Hunting for the Siberian brown bear,
red deer, roe, elk in Siberia.
These are real adventures on foot and on
horses, by boats in mountains and taiga around Baikal,
with the night spent in a hunting winter hut.
The Siberian brown bear is the largest
of our ground predators. The weight of some animals reaches
480 kg. The body length is up to 2.55 m. Height at the
shoulder is up to 1.35 m. However, one usually comes across
adults from 120 to 250 kg. Hunting is held in winter period:
from November, 1st till March, 1st.
Time of spring hunting on train: from April, 25th till
June, 1st.
Time of spring hunting at Baikal: from May, 25th till
June, 5th. The bear colour varies from dark-brown, almost
black, to light grey. This animal likes old mixed forests
with the wind-fallen trees, burned-out forests, bogs.
Bears spend severe winter in a den in light sleep. Thus,
the organism economically uses a fat store. Before latibulizing
a bear collects different forest dead grass for the bedding
and carries it into its den.
Hunting is offered in two variants:
1. "The bear in its den". A hunter-tourist
and huntsman cautiously approach the den which was found
in advance. The huntsman make a "gorge", i.e.
block the possible output from the den by the cut down
poles, then "wake the animal up". At this time
the hunter has an opportunity to fire a shot at the excited
bear who is trying to escape from its den. In this case
the hunter can observe the animal in half of its body
as the bear "is gorged". The shot is fired at
a distance of 3-4 meters.
2. "The bear is set free". Everything
is the same, as in the first case, but "a gorge"
is not made and the bear is given an opportunity to leave
its den freely. At the same time hunting dogs, namely
Siberian huskies are loosed for the safety reasons. The
hunter sees the animal in full. The shot is fired at a
distance of 5-10 meters. Hunting on a den demands stamina,
composure and dexterity from the hunter-tourist.
Spring bear hunting at Baikal.
o It takes place on the western coast of the northern
part of the Lake Baikal
oTime of hunting is from May, 25th till June, 15th.
Hunting is held in two ways: on "train" (seal
meat is put), near the additional forage area the hunter
in "ambush" is on the watch for the animal,
and in "long-tailed duck places" there is hunting
from the approach. The hunter traces the bears eating
at vast meadows ("long-tailed duck places").
Siberian roe is a slender animal
with a short trunk. It has long legs, a small head and
short tail. It is one-coloured, bright-red in summer and
brown-grey in winter, with white mirror. The Siberian
subspecies are considered the largest of the roes.
Siberian roe's weight is 50-60 kg. The body length is
140-150 cm. Height at the shoulder is 90 cm.
Hunting time for males during the rut is from August,
25th till September, 15th;
Favourite places of the roe's whereabouts are light forests
with the rich underbrush and grassy cover, with glades
overgrowing burnt-out places. The rut takes place at the
end of August - September. In winter roes group in 5-15
individuals, in summer they make groups of two-three or
stay separately.
Male roe hunting during the rut.
oHunting is held during the autumn time from August, 25th
till September, 15th.
An experienced huntsman finds in forests places of the
most numerous roe's passing and shows the hunter where
they should be on the watch for a male roe trophy. The
shot is fired at a distance of 30-60 meters. The used
weapons are smooth-bore guns either of the 12th or16th
calibre, or the rifled ones, namely a carbine or a rifle
of 7.62 mm calibre.
Recommended clothes are a dense hunting suit from not
rustling fabric, waterproof footwear with a soft sole,
a knitted woolen cap.
A musk deer is considered to be the smallest deer
in Siberia.
The body lenght of this animal is between 85 and 100 cm,
height at the shoulder is 60- 65 cm , weight is 15- 17
kg. It has no antlers, but adult males have got long (up
to 10 cm) fangs which serve as fight tools.
Hunting time is from October, 15 till December, 31.
Musk deer live in the dark coniferous taiga, deep woods,
remote places, where it's easy for it to hide from enemies.
Trying to save from the chase, a musk deer, making huge
jumps, sharply changes its direction. It can leap up on
a tiny jut of a rock, and remains there for a long time
inaccessible for an enemy. Hunters call such places "otstoy".
Males have a special musk gland (the same as musk deer's
jet) in the area of their stomachs which weighs 10-36
g and which is highly valued in the eastern medicine and
is used for manufacturing high-quality perfume. When it
is dried, the musk deer's jet can be stored for many years.
Musk deer hunting from "the approach" ("s
podhoda")
o Hunting is held in autumn-winter period from October,
15th till December, 31st.
Hunting is held as the following: A hunter accompanied
by an experienced huntsman comes to the forests and finds
steps of a musk deer male. Having found its steps, they
begin to chase after the animal. They cautiously creep
towards the animal's direction, looking around and trying
not to frighten off the rare animal. The shot is fired
at a distance of 50- 150 m .
European red deer is a large, slender, mighty
animal. Two types of the european red deer live in Eastern
Siberia, namely maral and Manchurian deer. They differ
from each other in size and structure of antlers and in
colour to some extend.
Maral (Cervus elaphus elaphus) is the largest deer.
The body length is 250-265cm, height at the shoulder is
135-155 cm, its weight is 300-340 kg. It has strong antlers
which have up to eight prongs. There subspecies are met
to the west of lake Baikal in mountain forests of the
Sayan Mountains.
Manchurian deer (Cervus elaphus xantophigus) is
a bit smaller than maral. It lives mainly to the east
of the lake Baikal. It has lighter and elegant antlers
with up to six prongs, beams are shorter, but are sometimes
thicker than maral's antlers. Hunting time is since September,
15th till October, 15th. The transitional form between
the Manchurian deer and maral lives in Pribaikalye (Irkutsk
Region) and combines features of both subspecies. Some
zoologists put this form into a separate race of red deer.
However, hunters traditionally call the red deer Manchurian.
Manchurian deer live in coniferous, deciduous and mixed
forests. Favourite places of their stay are light, rare
forests with well developed underbrush and grassy lawns.
In mountain terrain Manchurian deer are found before the
high-mountain Alpine meadows and rise at a height of 1700-3000
m above sea level. It stays separately and in the herd
of three-six individuals. Rut of the noble deer is in
September - October. During this time adult males roar
and are aroused and quite often have fierce fights. There
are cases when one of contenders killed another, or both
perished, locking their antlers.
Manchurian deer hunting "at roar"
It is one of the most beautiful hunting in Siberia. It
gives an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of autumn taiga.
Inexpressible colour of a withering forest against the
background of the Pribaikalye mountains, the cleanest
air and absence of blood-sucking insects create a special
pacifying atmosphere and leave vivid impression of successful
hunting.
Hunting is held during autumn time from September, 15th
till October, 15th.
The hunting is carried out in the evening and morning.
A huntsman-guide and hunter-tourist walk cautiously along
the forests. The huntsman blows the horn and imitates
a roar of the aroused male deerand and thus he calls it
to the hunter. A shot is fired at a distance of 50-100
m. In twilight one can use a lamp- headlight.
Elk.
The East Siberian subspecies of the elk, which are considered
the largest, live in Irkutsk Region. The body length of
the adult male can be up to 300 cm, height at the shoulder
- up to 235 cm, and weight can be up to 750 kg. Only males
have antlers, which can be of different form, with spread
almost up to 2 m and weight up to 35 kg. Hunting time
is from October, 10th till December, 31st.
Elk is a truly forest animal. It lives in the forests
of all types, but he'd rather live in thickets with undergrowth
from deciduous breeds and bushes, with damp, water-logged
ground and old burnt-out places. Elks swim well, and in
hot time of the year spend hours in water, trying to escape
from heat and insects. Elks have a rut in September-October,
less often in the end of August and it is accompanied
by the male roar and fights between them. In Eastern Siberia
most elk males have the time of mew at the end of December
- January, some also cast antlers in February. Therefore
to get good horns, one doesn't need to shoot elks during
the rut.
o Hunting is held in the autumn-winter period from October,
15th till December, 31st.
They hunt East Siberian elks from the approach. This method
demands a lot from a hunter. The hunter and huntsman go
mainly in the open space and look out for an animal at
the places of possible feeding and bed. It is done only
on foot, slowly and cautiously, taking the wind direction
into account so that the animal would not smell and notice
the hunter. The elk has good ear and a sense of smell,
and it sees badly and that is why if the hunter is in
carefully matched clothes and footwear and closely and
patiently bypasses the places of possible whereabouts
of elks, he is sure to be successful. The shot is fired
at a distance of 80 - 150 meters.
Travel duration is:
7 days (Moscow/Moscow) 5 days of hunting.
Regions of hunting are:
Irkutsk Region, Buryatia.
Accommodation:
personal homesteads of hunters-Siberians, the hunting
camps, hunting winter huts.
Travel route:
flight from Moscow to Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude (5 hours);
Then they go by motor transport, wheel and caterpillar
tractor, a motor boat, a cartage can also be used additionally.
The trip time from Irkutsk to the place of hunting is
4-6 hours. It is possible to go by helicopter (1.5 hours).
Additional charges:
tickets Moscow - Ulan-Ude (Irkutsk) - Moscow; helicopter
lease is1500 $/hour; Hotels are paid according to the
fact; Additional service is paid according to the fact;
