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Thank you for your help in studying bowhead whales!

The Nature and People

Charitable foundation · Moscow

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of RUB 800,000

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Report

Thanks to your support of the project, IPEE RAS specialists prepared and organized expeditions to study bowhead whales in the Shantar Islands area of the Sea of Okhotsk in the spring of 2025. Information was collected and systematized, the strengths and weaknesses of the 2024 expeditions were identified, and preparatory work for the summer expeditions of 2025 was completed (a team of experts was formed, conditions, route, research programs, and necessary equipment were determined). This is vital work, without which the expedition will not take place. Thank you for your contribution to bowhead whale conservation!

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About the campaign

Saving the Bowhead Whale in the Sea of Okhotsk

Bowhead whales are an ancient and unique Arctic species. They live up to 200 years, can sing and, unlike other whales, can distinguish smells. The bowhead whale is an important part of the fragile Arctic ecosystem.

The Okhotsk Sea bowhead whales, listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, occupy the southernmost part of the range of this species. They spend their entire lives in Russian waters. The population of bowhead whales in the Sea of Okhotsk is declining and is under threat of extinction - its number does not exceed 400 individuals.

The reasons for the population decline are still unknown to scientists. To help these majestic inhabitants of the seas survive, we need to learn more about them. Therefore, the Fund will organize a scientific expedition in the spring-summer period of 2025, in which experts will assess the number of whales, install tags to search for and study their habitats, collect biopsies, genetic and general data to replenish the photo, video and genetic catalog of individuals, and also conduct an analysis of the food supply. Based on the data obtained during the expedition, scientists will be able to develop comprehensive recommendations for the conservation of the species.