The Beaver in Russia and Adjoining Countries

Abstract

In many areas of the former Soviet Union people adapted to post-Soviet era reforms by overexploiting natural resources. The European beaver, Castor fiber, represents a wildlife resource that was depleted in the years following perestroika. Because of this we wanted to document the current status of the beaver population in the Russian Federation and adjoining countries, examine conservation efforts, and where appropriate, investigate the effectivness of harvesting beavers as a management tool. Data are derived from official statistics, publications, questionnaires, and field studies in Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. At present beavers are found in 60 of 87 regions of Russia, 6 regions of Belarus, 20 regions of the Ukraine, and 3 regions of Kazakhstan. In 1997 the estimated number of beavers in these countries was 232,000, 24,000, 6,000, and 1,000, respectively. However, beavers are not distributed evenly throughout the countries. For example, more than 75% of all Russian beavers are concentrated in 14 taiga regions from Karelia to the Ural Mountains. The decrease in beaver numbers observed immediately after perestroika has stopped in the last few years, and since 1996 there has been an average annual increase of between 6% and 20%. Beaver harvesting occurs in 40 regions of Russia, and in 1997/98 a fee for using the fur resource was implemented. The range of beavers is expanding in south Siberia and Kazakhstan, and North American beavers, Castor canadensis, have either been introduced into, or immigrated to northern regions. In the Far East Region only North American beavers are found in two of the three subdivisions. We discuss a multi-purpose management model that includes management of genetic (subspecific) resources, preservation, and regulated harvesting. Management is necessary to main-tain the beaver population in Russia and insure the survival of this biologically important species.