Hunting for the East Siberian elk,
Kamchatka brown bear, bighorns.
The Kamchatka brown bear is distinguished
by large size, the average size of trophies (fell length)
is 240-270 cm annually our hunters get 1-2 trophies of
the size more than 3 m. The Kamchatka brown bear is the
largest predator of the Russian forest zone. Since July,
fish, namely the spawning salmons become the basis of
its feeding on the peninsula. It is almost always able
to get itself viand in rivers even in "not the most
fishy" year. One more important component of the
animal's feed allowance is nut of a cedar elfin wood which
is preserved at rich harvest under snow till spring. We
have a cedar elfin wood growing everywhere in the forest
zone. It forms almost impassable thickets for the man.
Quite often they can cover hundreds of hectares and stretch
on dozens of kilometers. In years of plenty bears concentrate
in the places rich in cones and lay down in dens in the
same place or nearby, they also eat cones after leaving
their dens. Berries (mountain ash, bog bilberry) also
play an important role in the nutrition of the animal.
As a rule, from mid September bears do not already visit
spawning ground of salmons regularly and start eating
vegetative feed. After leaving its den, bears may not
eat for a long time and use depot fat. A lot of bears
gather on the sea shore and collect the thrown out sea
girdle and other "gifts" of the ocean. In the
thawed tundra they dig out different roots and bulbs,
rummage in anthills in birch forests. The abundance and
availability of feed conditions rather quiet character
of Kamchatka bears, they attack people once in a blue
moon and, as a rule, such animals are sick. Magnitude
of population in Kamchatka according to different estimations
is between 10 and 14 thousand individuals. The greatest
density is observed in southern areas, eastern and western
coasts of the peninsula. In the most northern districts,
i.e. Penzhinsky and Olutorsky, the number of bears is
noticeably fewer. In the recent years there has been an
obvious growth in the number of bears. There are several
reasons for it, including the development of trophy hunting.
This kind of hunting disciplines forest leaseholders and
serves as the major factor of protection. According to
the official data in the Kamchatka Territory at the average
they get about 700 individuals within a year.
Bighorns. (Ovis nivicola koriakorum, Ovis nivicola
nivicola)
Hunting for bighorns is difficult, very emotional and
as any mountain hunting demands good physical training.
Weather, which is unstable in the mountains, plays an
important role in success. Rains and fogs are frequent.
Quite often it happens that there are only 2-3 days with
good conditions for walking. One needs light and warm
clothes, special footwear for mountain hunting, repellents
and mosquito nets. As a rule, the camp is set in the areas
where there is a certain group of trophy animals found
in advance. Koryak bighorn hunting will be organized in
the northern part of the peninsula where the magnitude
of population of these subspecies is high and there is
an opportunity to get a worthy trophy with the length
of horns of 85 centimeters and more. Hunting is organized
"on hot scent" ("skradom") at a height
of 600-900 meters above the sea level and demands good
physical form from hunters. There are no horses. Per day
it might be necessary to walk about 3 - 10 kilometers
and more in the mountains. The mountains here are much
more sloping than in Central Kamchatka.
East Siberian elk. The largest east Siberian elk
lives in the northern part of the Kamchatka peninsula.
The average spread of horns is 140-160 cm. Weight is over
25 kg. Some individuals reach the weight of 40 kg. Hunting
is arranged during the period from September, 1st till
October, 15th. Hunting is carried out from the approach,
"on hot scent". In Milkovsky and Bystrinsky
districts of the Kamchatka Territory they also organize
winter hunting with a snowmobile, which is less difficult,
but not less interesting. The best season for this hunting
is from the end of November up to the mid December. The
trophies which one gets in Milkovsky and Bystrinsky districts
are not inferior in size to those of the northern districts
of the peninsula. During the hunting in November - December
frost can reach - 5°Ñ up to -15°Ñ during the day, up to-25°Ñ
at nighttime. Snow depth is up to 1 meter. Usually there
is no wind. During the hunting in September - October
there are light frosts at nighttime, it is also quite
cold during the day, rains are possible.
Travel duration
is: 11 days (Moscow/Moscow)
9 days of hunting
Regions of hunting are:
the Kamchatka Territory;
Accommodation:
hunting camps, campsites;
Travel route:
Flight by plane from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatky
(9 hours), then by motor transport to the local airport
(6 - 7 hours) and by helicopter (1.5 - 2 hours) to the
hunting camp;
Additional charges:
Tickets Moscow - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka - Moscow; Hotels
are paid according to the fact; Additional service is
paid according to the fact;
