Kamchatka's Wildlife through the lens of your camera

Travel

Sept 19 2013

Katerina Mukhina, for RBTH

To organize a trip around the peninsula independently is quite difficult, so there are services offered by numerous companies with accredited English-speaking guides. For a better understanding of the peninsula helicopter tours are the best option. The tours include hiking through the valleys and overnight stays in tents. Many of the routes require a fair amount of courage and endurance from the traveler. Spending the night in a tent at the foot of a volcano can turn into a surprise in the form of a cunning wolverine or a curious bear who has decided to check out if there is something useful in the camp.

Bears

The brown bear is the symbol of the Kamchatka region and can be found throughout the peninsula, with numerous sitings even in the city. Meeting them is more likely during a walk along the river or a lake. The main concentration of brown bears is located in the South Kamchatka Sanctuary, on the Kuril Lake, which is the largest spawning area of Pacific sockeye. Sometimes, up to 10 million animals can be spotted here – it is quite a remarkable sight.

There is a special tower for tourists, and a fence surrounds the track on both sides. Walking through natural trails, accompanied by a reserve inspector, visitors can observe brown bears in their natural habitat. In autumn bears reach their largest weight (as much as a tonne), building up fat for the upcoming winter, ready to plunge into hibernation with the first snow.

To meet a brown bear is also possible on the shores of Lake Kambalny. It is a small pond, surrounded by hills and is often overextended by fog. To get acquainted with bears in the vicinity is possible in the ethno-cultural complex "KAYNYRAN", which translated from the Koryak means "Bear's house." It is located near Zelenovsk, which is 40 kilometers from Petropavlovsk. In addition, this is also the location of more than 30 famous Kamchatka sled camps where you have the opportunity to a ride on dog sleds all year round.

Helicopters

On the river Zhupanova, an area only accessible by helicopter, travelers can meet the other inhabitants of Kamchatka: otters, wolverines, lynx, sables, minks, and reindeer. Amazing birds - White-winged and white-tailed sea eagles, peregrine falcons and merlins have lived in these forests for a long time.

The helicopter tour to the famous Valley of Geysers in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve is unforgettable. Here you can marvel at an incredible 26 volcanoes, 12 of which are active. You can also see permanent and pulsating boiling springs, hot lakes, geysers, mud pots and small volcanoes spewing to the surface thermal mud.

Pacific Ocean

All year round Kamchatka Kayaking Club arranges unforgettable trips to the Pacific Ocean. Going on a single or a double kayak or cruising on a catamaran with stunning views of the harbor of Petropavlovsk. Maneuvering between the moored ships and tankers, you can go to the sea bird colonies (puffins, cormorants, guillemots, gulls) and seals. These huge seals live nearby the city and are a symbol of Petropavlovsk.

Steller sea lions are found everywhere near the coast of the peninsula, but the largest reproductive rookery is located on the Aleutian and Kurile Islands. Here you can watch 3-4 month old seals, born in June, taking their first independent attempts to catch fish or squid. The journey to the sea lions is possible by boat, catamaran or kayak.

Between the end of October and beginning of November the hard frosts start, and a ban on the use of undersized water transport begins. Therefore at this time only a trip on a kayak is possible. But sometimes even the cold will not stop the desperate travelers who don’t hesitate to look at the marine inhabitants of the Pacific Ocean at the end of the season.

Orcas – killer whales

Kamchatka is also famous for its killer whales. A huge accumulation of these animals is found in this area. To get here you can take a boat or catamaran, and then, if desired, to change on a kayak. Killer whales are naturally cautious, so they try to stay away from the vessels that are bigger than them. Only kayakers have an opportunity to see them very close. In relation to humans they do not show aggression. Not hiding their curiosity, they swim to the kayak, sticking high out a fin and blowing up a fountain. Finding yourself very close to them you can feel the power, beauty and enormity of the marine world.

On the territory of Kamchatka:

There are 58 species of mammals

232 species of birds are nesting

Inhabit 93 species of fish

Grow 763 species of plants (including 38 of them - rare)

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