YAKUTSK, August 13. /TASS/. Taking musk oxen off Yakutia's Red Data Book list is premature taking into account their current numbers, chief specialist at Yakutia's Ministry of Ecology, Nature Management and Forestry, Andrey Popov, said.

Musk oxen are listed in Yakutia's Red Data Book. In 1996-2017, about 190 animals were released in the Allaikhovsky, Anabar, Bulunsky and Nizhnekolymsky districts. Presently, the population is close to 7,000.

"We can hear voices that musk oxen should be taken off Yakutia's Red Data Book, and that hunting must be legal. As soon as we do so, the population will immediately begin to decline. Even now, apparently, there is hidden poaching, though these facts are just being hidden," the expert said.

He spoke about the experience of the Taymyr Peninsula in the Krasnoyarsk Region, where licensed musk oxen hunting is allowed. "First musk oxen were brought to the Taymyr in 1974, and to Yakutia - in 1996. Our population now is bigger than that on the Taymyr. Poaching is well developed there, although only about 50 licenses are issued annually," he added.

Earlier, an expert of the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (the Russian Academy of Sciences) Taras Sipko, in a comment to TASS admitted at least 100 animals may be hunted illegally in the Krasnoyarsk Region every year.

A vulnerable species

According to Popov, musk oxen are easier to hunt due to their specific defensive tactics. "If, say, other ungulates, such as moose or deer, would run away from danger, musk oxen form a circle. The young are hiding inside, and the males, the females, who also have horns, create a circular protection," he explained.

The main threat to the animals comes from bears and wolves. "If they don't run, if they stand still in one place, using circular defense, it will be difficult for the wolf to get to them," he said.

Climate change shifts habitats of brown and polar bears. "The brown bear is moving into the tundra, shifting towards the coast. And the polar bear, a resident of the Arctic perennial ice, on the contrary, goes out into the tundra in the summer," the expert told TASS.

Due to hunting licenses, the Yana-Indigirka wild reindeer population has dropped since 1987 from 130,000 to 1-1.5 thousand. Experts say the Lena-Olenek wild reindeer population has decreased as well.

According to the scientist, due to hunting the number of moose has decreased. "In Soviet times, the species population reached 80,000. Accounting data of the 2000s showed the number of moose has decreased to 30-40 thousand. The species is preserved in areas far from settlements and in nature reserves," he noted.

Tourism development outlook

According to the expert, it would be much more reasonable to use musk oxen for development of tourism. "Large and well-visible herd animals significantly increase the landscape's recreational features. Animals may be photographed at close range against the blooming tundra in the background. This will stimulate tourists to visit musk ox habitats," he said.

It is possible to take pictures of the animals almost year round - with the exception for December and January, during the polar night and severe cold. "The greatest interest would be to observe the animals during the rutting season in August - September, when bulls behave very actively, their skirmishes are quite regular. Battles between bulls during the rut are an exciting and intense competition for the possession of females," the expert added.

Bulls develop great speed when approaching each other and collide with the horny bases on the forehead. "The sound of this collision may be heard in calm weather several kilometers away," he said in conclusion.