There is in the south of Siberia, an amazing mountainous country - Altai. She keeps many secrets. Altai nature is like a fairy tale. The heroes of this tale are animals, birds, unseen herbs and spirits of rocky mountains. On the Altai land, people live in harmony with nature. Reserves help to preserve its wealth and pristine nature. Wildlife of the Katunsky Reserve The Katunsky Biosphere Reserve is located in the Altai Republic, on the border with Kazakhstan. This is one of the highest mountain reserves in Russia. The name was given to him by the mighty Katun River. The Katun River originates on the southern slope of Belukha, the highest mountain in Siberia. The reserve contains huge reserves of fresh water. Kautnsky ridge. There are over 140 glaciers here. They give rise to rivers and streams that carry their waters to the Katun. The mirrors of turquoise lakes sparkle in the mountain valleys. The largest of them is Taimenye, with a length of more than 5 kilometers. The maximum depth of this reservoir is 75 meters. The right bank of the lake is bordered by high steep cliffs and motley meadows. Valuable medicinal plants grow here. This plant is called "maral root". People have used it in medicine since ancient times. It gives strength, longevity and a clear mind. An orchid (Dactylorhīza fūchsii. Fuchs fingernail) grows in the forest. In the early morning or at dusk, the owner of the taiga goes out onto the open slopes. The she-bear with her cubs is having breakfast in the meadow. Cubs are only a few months old. They learn to find food for themselves. The bears living in the reserve feed on shoots and roots of plants, pine nuts and berries. They have animal food on their menu. These can be insects, mammals, bird eggs and, of course, carrion. Seeing a person, bears usually rush to hide among trees or bushes. The left bank of Lake Taimen is covered with a coniferous taiga of cedars, spruces and larch trees. The mountain rivers Bolshaya and Malaya Gromotukhi make their way through the thick of the forest. Mysterious green threads hang from the spruce branches. This is a bushy lichen - bearded man (Usnea). It is popularly called the "goblin's beard." Trees serve for her to attach, to get into a comfortable position and gain access to the sun. Bearded lichens extract energy and organic matter in the process of photosynthesis, and water and mineral nutrition - from the air and precipitation. These lichens are the most sensitive indicators of atmospheric air purity. You will not find them in the city, they die at the slightest pollution. The osprey has built a nest. The osprey feeds on fresh fish. With a lack of fish, it hunts for rodents, frogs and small birds. These birds build and repair their nests themselves, returning to the same place from year to year. Let's look inside the nest. It has one chick and two eggs. Osprey chicks are born helpless and sit in the nest for almost two months before their first flight. From birth, they are dressed in thick, downy clothes. Both parents are involved in raising babies. In the fall, the birds will fly to the southern countries for the winter. These fish-eating birds are listed in the Red Data Books of Russia and the Altai Republic. While the osprey flies over the water in search of prey, we will dive to the bottom. In June, an important event takes place in mountain rivers - the spawning of grayling. This is the Soloukha - the largest tributary of Lake Taimen. At the mouth of the river, in shallow waters, the accumulation of fish is visible even from the shore. Siberian harius is a freshwater fish of the salmon order. Grayling prefer fast-flowing rivers with rocky-sandy ground. They also live in cold flowing lakes such as Lake Taimenye. The body of the grayling is covered with dense scales, and a large spotted fin flaunts on the back. To start breeding, graylings need to grow up to 3 - 4 years old. Males are usually larger than females, and their dorsal fin is bright and tall, like a cock's comb! Such an outfit seems to say: "Look how healthy and strong I am!" and attracts the attention of females. Procreation is necessary, but what about enemies? Osprey is not the only bird to hunt grayling. From the air, they face another danger - the cormorant. This large waterfowl feeds exclusively on fish. It is not easy to hide from the cormorant - it swims and dives excellently. The Ozernaya River flows out of Lake Taimenye. 20 kilometers downstream - and we are on the Katun River. In the upper reaches, the Katun 'has either steep rocky or gently sloping shores covered with mixed forest. Marals graze in the river valley. Maral is a subspecies of red deer. It is a large, slender animal with a long flexible neck. Males wear branched, symmetrical horns. The older the beast, the more branches it has. Females have no horns. In the spring, marals molt. On sunny days, animals feed and rest on the slopes. They are designed so that there is a good view in front, and a forest or bush behind, where you can hide from enemies. Snow often falls in the mountains at the end of August. The time of the race is approaching, and most of the marals descend from the highlands into the forest lands. This is the valley of the Kazinikha River. The animals feed vigorously before the harsh winter season. Branches of trees and shrubs, dry grass, berries and even fallen cedar cones are eaten. Fine hearing and good sense of smell allow deer to sense the approach of danger from afar and run away for cover. Let's go back to the beginning of summer. In the north of the Katunsky nature reserve there is the Verkhneye Multinskoe lake - one of the most beautiful in Altai. Here is the source of the Multa River - a tributary of the Katun River. Giant cedars grow along the shores of the lake. The scientific name for this evergreen tree is Siberian pine. He has a dense crown with thick branches. Powerful roots help cedar to anchor on rocks and rocks. The main advantage of Siberian pine is its seeds, which are rich in nutrients. They ripen in large buds with tightly attached scales. ... Cedar is a generous tree. He provides shelter and food to various animals and birds. Some of them, such as nutcracker and chipmunk, store pine nuts for the winter and are the "sowers" of this valuable Siberian tree. Large mergansers flew to the lake. These large ducks keep in pairs and flocks. They have a light body with a dark head and short red legs. Swimming membranes connect the three front toes. The large merganser has a long and narrow beak with sharp teeth at the edges and a hook at the end. He helps birds to hunt fish. Lake Verkhnemultinskoe has several tributaries. They feed on the melting snowflakes and glaciers. Small lakes lie under the mountain pass. They give life to a picturesque waterfall. The valley of the stream is like a blooming oasis in the kingdom of rocks and stones. Many plant species grow here. Many of them are listed in the Red Data Books. At the edge of the coast blooms frosty Rodiola from the Tolstyankov family. And this plant is perhaps the most vulnerable in Altai. Rodiola rosea, or golden root, is highly regarded for its medicinal properties. People procure medicinal raw materials for sale in large quantities. The number of the species is rapidly decreasing. And only in the reserve Rodiola rosea is under reliable protection, like all its flora. Let's take a look at the rocky spills - kurums. They seem to be uninhabited. And who wants to live among the bare stones ?! Inside the spider's abdomen are cobweb glands, which secrete a viscous liquid that hardens in air. At the ends of the legs of the animal there are claws and strand bristles. With their help, the spider knits its own web. The claws help him move along the web without getting tangled. Spiders are not the only ones living in the rocky heaps. This is the Altai senostavka. It looks like a large mouse, but the haystack is not a rodent, but a representative of the order of the Hare. Senostavki live in colonies and are kept in pairs. The sites of each family have clear boundaries, which they mark with the secretion of the cervical glands. These animals do not dig holes, but make nests in the voids between stones. Senostavki are daytime animals. They cut off the shoots of plants with their sharp incisors and lay them out to dry on the stones - they prepare hay for the winter. Other animals, for example, marals, feed on their supplies. On steep scree slopes and in kurums, you can find an unusual plant - the bitter Nadezhda Revyakina. You ask: what is special about it? This rare species grows only in the upper reaches of the Multa River and nowhere else in the world. Bitter Nadezhda Revyakina is a large perennial plant of the Astrov family. It has a high, thick stem, covered in the upper part with long tangled hairs. Baskets and peduncles also have dense pubescence. This is how the plants adapt to the extreme conditions of the highlands and protect themselves from low temperatures, wind and moisture evaporation. The species is named after the botanist Nadezhda Revyakina, who studied the glacial flora of Altai and Sayan. Winter. Mountains and taiga doze under a blanket of snow. Siberian musk deer feed in the thicket of the forest. Her favorite delicacy is lichens. The musk deer have no horns, but nature has endowed the males with long, sharp fangs. The hind legs of the animal are longer and stronger than the front ones, due to which the musk deer jumps far and high. Excellent maneuverability helps her to escape from enemies. Friends! We made a short trip to the natural world of the Katunsky Reserve. All its diversity cannot be reflected in one film. The fauna of the reserve includes almost 60 species of mammals and more than 150 species of birds, not counting other vertebrates and invertebrates. About 700 species of higher vascular plants grow here. All the inhabitants of the reserve live their natural life. The mountains of the Katunsky ridge are a reliable barrier that protects the fragile nature. And the people working in the reserve make a lot of efforts to preserve it. They firmly know that if there are no places with untouched wildlife left on Earth, humans will not be able to survive. Director and cameraman Ivan Usanov. Scriptwriter Svetlana Usanova. Composer Alexander Trifonov. Subscribe to the channel "Ivan Usanov IRBISFILM"
