RUSSIA ~ Wrangel Island - UNESCO ~

... Great nature view of a remote island tucked away high above the Arctic Circle... Wrangel Island is  part of the Russia’s Far East... a place of paradoxes—both a harsh, isolated landscape and a cradle of life... one of the most remarkable Arctic nature reserves...  a critical Arctic ecosystem, home to species found nowhere else... best known for being the last refuge of the woolly mammoth... while most mammoth populations disappeared from the mainland around 10,000 years ago, a small group managed to survive on Wrangel until about 4,000 years ago... but even though Wrangel is remote, it is not safe from modern threats... the warming of the Arctic is opening new shipping routes near the island... more ships could mean more pollution, more noise, and more problems for wildlife... Russian leaders have even suggested loosening environmental rules so that military training could take place on the island... these developments worry both scientists and environmentalists... Thanks a lot Oleg!ヽ(ヅ)ノ

Wrangel Island is located in the Arctic Ocean, between the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea. It is part of Russia’s Chukotka region and covers about 7,600 square kilometres.

The island boasts the world’s largest population of Pacific walruses and the highest density of polar bear dens. It is a major feeding ground for the grey whale migrating from Mexico and the northernmost nesting ground for 100 migratory bird species, many endangered. Currently, 417 species and subspecies of vascular plants have been identified on the island, double that of any other Arctic tundra territory of comparable size and more than any other Arctic island.

To protect this fragile environment, the Soviet Union declared Wrangel Island a nature reserve in 1976. In 2004, the Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

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