trade is the squirrel. Her fur is warm, durable, light and beautiful. Second place belongs to the white hare. Fur of a taiga fox high quality, but in the taiga it is rare beast. Great place Siberian weasel and ermine occupy in the taiga fishery. Sable fur is one of the best views furs. Previously, it was hunted a lot in the taiga, but sable was almost exterminated by predatory hunting. It is now protected by law and is mined in very small quantities.

Birds are of considerable importance for fishing in the taiga: hazel grouse, wood grouse, ptarmigan, ducks, geese.

Fishing is also widely developed within the taiga zone. The greatest commercial importance here are whitefish (muksun, vendace, nelma), burbot and pike.

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