Vostsibneftegaz Grant Programme Allows Siberian Scientists to Discover Red Deer in Evenkia

Under a grant programme of the East Siberian Oil and Gas Company (part of Rosneft), employees of the Tunguska State Nature Reserve completed a season of field studies of red deer in the valleys of the Podkamennaya Tunguska and Chamba rivers in the Evenkiysky District of Krasnoyarsk Territory. The expedition confirmed the hypothesis of red deer migration from the southern part of the region to the north, where habitat for the red deer species had previously been considered impossible.

Photo traps set up in the reserve on the Chamba River banks recorded a female red deer with a calf in July 2022, indicating a steady birth of offspring. It is the third fawn born in Evenkia that ecologists are well aware of.

The reserve staff conducted route census of the coastline and identified the habitat of a red deer «family» consisting of a large male, two females and one calf. Ecologists have identified at least five such groups, which have occupied suitable habitats for living and breeding.

Zoologists and hunters recorded sporadic sightings of red deer in the Evenkiysky District in the middle of the last century. Scientists believe that due to climate change, the red deer are now actively expanding into new areas, spreading hundreds of kilometres north of their traditional habitat. A milder climate, low snowfall winters, abundant forage and other factors have made Evenkia attractive to red deer. The animals do not form large herds yet, but stay in small groups of 3-4 individuals, probably due to their survival tactics in the new environment. In the dense taiga, reindeer rely most on hearing, but the large number of individuals in the herd prevents them from spotting danger in time.

Data analysis will help to develop measures to protect the new reindeer species in the Evenkiysky District.

Rosneft
Information Division
November 3, 2022