MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. The Medvezhyi Islands, or the Bear Islands, are six wisps of surface in the East Siberian Sea, at the western end of the Kolyma Gulf. The rocky islands, covered with moss and deer moss, attract polar bears, which come there in search for food and to bring their little ones to remain there over winter - their maternity dams are located on those islands. For more than 20 years, Ruslan Sleptsov has been watching and studying polar bears on the islands, named after them.
Taking skills over from dad
Ruslan Sleptsov was born and grew up in Yakutia’s Pokhodsk village, which the Russian Cossacks founded back in the 17th century as a base on the Kolyma River for further development of the Arctic - primarily of Chukotka. Later on, the Sleptsovs moved to a bigger settlement, Chersky, where they have been living to now.
In 1991, having returned from the Army, Ruslan began working as a fisher and hunter in the East Siberian Sea. He joined the father’s team.
Vyacheslav Sleptsov, his father, is well-known in the Yakut Arctic: a great hunter and fisher. He taught the son to respect and understand the nature - to distinguish between animals and birds, to understand their characters and behavior.
"My family has always dealt with fish and meet - a dynasty of hunters and fishers. We continue the occupations and teach our children," the inspector said. "We fish broad whitefish, muksun, European cisco, Arctic cisco. The favorite dish is stroganina (long-sliced frozen fish)."
In 2001, when the local soviet-style company was closed, the Sleptsovs were invited to work at a local resource reservation - Kurdigino-Krestovoye. The territory, four times the area of Moscow, was organized to preserve the Laptev population of polar bears (out of 19 world populations, three live in Russia. The Laptev population is estimated at 800-1,200 animals).
"The places, where we used to fish and hunt, became nature reserves, and we, who knew the tundra, were invited to become inspectors," Sleptsov said.
Since then, for 20 years he has been watching polar bears on the Medvezhyi Islands. In 2013, he graduated from the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, where he had studied ecology.
Family business
Work with polar bears became a family business: Ruslan’s father is also an inspector.
"When my dad retires, my son Nikita will take his position. He is in the Army now. Plans to study ecology at the North-Eastern Federal University. He’s got both experience and motivation: every year, from the age of 18 months, Nikita has come to the reserve," Sleptsov the Middle said.
Together with father, Ruslan spends almost six months completely cut off the "civilization". The inspectors’ house on the East Siberian Sea is some 300 kilometers from the nearest settlement.
"We have radio, the Internet, satellite TV. In spring and winter we use snowbikes, in summer - boats. We buy food with the salaries. Usually, we use snowbikes or tractors in late winter, in April, to bring in stocks of fuel and food," Ruslan said.
Inspectors register polar bears, in spring they register maternity dens on the Medvezhyi Islands. "Every year we register between 20 and 23 animals passing our cordon. This year, on the islands we have registered 11 maternity dens. Usually, every year we register between five and eight dens," the inspector said.
The main part of the work begins from mid-March, when after having survived the winter, the bears together with cubs are getting out from dens. At that time, the Sleptsovs watch the prints on the snow to learn, how many cubs were born in winter.
In autumn, the inspectors focus on the East Siberian Sea’s coastline. They watch how the bears get to the mainland and learn their migration routes. Having deep knowledge and understanding of those mammals, they can say by the looks the animals’ sexes and ages and how well the bears are fed.
At times, the inspectors have to work in unbearable conditions - in stormy blizzards, which form ice rocks by the sea, in severe frosts. But Ruslan enjoys everything related to the nature.
"I can’t stay away from the tundra for long. When I do not go there for long, everything irritates me, the surrounding concrete is so depressing. In the tundra, breathing is so easy. For as long as I live, I’ve never caught cold in the tundra, though I go there since early childhood. My kids - likewise. Most likely, it can be explained by the marine air. Even my father, at his age, always feels better, when he’s there," Ruslan said.
How polar bears behave
The inspector may talk about polar bears for hours. Over many years, he has learned their behavior and says it depends on many factors, even on how well they are fed.
"If an animal is fatty, it won’t care much about anything, and it would not move far into the mainland. Generally speaking, they are cautious animals. However, in the tundra they fear nothing. The bear is the master, and it never turns back," he said.
In winter, polar bears do not stay on the mainland. "Polar bears are mobile animals. All bears, with the exception for mother-bears, who fall asleep for the winter, go far into the sea - to the ice cracks filled with pure water," Ruslan continued. "There they are hunting to return to the mainland only in autumn. Their food is mostly sea mammals: seals of all kinds. They catch them from ice holes".
However, lately, bears have tend to walk deeper into the mainland. "They have been reported near Pokhodsk - last year and this year. In search for food, they may go as deep as 60 kilometers. This behavior has never happened before. I can explain it by the global warming. Their penetration into the mainland is dangerous, as they may meet people. At the same time, there’s a risk of poaching".
The inspector pointed to another aspect - the bears are returning to the islands earlier than usually. In the past, they used to swim to the islands only in autumn. Recently, they have been coming in mid-July already. This also could be explained by a shortage of food: when on the coastline, polar bears may feed on the carrion that the sea throws onto the shore.
Kolymana’s rescue
In spring, 2012, Ruslan and his colleagues rescued an idle polar bear cub. A few days of searching for the mother were in vain - it must have either died or lost the daughter in a heavy blizzard.
The inspectors took the starving baby to the temporary expedition base, organized at a former polar station, on the Chetyrekhstolbovoy Island.
"We followed the traces for about three kilometers and found an exhausted cub, running out of energy. However, it struggled, biting us fiercely. Such a behavior is typical for boys, but it turned out to be a girl," the inspector said.
Later on, the locals gave it a name - after the Kolymana River. For ten days, before the cub was taken to Yakutsk, Ruslan fed the orphan off his palm - tinned milk, porridges with seal fat (seal fat is of high energy value and contains many vitamins and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids). When the baby was about to be transported to Yakutsk, Ruslan put into the self-made cage some of his clothes so that the baby traveled safe.
Kolymana now lives in a zoo not far from Yakutsk. One day, Ruslan visited it. The bear recognized him and allowed to enter the cage.
The inspector watches her life closely. Recently, Kolymana bore the second cub. "Surely, I have special feelings towards it, and I care about her," Ruslan said with a smile.
The inspectors are getting ready for a new season. In July, as soon as the ice allows, they will resume the work. This year, the task is to calculate not only polar bears, but also Arctic fox puppies, and lemmings, peregrine falcons, and gyrfalcons.