Volodya’s Cycling Friend: ALWAYS On His Shoulder

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Volodya’s from Krasnoyarsk, in Siberia. He rides his bike every day on Tatyshev Island in the Yenisei River. He does it in good company… his cat is always on his shoulder! Volodya found the poor kitten in a tree… crows were trying to attack it. So, he had to climb up the tree to reach the kitten; he didn’t plan it, but he took the kitten home. He wanted to put the kitten in his backpack or near his chest, but the animal chose the best place by itself, he sat on Volodya’s shoulder. That’s how he took the little cat home. In summer 2010, when it was over 30 degrees (86 degrees Fahrenheit), they shocked everybody in Krasnoyarsk by taking part in a cycling marathon and riding together almost 100 kilometres (62 miles)! Several times, Volodya stopped and gave water to his cat; when they reached the finish line, both were exhausted… the cat laid down in the shade of the bushes to rest. However, in just a half-hour, it was full of energy and happiness again.

7 May 2013

English Russia

http://englishrussia.com/2013/05/07/cat-and-man-always-cycling-together/#more-123190

In 2013, Siberian Bears Better Behaved After Hibernation

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On Friday, Konstantin Osadchy, head of the nature protection committee in Tomsk, told RIA-Novosti that bears waking up after their winter hibernation in Tomsk Oblast in Siberia are better behaved this year than last year, saying, “Compared to this time in previous years, things are somehow calmer now, there were times when we had to shoot about a dozen [bears] between the end of April and beginning of May”.

At this time of year, Russian bears wake up from their winter hibernation hungry, and often head to populated areas in search of food. Usually, the authorities only shoot them after local forest rangers or other officials deem that they pose a danger to the human population or livestock in a region. The bear population in the area is growing. In 2011, there were about 8,800 bears in the Tomsk Region, whereas in 1997 the bear population there was just 2,800. Therefore, any decrease in incidents is not down to a decline in the bear population.

Osadchy told us that, so far, they’ve only to shoot one bear in Tomsk Oblast. In 2012, 33 “hooligan bears” as the Russian media dubs them, had to be shot. In 2011, this figure was higher still, at about 50. In recent years, in the Russian Far East, bears dug up corpses in a cemetery, and begged for food from passing cars along a highway.

10 May 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130510/181068221/Siberian-Bears-Better-Behaved-After-Hibernation-in-2013–.html

18 April 2013. Sergei Yolkin’s World. More Seals are Logging On to Social Network Sites!

More Seals are Logging On to Social Network Sites

Sergei Yolkin

2013

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In the UK, there’s Facebook for Animals. Sergei Yolkin jokes on how our pets see us.

17 April 2013

Sergei Yolkin

RIA-Novosti

http://ria.ru/caricature/20130417/933041130.html

Things are Shakin’ at the Yekaterinburg Zoo: First Aardvark Born in Russian Zoo

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One of my favourite things… The Ant and the Aardvark 

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On Wednesday, the zoo in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg reported on its website that it’s welcomed a new resident, a baby aardvark, born in February, stating, “This is the first aardvark to be born in Russia”. A couple of aardvarks were brought to Yekaterinburg from Tanzania last spring. Later, other Russian zoos added these rare animals to their collections. Aardvarks have the body of an anteater, the ears of a rabbit, the snout of a pig, and the tail of a kangaroo. Their bodies are 100 to 150 centimetres (40 to 60 inches) long. They stand up to 65 centimetres (26 inches) tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 80 kilogrammes (177 lbs). The little-studied aardvark, which means “ground pig” in Afrikaans, is the only representative of the order Tubulidentata. The aardvark owes its name to its unique tooth structure. In fact, its teeth are clusters of vasodentin tubes without enamel or roots. In total, only about 90 aardvarks live in zoos worldwide. Ten aardvarks were born in captivity over the past 50 years.

3 April 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130403/180424314/First-Aardvark-Born-in-Russian-Zoo.html