An animal trainer in far eastern Russia has been caught on film hitting and kicking two beluga whales – causing a fierce backlash. Dmitry Bachinsky, 32, who works at the Primorsky Oceanarium in Vladivostok, was caught on film lashing out at two whales, named Nil and Lear. According to animal rights campaigners, Bachinsky was attempting […]
Tag: russia
World’s largest reindeer herd targeted by poachers for antler velvet
Moscow – The scene was pure carnage. Dozens of reindeer carcasses were sprawled on the sandy shore of the Khatanga River or floating in the current toward the Arctic Ocean, as if the animals had drowned in mid-stream. The story of what actually befell these reindeer on the Taymyr Peninsula, in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region, however, […]
Female trophy hunter poses with slaughtered bears and boasts about skinning them
A woman who hunts bears and boasts about loving to skin them has hit back at online trolls, calling them uneducated hypocrites. Hunter Alexandra Tyutchevam, 23, has been labelled a “cruel killer” online, while others have told her “I wish it was you lying there instead of the bear”. Alexandra is unapologetic about her hobby […]
A new protected area (PA) for tigers and leopards in Russia
More than 200,000 acres of a transboundary territory for tigers, leopards, and other species have been established in the Russian Far East as a new protected area. Known as the Komissarovsky Wildlife Refuge, and created with support from WWF-Russia, the land is home to 16 species listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature […]
POLL: Should Russia be sanctioned for capturing and selling wild orcas and belugas?
An estimated 11 orcas and up to 90 belugas are currently being held in what’s being dubbed as a ‘whale jail.‘ According to media reports, prosecutors are now investigating a site near the city of Nakhodka, where dozens of orcas and belugas have been confined to small enclosures to determine whether they’re being kept illegally. […]
Shrinking Arctic sea ice threatens the majestic Beluga whale
The beluga whale is one of the most extraordinary species of marine creature known to science. It is a gregarious, pure white Arctic dweller that emits strange, high-pitched twitters that have given it its nickname: the sea canary. Belugas are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s “near threatened” list, because of past […]
Tiger family photo surprises scientists
In a frigid Russian forest, a camera trap snapped 21 family photos over two minutes. This wasn’t a usual family, though, this was a tiger family, more specifically an Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) family. And this wasn’t even a usual tiger family: the cameras showed a dad leading the way. Generally, tiger male are […]
Russia Stops Japanese Whaling Ship Dead In Its Tracks
Whales in the Sea of Okhotsk are safe from hunters today — at least for now. A Japanese whaling ship that entered Russian waters has been seized by Russian authorities, and is now docked. The 712-ton vessel, the Shonan-maru No.2, was ordered into Russian port last week after it changed course in Russian waters without […]