Hunting animals. Hunting animals and birds

The basis of this unique publication was the observations and notes of Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneev, a recognized expert on hunting and fishing, long-time editor of the most authoritative magazines dedicated to hunting. In his “Hunting Calendar” the author pays decent attention to each game animal.

The habits of animals and birds and methods of hunting them, various methods of training and training hunting breeds of dogs are described: for example, the famous hound hunting, gun hunting with hounds. The book by the famous Russian game expert includes articles about the life of game animals: wolf, bear, elk, fox, marten, ermine, etc.

; and birds: ducks and geese, partridges, black grouse, woodcock and many others. Methods for selecting guns and caring for them and other hunting equipment are described in detail. A large section is devoted to caring for dogs, their diseases and treatment. We hope that this publication will be a real gift to all amateur and professional hunters.

Hunter's Handbook

Absent Encyclopedias The world in pictures (OLMA Media Group)

“The Hunter's Handbook” contains the “Large Universal Calendar of Russian Nature and Hunting,” which includes the famous “Hunting Calendar” of the outstanding game expert L.P. Sabaneev, in a modern edition, as well as a unique collection of images of hunting and guard dogs.

A special section of the book - detailed description traces of all game animals and birds and more than two hundred images of traces from rare German and Russian hunting publications. The book contains about a thousand illustrations.

The book is of interest to general zoologists and specialists in the field of monitoring and management of animal resources.

Victor Tochinov Horror and Mystery Mouth

…Werewolf. Fairy tale. Legend... Is it a fairy tale? Is it a legend?! Again and again people disappear in villages and holiday villages. Again and again, torn bodies are found in the forest. Troops of experienced beaters search for the Beast in vain. Doesn't take his most modern weapon... ...The werewolf.

Not a fairy tale, not a legend - a nightmare that suddenly became a reality. Who will look into the eyes of Death? Who will load an old hunting rifle with a blessed silver bullet and go hunting for the HUNTER?!

For a wide range of readers.

Stories

Mikhail Prishvin Children's prose Absent

Prishvin Mikhail Mikhailovich (1873-1954) - Prishvin Mikhail Mikhailovich (1873-1954) is a Russian writer whose philosophical and lyrical prose is associated primarily with themes of nature, folk life and folklore. “The singer of Russian nature,” Prishvin begins as if with a simple study and rises into poetic, spiritual spheres, into the spheres of deep art.

In fact, to evaluate Prishvin as a writer and thinker, the words we find in a letter from Alexei Maksimovich Gorky to Prishvin, written in Sorrento on September 22, 1926, would always and under all circumstances be sufficient. This is what Gorky writes in this letter: “I think that such a lover of nature, such an insightful connoisseur of nature and its purest poet, like you, Mikhail Mikhailovich, has never existed in our literature.

I guessed about this back in the days of “The Black Arab”, “The Land of Unfrightened Birds”, and finally saw the light while reading the absolutely amazing “Springs”. Aksakov wrote “Notes of a Gun Hunter” and “On Angling Fish” superbly, Menzbier wrote wonderful pages in his book about birds, and in Kaigorodov and many others, Russian nature sometimes evoked heartfelt words, but... in none of them did I find everything embracing, piercing and jubilant love for our land, for all its living and supposedly mortal, no one like you, truly “the father and master of all your visions.”

In your feelings and words I hear something ancient, prophetic and paganly beautiful, that is, truly human, coming from the heart of the son of the earth, the great mother revered by you. And when I read your “Phenological” conjectures and reasonings, I smile, laughing with joy, it’s all so amazingly charming from you.

I am not exaggerating that my true feeling of absolutely exceptional beauty, with the power of which your brightest soul illuminates your whole life... Everything about you merges into a single stream of life, everything is comprehended by your intelligent heart, filled with exciting, touching friendship with a person, with you - a poet and a sage.” The disc presents cycles of stories by M.

M. Prishvina: “Forest Master”, “Dogs”, “Beasts”, “Conversation of Birds and Animals”, “Stories of a Hunter”. FOREST OWNER Chanterelle bread "Inventor" Guys and ducklings Duck bathing Hedgehog Golden meadow Chicken on poles Beetle Queen of Spades Talking rook Khromka Grandfather's felt boots Hawk and lark Forest doctor Vasya Veselkin Forest owner Dead tree Old mushroom DOGS Man's friend It's a pity The first stand A terrible meeting Playing with Romka Hedgehog mittens Romka the vacuum cleaner How Romka crossed the stream Yarik The traitorous sausage Lada Reflection A sip of milk How I taught my dogs to eat peas How a cat and a dog quarreled Warm places Zhulka and the cat Zhulka in the grass Zhulka and the butterfly How Zhulka and I work Dog in human affairs Mink and Zhulka Dogs' property In the rain Zhulki's dream Robik Kado ANIMALS Chipmunk Beast Birth of Saucepans Animals Eagle's nest Blue Arctic foxes Leopard Bear Fighter and Crybaby Hydrochloric acid Mysterious box White necklace CONVERSATION OF BIRDS AND ANIMALS Meadow Conversation of birds and animals Gadgets Twitch and quail Bird cherry Floppers Upstart Birds in the snow Terenty Cat Owl Floors of the forest What crayfish whisper about HUNTER'S STORIES Blue bast shoe Cranberry Familiar snipe Goldfinch Turlukan Hunting dogs Faithful Anchar School in the bushes Smart white hare Lil new sky Double shot Nightingale the topographer Gon How the hare ate the boots Traces of the hawk.

Birth of the Gods (Tutankamun on Crete)

Dmitry Sergeevich Merezhkovsky Historical literature Egyptian novels

“... - Yes, the talisman saved me from everything,” he spoke again, “from fire, from poison, from the beast; I didn’t save you from one thing... - From what? – she asked. He didn’t answer, and she realized: “From you.” Both were wrapped in animal skins: he in red, lion skin, with a mouth on his head instead of a helmet; she is gray-haired, wolf-haired, with a horse helmet.

Both have hunting spears in their hands, bows and quivers on their backs. It was difficult to know who was a man and who was a woman. Throwing the lion's mouth off his head, he raised his hand to his neck. - Hurts? – she asked. - Not good. What kind of wound is this - a scratch! As a shepherd in Khalihalbat, he went after lions with one club.

Once the whelping lioness lifted up; The claw marks are still on my back. Well, yes, I was stronger then, younger...”

Little Red Riding Hood

Evgeny Schwartz Dramaturgy MTF Agency Drama Library

Retold by Schwartz in a new way, the classic plot turns out to be transformed, although on the main points it completely corresponds to the well-known plot of the fairy tale. Little Red Riding Hood goes to visit her grandmother. But the wolf does not suddenly come across her. On the contrary, all the animals warn her and tell her about the threat.

Little Red Riding Hood's plan is to lure the wolf into a hunting trap. Not knowing this trick, many animals want to help her, but they are hindered by the treacherous fox, who hopes that the wolf and Riding Hood will deal with each other, and then she will be able to improve her position in the forest.

The well-known story, imbued with Schwartz's good humor, will be interesting to both children and their parents.

Night fright

Dhan Mukherjee

Bloody water of Africa. Book 3. Property of England

Nina Zapolskaya Travel Books Absent

For fans of African stories by E. Hemingway. Based on modern hunting reports. Africa today is dangerous in many ways, but in the 18th century it was deadly. Only a few Europeans managed to return from the wilds of the continent. But the search for the schooner Archistar, captured by pirates, leads Captain Lynch to Guinea.

On the Futa Djallon plateau, his squad, fleeing the intrigues of a native sorcerer and a tribal leader, finds themselves drawn into an internecine war. Escaping the pursuit, they go deeper into the tropical forest, where they are surrounded by cannibals, fires, predatory animals and deadly diseases.

Such stories usually took place in a hunting pavilion built by Munchausen, hung with the heads of wild animals and known as the “pavilion of lies.” The baron's stories: the entry into St. Petersburg on a wolf harnessed to a sleigh, a horse cut in half in Ochakovo, a horse in a bell tower, furious fur coats, a cherry tree growing on the head of a deer, spread widely throughout the surrounding area and even found its way into the press... Over time, the name of Munchausen has become a household word as a designation for a person who tells amazing and incredible stories.

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Whatever animals eat, they must have the appropriate body structure and habits to detect, collect or kill their prey. Carnivores have two options for obtaining food: they either hunt for their prey or lie in wait for it in ambush (such animals are called ambushers).

Predators that hunt by baiting their prey have endurance, but cannot develop too much speed. Sprinters - such as the cheetah - on the contrary, are very agile, but get tired quickly. Ambush mammals are usually the heaviest among predators. They defeat the prey thanks to their weight, sharp teeth and powerful paws. Spiders and insects that lie in wait for prey are also heavier than their hunter relatives. The praying mantis, for example, has long front legs equipped with large, sharp spines. If an unwary prey gets too close, the mantis throws its legs forward and pinches the prey with them.

Ambushers use brightly colored fins or other body parts as bait. To finish off prey, it is not enough for animals to have only strong muscles and sprinting qualities. It is equally important to have developed sense organs and excellent coordination between them and the muscular system. This is important both for hunters and for predators waiting for their victims in ambush, because they must catch the prey in time. Another necessary ability is the ability to kill, for which predators have various adaptations. Cats and dogs use sharp fangs, birds of prey use sharp claws, spiders and many snakes use venom. Previously, these devices served animals not for killing, but in the process of evolution over many millions of years they turned into lethal weapon. Insects and other invertebrate predators don't even need to learn to hunt, and spiders don't need to learn how to weave webs. They were born with these skills and know how to use them from the very beginning. This innate behavior is called instinctive. In mammals that hunt for prey, the situation is somewhat different. Their cubs learn hunting tactics from watching their parents and perfect them by staying with their family for months or years.

Animals that obtain food by hunting

Tiger

The largest predatory cat on earth is the tiger. Ussuri tigers can weigh up to 500 kg. Tigers usually live where there is tall grass in order to sneak up on their prey, be it an antelope or small deer. Thanks to their striped skin, which makes them ideally camouflaged in the grass, and their silent, sneaking gait, they can sneak up very close to their prey unnoticed. Like other advanced predators, tigers choose different hunting methods, depending on the prey and environmental conditions. In the Indian reserve Ranthambore, tigers, for example, have learned to attack sambar deer when they are standing in the water and cannot escape after making several large jumps. In Siberia, tigers hunt deer in deep snow; the deer get stuck in it and can no longer escape.

Osprey bird

The osprey circles above the water surface of the sea or river at an altitude of about 30 m and looks out for fish with keen eyes. She then swoops down with her paws out and snatches the fish out of the water before it can swim away. Thanks to the pads with sharp spines under its claws, the osprey can fly, holding the slippery fish suspended.

Ants

At first glance, adult antlions look a bit like dragonflies. However, the larvae of these insects have absolutely nothing in common. As soon as the larva hatches from the egg, it digs a funnel-shaped hole in the sandy soil and there, in ambush, waits for prey. As soon as an ant or other insect approaches the funnel, the antlion “bombards” it with sand. The victim begins to slide and falls straight into his jaws.

Hunting animals

Brown bear. Body length is from 130-150 to 240-250 cm, weight is from 58-80 to 250-300 kg, some specimens reach 640 kg. Distributed in the forest zone of the CIS from the western borders to the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and from the forest-tundra to the forest-steppe, it is also found in the Transcaucasus, the Caucasus, the Pamirs and the Tien Shan. The usual habitats of the brown bear are vast dark coniferous or mixed forests with swamps, burnt areas and berry fields. It feeds mainly on plant foods: berries, angelica, unripe oats, acorns, nuts, wild fruits; Animal food also plays a large role in its diet: ants, beetles and their larvae, rodents, frogs, lizards, birds and their eggs; the bear greedily eats carrion, the hungry bear eats the buds of trees. “Connecting rods” that have not laid down for the winter attack domestic animals and even humans. The brown bear lies in its den in late autumn; emerges from it in April-May. A female bear mates once every 2 years; the rut occurs in June-July; cubs appear in the den in winter. Bears molt once a year - in summer. Hunting for brown bear is permitted only with licenses. Hunting methods: in a den and from hiding on oats.

Wolf. This is a large, squat animal with a wide forehead, a narrow muzzle and a always drooping tail. The size and color of wolves in different regions The CIS differs markedly. The largest wolves live in the taiga and middle zone. Their usual weight is from 32 to 50 kg, the color is quite dark. Tundra wolves are smaller and lighter in color. Even smaller are steppe and desert wolves, which are reddish in color. Wolf tracks are larger than dog tracks - the length of a regular wolf's paw print is 12-18, width 5.5-8 cm. In addition, a wolf's track is longer and its fingerprints are longer. This animal always maintains the correct trot and puts its paws in the trail. The wolf lives wherever there is food and remote corners for breeding wolf cubs, but prefers open places, alternating with copses, thickets of bushes, ravines and swamps. It feeds on ungulates, hares, birds nesting on the ground, gophers, and, on occasion, young domestic animals, geese, and dogs, therefore it is considered a harmful animal and is subject to year-round extermination by all means. Wolves form permanent pairs. Their rut occurs in January-February, pregnancy is 63-63 days, wolf cubs (4-6) appear in April. In the fall, the brood of two seasoned wolves and the newly arrived ones, that is, those who appeared in the spring of the same year, is joined by pereyarki - young wolves born the year before. A pack of 8-15 wolves is formed, which all roam together. Hunting methods are as follows: with flags, in dens, in bait spots, from an airplane, with poisoned baits, with bait, and trap fishing. The cartridges are loaded with large buckshot.

Fox. An ordinary animal. Body length 49-90 cm, weight 2-10 kg. The fur on the back is bright red with a dark cross along the ridge; The chest and belly are white. There is great geographical and individual variability in the color of the fox. There are red foxes with fur colors ranging from fiery red to gray, gray foxes, crosses and black-brown ones. The footprint of a fox is easy to distinguish from a dog's: in dogs, the pads of the lateral toes extend beyond the rear edges of the front toes, covering them from the sides, and in foxes, like wolves, there is free space between the middle and lateral toes. In addition, the fox track (mark) stretches evenly, like a chain - all paw prints are on the same line. The fox lives throughout Kazakhstan. Common habitats are forests interspersed with fields and meadows, and river floodplains. The fox feeds on mouse-like rodents (mainly), large insects, various fruits, birds, hares, even carrion and food waste (in winter). Foxes rut ​​in January-February. For puppies, parents dig a hole with holes and several entrance holes, and sometimes they occupy someone else's hole, for example, a badger. The number of foxes is subject to large fluctuations from year to year due to widespread diseases or the absence of mouse-like rodents. Hunting methods: with flags, decoys, from the approach, with hounds, drive, trap fishing.

Mink. Body length 28-40 cm. The coat is brownish-brown, shiny; lips and chin white, there are often white spots on the chest and lower neck. This animal has swimming membranes between its toes. Mink tracks are more rounded compared to ferret tracks; the nails are noticeably shorter, the mink sets its paws wider, and its jump length is much shorter. Distributed from the western borders of the CIS to the river. Irtysh. Lives near forest rivers, oxbow lakes and lakes. In winter it stays near wormwood, non-freezing streams and riffles. Lives in a hole that it digs itself or expands the hole of the muskrat and water rat; underwater entrance. The main food is water rats, mouse-like rodents, fish, shellfish, crayfish, frogs, and, on occasion, birds. In autumn and winter, minks stock up on snakes, water rats and fish. Rutting in March-April; in a brood there are 4-7 cubs, which stay together until autumn. Minks shed just like others aquatic mammals, slowly and gradually, and therefore unnoticeably. European mink is caught with a gun and a hunting dog, traps, as well as self-catchers and a net.

Badger. It has a squat, wedge-shaped body, tapering towards the head, its length is 50-63 cm, the tail is short - 16-20 cm, its weight in autumn is up to 25-30 kg; legs are short, strong, with long claws; The wool is coarse, brownish-gray in color. Badger subspecies have dark brown or black stripes running around the ear and covering the eyes, with a white stripe running between them along the neck and head; smaller badgers living in Sebir, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Altai have a brown-gray stripe on their heads; badgers living in the lower reaches of the river. Ussuri, even smaller, their head is dark brown, their back is dark. Lives in forests and steppes, in places with uneven terrain and bushes; sometimes lives in deserts and mountains up to an altitude of 2500 m. The badger digs a hole with a large number of passages, holes and dead ends. In it he rests, takes out his children and spends the winter in hibernation; leads a nocturnal lifestyle. The badger is an omnivore; it eats roots, berries, acorns, insect larvae and caterpillars, frogs, lizards, rodents, and sometimes birds and their clutches. By the time it goes into hibernation, it becomes very fat. Estrus begins in late June - early July; completion - in October or November; Whelping from the end of December to the end of March. There are 3-4, sometimes 6 badgers in a litter. A badger sheds once a year - in summer. They hunt badgers with burrowing dogs or watch for them at dawn with a gun. The strong-smelling glands at the base of the tail must be immediately cut out of a killed animal, otherwise the meat will be impossible to eat.

Otter. This is an animal adapted for swimming with an elongated (63-90 cm) streamlined body; tail length 35-50 cm. The head is flattened, the neck is thick and long, the paws are relatively short, with membranes between the toes, the tail is thick at the base and long; the body is covered with short, dense and sliding brown fur with a whitish tint on the abdomen. Otter tracks are similar to badger tracks, but they can be easily distinguished by their widely spread toes with short, barely noticeable claws and by the large distance between the prints (80-90 cm, and for a badger 20-25 cm). The prints are in groups of 3 or 4 in each oblique row, on each of them 5 toes are visible, sometimes 4. The front edge of the swimming membrane is often imprinted on the sand, and a furrow from the tail is visible in the snow between the paw prints. If the snow is deep, the otter leaves a trail in the form of a continuous furrow. The otter also leaves traces in the form of droppings consisting of undigested remains of fish, crayfish, frogs, and water beetles; it can be found near the water on stones, logs, and sandbanks. Lives in fish-rich waters that do not completely freeze in winter. The otter swims and dives well, catching up with prey in the water. It hides in burrows with entrances below the water level or in rock crevices. Sheds gradually throughout the year. Hunting is permitted only with licenses. Otters are caught with a gun and a dog or traps.

Muskrat. A small rodent with valuable fur, imported from North America and successfully acclimatized. Its weight is about 1 kg, body length 30 cm, tail 23 cm. The tail is flattened on the sides, covered with scales, the hind legs have swimming membranes, the fur is brown on top and yellowish-red underneath. Distributed everywhere, especially developed in Northern Kazakhstan. Inhabits water bodies with rich vegetation, which is also accessible in winter. It feeds on aquatic and coastal plants, sometimes mollusks, worms and insects. It builds living and feeding huts from plant debris held together by silt, and digs holes with underwater exits in steep, densely overgrown banks. She has from 1 to 4 litters per year, depending on climatic conditions. Each litter contains 7-8 cubs. The number of muskrats is now so great that in many areas it has become the main commercial species, but its numbers fluctuate from year to year. Muskrats are caught mainly in traps.

Squirrel. Its color depends on its habitat: in the western regions it is brown or reddish-red, in the eastern regions it is reddish or copper-gray with a blue tint; All squirrels have a white belly. In winter, tassels grow on the ears. Squirrel tracks in the snow are easy to identify - these are two large prints in front and two smaller ones behind; like a hare, a squirrel skids when jumping hind legs for the front ones. The paw prints are located as if at the corners of a trapezoid; The width of the footprint is about 11 cm, the length is 7 cm. In the fine snow, five long toes on the hind legs and four on the front legs are clearly visible. Most often found in tall forests. Feeds on seeds coniferous trees, nuts, willow and aspen inflorescences, mushrooms, berries, insects; on occasion, it eats chicks and eggs of small birds; in hungry years it eats spruce buds. Breeding time, number of litters and number of young depend on seed harvest and weather. The first litter of squirrels is in April-May, the second - after 2-2.5 months. The number of squirrels in a litter ranges from 2 to 12. The number of squirrels in the same area decreases noticeably in the years following a poor harvest of spruce seeds, and increases several times in years of abundant food. Methods of catching squirrels: hunting with a husky, by eavesdropping, by nuts (nests). Shot for loading cartridges No. 6, 7; You can fire reduced charges.

Hare-Rusak. The largest of the hares: body length 55-68 cm, weight 4-6 g. The color of the coat is yellowish-red, lighter in winter, but never white. A wavy stripe of dark gray hair is visible on the back; the tail is dark on top. While galloping, the hare brings both hind legs behind the front ones and places them side by side, while the front ones are located one after the other. Therefore, two larger paw prints are visible in the snow in front and two smaller ones behind; the prints are small and oblong. The hare's droppings are nuts, and in winter they are dark brown in color. The hare is common in the northern part of Kazakhstan. It is an inhabitant of cultivated fields, meadows and steppes; it also lives on the edges of forests and near villages. Feeds herbaceous plants, in winter it eats winter crops, bark, buds and young shoots of fruit and berry plants. In central Kazakhstan, female hares give birth in March and August, and in the south - up to 4 times a year. The number of hares varies noticeably from year to year, as they suffer from putrefactive infestations and other diseases, especially in rainy summer; young animals often die during spring frosts. The main methods of obtaining are hunting with hounds, greyhounds and on blinds, trailing through powder. When shooting from under a hound and at ambush, shot No. 4 is used, and when shooting a hare raised from its rest, shot No. 2 and 3 are used.

White Hare. Significantly smaller than the hare: 45-55 cm, weight 2.5-5.5 kg. The coat is reddish-brown in the warm season, snowy white in winter, only the tips of the ears are black. The paw prints are larger than those of the hare, the toes are more rounded and wider on the loose snow; the droppings are yellowish-brown in color, lighter than those of the hare. Distributed in forest and forest-steppe zones of Kazakhstan. Common habitats are forests with dense undergrowth, swampy thickets, and shrubs in the steppe. In summer it feeds on grasses and shoots of bushes, in winter on dry grass and tree bark; he especially likes to gnaw on the bark of aspen trees fallen in the fall. In the steppe, white hares in herds of 15-20 animals make seasonal migrations from north to south. During the rutting season they make loud squealing sounds. Males find females using their sense of smell. In the tundra, females give birth to one, but very numerous (up to 13-14 pieces) litter, in the middle zone - two. Like hare, white hare is susceptible to various infectious and putrefactive diseases, and they often suffer from pestilence. The main methods of extraction are hunting with hounds and hunting. In some places they are also hunted by driving; in fishing areas they are caught with snares and traps. When shooting, shot No. 2-4 is used, and at close range - half-charges with shot No. 6.

Marmot. Body length 40-70 cm, tail - 8-22 cm, weight up to 7 kg (in autumn). Its body is dense, its legs are short, with strong claws; the ears are small, barely noticeable, semicircular in shape; the wool is thick and soft, light yellow or dark brown; the meat is tasty, the fur is of high quality; gives up to 2 kg of edible fat with medicinal properties. The baybak, gray marmot and tav-rabagan are common in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Eastern Kazakhstan in the steppe areas of the Tien Shan, the Menzbir marmot and the red marmot are found in the western part of the Tien Shan at an altitude of more than 2000 m. Marmots live only in unplowed steppes, living in colonies. They lead a diurnal lifestyle. They dig complex burrows with nesting chambers, burrows, numerous passages tens of meters long and exits 20-30 cm in diameter. Each family also has simpler protective burrows. Earth thrown to the surface forms a marmot up to 1 m high. There is a visual-sound connection between the animals, the alarm signal is a whistle. Marmot food - green grass; in spring they eat underground parts of plants, shoots of cereals and sedges, in summer - flowers and unripe fruits. At the beginning of September, they hibernate, having blocked the entrances to their burrows with plugs. Marmots mate in March, while still in their burrows, and emerge from their burrows in April. There are 4-6 marmots in a litter. With excessive fishing, the number of marmots recovers slowly due to the late onset of sexual maturity, high yield of females and large mortality of young animals. Their range is rapidly declining due to land plowing. Methods of hunting marmots: hiding or lying in wait near a hole with shooting from a gun, catching with traps (arc No. 3).

Boar. Close relative domestic pig. It differs from it in its large cone-shaped head with long, protruding fangs in adult males, a relatively high front part of the body, and coarse and long hair. Body length up to 2 m, height at the withers up to 1 m, weight reaches 150 kg. The color of the hair is dark brown in winter, grayish-brown or gray in summer; piglets are light brown with dark longitudinal stripes. The tracks have small hoof prints of the lateral toes pointing to the sides. It lives in dense, cluttered forests, reed thickets along the banks of rivers and lakes, broad-leaved and tall-stemmed cedar forests, and high-mountain meadows. The wild boar is an omnivore; it eats acorns, beech nuts and chestnuts, pine nuts, young shoots of reeds, cattail rhizomes, water chestnuts, as well as animal food - insect larvae, earthworms, fish. Adult male cleavers, or singles, stay alone and only during the rut they unite with pigs. Rutting in November-December. Piglets appear in late March - April. There are from 4 to 6 of them in a litter. Two or three females along with piglets form a herd of 10-20 heads and stay together. In the summer, they are often joined by piglets from last year, gilts, and sometimes barren females and immature males in their third year. The number fluctuates sharply depending on weather and food conditions. During snowy, frosty winters, many of them die due to lack of food. The methods of hunting wild boar are as follows: with dogs, in blinds, in a pen. They shoot it with large buckshot or a bullet. The most lethal place is the neck in the spine area.

Roe. Body length up to 1.4 m, height at the withers 1 m, weight 25-60 kg. Males have small horns sticking up with 3-5 shoots. Summer wool is yellowish-red, winter wool is grayish-brown; There is a white spot around the short tail, hidden by fur. Distributed in Eastern and Western Kazakhstan, in the mountains of Central Asia and the Tien Shan. Inhabits forests and forest patches of the forest-steppe zone, the southern part of the taiga, bush thickets in the steppes, mountain forests, and reed thickets. The roe deer avoids places with a snow depth of more than 50 cm. The usual diet is various herbaceous plants, fallen leaves, and less often - twig food. Rutting season in July-August. Pregnancy lasts 9 months, of which 4.5 are in the resting stage. Cubs (1-2) will be born in May and are spotted in color. Hunting for roe deer is prohibited in some places; in others they issue a license for it. Elk Body length 2.5-3 m, weight 300-500 kg. The head is hook-nosed with a long muzzle; the upper lip hangs over the lower; under the throat there is elongated hair in the form of a beard. The male has spade-shaped horns on his head with shoots along the edges. The color is dark brown, lighter on the legs. The marks of the sharp hooves of an adult moose are clearly visible even along the black trail. They are larger than cows (males are approximately 15x25 cm); The hoof prints of females are smaller and longer than those of males.

Elk. Distributed in forest and forest-steppe zones in the Crimea, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. It lives in forests with burnt areas and clearings, in swamps overgrown with willow and pine trees, in young deciduous plantations, floodplains of rivers and lakes. In spring and summer it feeds on succulent herbaceous plants, leaves and young shoots of trees, and eats marsh and aquatic plants; in the fall it switches to woody food - aspen and willow bark, thin branches of pine and juniper. Moose live alone or in groups of no more than 8-10 animals. The rut is in August-September, pregnancy lasts 8-9 months; calves (usually two per litter) appear in May-June. Males shed their antlers in November-January; new antlers grow in the summer. Moose are shot only with licenses. The main method of hunting is in pens; they are hunted using huskies. The cartridges are loaded with a bullet. The killing spots are the neck, shoulder blade, chest near the shoulder blade.

Saiga. Steppe antelope, 110-146 cm long and weighing 20-25 kg. The muzzle is humpbacked with a movable trunk at the end; light yellow horns are sharp, as if corrugated, curved forward at the ends; The fur on the back and sides is yellowish-red, on the chest and belly it is white. The tracks are heart-shaped; in the male they are large and wider, with a blunter anterior end. The litter is large and cylindrical in shape. Widely distributed in the dry steppes and deserts of Kalmykia, Astrakhan region, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In terms of numbers, they rank first among wild ungulates, with more than 2 million heads in the CIS. These are valuable game animals that provide tasty meat, medicinal raw materials (from horns), and expensive leather used for the production of chrome. Saiga antelopes usually graze in lower areas of the steppe or semi-desert, relatively close to water, as they go to water every day. They do not live on plowed lands. They feed on cereals, wormwood, and succulent plants of salt marsh meadows. They live in herds of several dozen animals; During migrations they gather in herds of thousands. Rutting in November-December (one male fertilizes more than 10 females). Cubs appear in May, two per litter. Saiga hunting is commercial in nature. For this purpose, special teams are created.

Game birds

This section describes, in addition to game birds, some species of birds included in the Red Book, the hunting of which is currently prohibited. This was done to prevent tragic mistakes leading to the death of rare and valuable representatives of the fauna. The hunter needs to know these birds in order to refrain from shooting when encountering them. In addition, getting to know appearance and the biology of birds prohibited from hunting also has educational significance, expanding the hunter’s horizons and his knowledge of his native nature.

Capercaillie. The length of an adult male reaches 1 m, weight 5 kg. The plumage on the back is gray; on the upper coverts and shoulder feathers there is a brown coating, a crop with a metallic greenish tint; belly with white streaks or completely white; wedge-shaped tail; tail feathers are black with white streaks at the base; the beak is whitish; the feathers on the chin and throat are elongated. The female capercaillie is significantly smaller than the male - her weight does not exceed 2-2.5 kg. The feathers on her back are brownish in color, her crop is red, often with dark streaks. Young wood grouse are colored like females before the autumn molt. It is a permanent inhabitant of pine and cedar forests, as well as large tracts of mixed forests: it leads a sedentary lifestyle. Wood grouse are polygamous birds - they do not form pairs. Females are fertilized during spring mating by different males. The peak of mating is in April; at the end of April - beginning of May, the capercaillie lays 6-8 eggs in a nest on the ground; incubation lasts 25-27 days. Immediately after hatching, capercaillies can run, and after two weeks they can flutter; They feed on insects, snails, ant pupae, and berries. Broods disperse in September. The autumn food of wood grouse is withering, “souring” aspen leaves and larch needles; at this time they greedily swallow small pebbles; in winter they eat buds and needles of pine, spruce and fir, rowan berries, viburnum and juniper, and in shallow snow - lingonberries and wild rosemary leaves. The methods of hunting wood grouse are as follows: in the spring on a lek - stealthily; in the fall - with a pointer, a spaniel, a husky, shooting on aspen trees, from the approach or from a hut and on pebbles. In August and September, shot No. 5 and 6 are used, later - No. 2 and 3. The capercaillie, which lives in Eastern Siberia, is distinguished by darker, almost black, plumage, white spots on the wings and tail coverts, a significantly longer body and tail, smaller head, beak and wingspan sizes; the female is dark brown.

Grouse Body length 40-50 cm, weight 0.8-1.4 kg. The plumage of the male (slasher, scaup) is black with a bluish or greenish tint on the chest (in young males there are brown specks on the shoulder feathers). The wing lining, undertail and “mirror” on the wings are white; the outer tail feathers are long and curved to the sides. Grouse and black grouse are brown on top with reddish transverse streaks; the ventral side is lighter, the streaks on it are dark; the middle feathers are shorter than the outer feathers. In males and females, the metatarsus is feathered, and there are red leathery folds above the eyes. Little grouse emit a quiet melodious whistle, adults cluck; The mowers on the lek mutter and chuff. Black grouse are widespread in the zone of mixed forests and forest-steppe. It lives on the edges of forests and clearings with shrubs, in small pine forests in moss swamps, birch and alder copses, young coniferous plantings interspersed with deciduous trees and shrubs. Does not form permanent pairs. Orcas fertilize females on leks. At the end of April-May, grouse lay eggs (8-10 pcs.), Grouse chicks hatch in early or mid-June. They feed on insects and berries. In September, the cockerels turn black and look like adult braids. At this time, the broods break up, and at the end of September the black grouse gather in flocks. In October, when the leaves have already fallen off, flocks of black grouse perch on trees and often fly to grain fields to feed. In winter they feed on birch buds and catkins.

White partridge. Slightly larger in size than the gray partridge, weight 550-700 g, wing length 188-202 mm. The plumage in winter is snowy white, only the tail feathers are black; in early spring, the head and neck of males are rusty brown, the rest of the plumage is white; at the height of spring, the back is black-brown with transverse stripes of a rusty color; in autumn the plumage is lighter; The flight feathers are always white. In females, the back is black-brown with yellowish spots and light edges on the feathers, the underside is brown with dark transverse stripes; autumn plumage is darker, very similar to young partridges. The beak is massive, 9.5-13 mm high at the base. The bridle is white in winter. Ptarmigans inhabit the Arctic and mountain tundra, moss swamps in the forest zone, birch, aspen and alder groves and copses of the forest-steppe part of southwestern Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan. During the nesting period they live in pairs; in the fall, the broods form small flocks. In winter, they migrate from the tundra and accumulate in large numbers in sparsely populated parts of the forest-tundra, where they serve as objects of intensive fishing. There is no hunting for ptarmigan in the spring. In the fall they are shot from under a cop's gun. The brood found by the dog first runs, then rises together on the wing and flies quite far away. Finding it can be difficult, since the flight direction usually changes. The second found white partridges lie tightly, stand up well and allow the hunter to come close to them. The cartridges are equipped with shot No. 7, 8, in autumn and winter No. 6. Fishermen catch partridges with snares and guards.

Grouse. A relatively small bird weighing 400-450 g. The plumage on the back is gray with dark transverse streaks, sometimes of a reddish tint; The male's throat is black, the female's is whitish; on the abdomen the feathers are brown with a light border; on the head there is a tuft of elongated feathers; on the tail there is a black apical stripe 1-3 cm wide. It lives in mixed forests, preferring spruce-alder plantations and young forests with well-developed juveniles and undergrowth. In summer and autumn it eats lingonberries, rowan berries, raspberries, and rose hips; in winter it eats buds and seeds of alder and birch; in spring and early summer - last year's seeds of deciduous trees, as well as young lingonberry and blueberry buds; during the snowless period, it swallows small pebbles, which are needed to grind coarse plant food in the stomach. Grouse, unlike other grouse, are monogamous; in the fall they pair up for the breeding season. The mating season begins in April, when the buds on willow and alder open. At the end of April, the female lays 6-12 eggs in a nest built on the ground and incubates them for 18-20 days; chicks hatch in late May - early June. By the end of August, young hazel grouse differ little from adults in size and plumage. Broods of hazel grouse often die in cold and rainy springs; many young birds are destroyed by feathered and four-legged predators. Nevertheless, their numbers, especially in Siberia, are still high. Methods of hunting hazel grouse: from the approach, using a pika (shot number 8), fishing with loop and wooden traps.

Wood pigeon.(vityuten; Columba palumbus), a bird of the pigeon family; the largest pigeon found in Russia. Length about 45 cm; weight 420-620 g. In flight, a wood pigeon can be easily distinguished from other pigeons by white spots on the wing, and a sitting pigeon can be easily distinguished by white spots on its neck.
The wood pigeon is distributed throughout Europe, with the exception of northern regions, in North-West Africa, Asia Minor and Western Asia, the Himalayas, Central Asia and Western Siberia. In temperate latitudes, the wood pigeon leads a migratory lifestyle and only in the south of its range is it sedentary. Wintering areas are located in the southern parts of the nesting area or slightly beyond its limits. In spring it arrives relatively early, in March in the south, in April - early May in the north of the range, when the ground is completely free of snow and food becomes available.
The pigeon lives mainly in coniferous forests, sometimes settling in parks. In the forest it stays secretive, choosing trees with a dense crown, and it is quite difficult to see it, unless it is flying by. During the mating season, the wood pigeon can be easily detected by its peculiar, far-audible cry (“ghu-u-huhu, ghu-u-huhu”), unlike the cooing of other pigeons. The male calls, usually sitting at the top of the tree, but sometimes in the middle part of the tree, on a horizontal branch; in this case, he walks around the dove, spreading his neck plumage. From time to time, the male makes a lekking flight: flapping his wings vigorously, he flies obliquely 10-20 m up, and then slides down on his outstretched wings and, having described a wide circle, returns to the same place or close to it.
The pigeon's nest is usually placed on the side branches of trees, less often on bushes. It consists of a flat flooring of thin dry branches, rather loosely folded. The diameter of the nest is 30-40 cm, and the height is 7-14 cm. There are two pure white eggs in the wood pigeon’s clutch. The female does most of the incubation, although the male also takes part. Incubation lasts 17-18 days. Both parents feed the chicks - first with the curdled secretion of the crop walls, and then with food brought and softened in the crop. The chicks remain in the nest for about 20 days.
For the first time after departure, the young stay with their parents, who continue to feed them for several more days. Having begun to fly, the pigeons return for a while to the night on the tree on which the nest was located. Soon they fight off the old ones, form flocks, which, apparently, are joined by single old birds, and wander through the surrounding forests. These migrations gradually turn into flights to wintering areas.
Nesting in the forest, the pigeon flies to feed in fields and other open spaces. This is the only Russian pigeon that collects food not only on the ground, but also in trees. Its main food is the seeds of cultivated cereals and wild plants, especially cereals and legumes. It also eats various berries - honeysuckle, rowan, currants, rose hips, mulberries, blossoming tree buds, and where there is oak, it readily eats acorns.

Common turtle dove. Unlike the wood pigeon and the clawfoot, its entire metatarsus is bare. The turtledove's tail is strongly rounded; tail feathers, except for the middle two, with white tips. The color of the body is dominated by dove-pink and coffee tones; on the neck on each side there are three dark spots surrounded by a light outline. The voice of the common turtle dove is a gentle murmuring coo. Inhabits deciduous forests, gardens and parks of the European part of the CIS, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Northern Asia; in the east - to Altai; it is not available in high mountain areas. The turtle dove's habitats are copses, forest edges, groups of trees along the banks of rivers and overgrown gardens. They arrive at the end of April and fly away at the end of August - beginning of September. The turtle dove is quieter than other pigeons and does not gather in large flocks. It's much easier to hunt. Hunting methods - from the approach and from ambushes using shot No. 8 and 9.

Mallard. The largest of the river ducks. The weight of a drake is 1.1-1.3 kg, a duck is 1.0-1.2 kg. The drake in breeding plumage has a head and neck of a shiny dark green color, with an incomplete white ring on the neck; the crop and chest are dark brown; the back and lower part of the body are gray with a streaky pattern of thin transverse streaks; the tail is bordered by a narrow white stripe, the middle tail feathers are curved upward in the form of a braid; on the wing there is a purple mirror with black and white stripes on the sides; the beak is greenish, the legs are red. The duck is dark brown on top with rusty speckles, below - brownish-gray with longitudinal speckles; the beak is olive-colored, yellow on the sides, with dark spots; legs are gray-orange. The plumage of young ducks before the autumn molt is the same as that of adult females; they can be distinguished only by their legs - dark or yellow-orange with dark membranes. It lives in overgrown shallow water bodies, feeding on aquatic plants and insects, frogs, and in the fall - cereal grains. Its arrival coincides with the formation of meltwater edges and polynyas when the air temperature rises slightly above zero. This usually happens at the end of the first half of April. During the breeding season, mallards pair up. The number of eggs in a clutch is 8-12; incubation lasts 26 days. Ducklings hatched from eggs can immediately run and swim, and after 2 months. - and fly. Drakes do not take any part in making nests and raising ducklings. During the incubation period, they gather in flocks and fly off to molting sites - to the Volga delta, to large shallow lakes in Kazakhstan and Western Siberia, the Rybinsk Reservoir, where they stay in hard-to-reach places and change their bright spring attire to modest summer plumage, becoming like ducks. During molting, the flight feathers fall out all at once, and for 20-25 days the birds become completely helpless, as they cannot fly. Together with the drakes, “single” and lost ducks fly away. The hatched ducklings molt at the nesting sites in August. In September, the autumn molt occurs, and mallards again acquire a dense and bright (for drakes) winter plumage. Departure from the central regions begins in late September - early October. Methods of hunting mallard ducks: with decoy; from the approach and access by boat; on flights. The cartridges are loaded with shot No. 5-7.

Pintail. It differs from the mallard in its smaller size, more elongated body, long tail and narrow wings. The drake's head and upper part of the neck are brown, with a white stripe running along the side of the neck; the back and sides are gray with a dark wavy pattern, the crop and belly are white; on the wings of the drake there is a bronze-green mirror with a brown stripe on top and velvety black and white on the bottom; undertail black; The middle tail feathers are dark (up to 20 cm long), sticking out back like knitting needles. The duck is grayish-white with a light belly; tail feathers with oblique light stripes. In summer plumage, drakes look like ducks. Pintail is widespread throughout the world. The main nesting sites are in the forest-tundra. Spring migration in the middle zone and at the end of April, autumn migration at the end of September - beginning of October. In nutrition, the pintail prefers animal feed; in the taiga it eats blueberries.

Teal whistle. Drake is the size of a pigeon (250-450 g). The head is chestnut-red with a shiny black-green stripe on the sides, the crop is yellowish with black spots, the sides are gray, the speculum is shiny green with a velvety black edge; beak black. The female is brown above with reddish streaks, whitish below, the speculum is pale; The edges of the beak are yellowish with black spots - a good distinguishing feature at any time of the year. This is the most numerous duck. The teal is widespread everywhere, with the exception of the Arctic coast, Eastern Siberia, Southern Kazakhstan and Central Asia. It lives in small ponds and lakes, in oxbow lakes, in large puddles and ditches, in close proximity to human habitation. Arrives in mid-April, departs in the second half of September.

Teal cracker. Slightly larger than a whistler. The drake's head is brown with a white stripe behind the eye, the back is gray-olive, the speculum is dove-blue, the crop and upper chest are brown with dark spots, the beak is gray. The female is dark brown with a light belly, the crop and sides have a reddish coating, the speculum is hardly noticeable in the summer feathers, the beak is dark gray. Distributed everywhere, but does not nest north of 62-64° N. w. and in Central Asia; rare in eastern Siberia. Lives mainly in mixed forests, forest-steppe and steppe, avoids taiga reservoirs and tundra. During molting, it feeds on plant foods. The rest of the time it eats animal feed. Arrives in the second half of April; flies away in September. Tufted Duck A medium-sized duck weighing 600-800 g. The drake has a black head with a purple tint, a crest of narrow black feathers on the back of the head, a black back, craw and chest, white belly and sides; mirror on the wings of the same color. In females and young birds, the back and chest are black-brown, the transition to light plumage is gradual, at the base of the mandible the feathers are lighter; the beak in the apical part is somewhat widened. The voice resembles a croak, the flight is noisy and fast. Distributed throughout most of Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the river basin. Amur; There is especially a lot of it on the lakes of the forest-steppe part of Western Siberia. It arrives at nesting sites early, but the nesting period is often prolonged. It makes nests near water and lays 8-10 eggs. It molts at nesting sites without accumulating into large flocks. It flies off in huge flocks quite late, sometimes lingering until freeze-up.

Coot. A bird from the rail family, but similar to ducks in habitat and lifestyle; the size of a medium-sized duck, wing length 192-222 mm. The head and neck are black, there is a white plaque on the forehead; the back is blackish-black, the belly is smoky-gray, from a distance it appears black. There are swimming blades on the front toes. Coots fly poorly, rise reluctantly, and scatter across the water for a long time when taking off. In case of danger, they prefer to hide in coastal vegetation. The voice is nasal, whining. Common habitats are ponds overgrown with water and slow-flowing lakes; stays in shallow water areas. It feeds on aquatic plants, insects and partly fish, which is why the meat often smells like fish. It arrives in the spring later than the ducks and flies away quite early in the fall. Hunting methods are from the approach and from lifting on a boat. The cartridges are loaded with shot Nos. 7 and 8.

Grey goose. This is a large bird. Its body length is about 90 cm, wings 398-495 mm, weight 3-3.5 kg. The back and rump are ash-gray, the belly is white, mature birds have small dark spots on the chest and abdomen, and transverse dark stripes on the sides; beak Pink colour with white nails, reddish legs. Bird coloring all year round does not change, there are no noticeable differences between males and females. The plumage of young birds is dark without spots on the abdomen; the beak and legs are greenish-yellow. The cry resembles the cackling of a domestic goose. It lives on large lakes overgrown with reeds and reeds in Western Siberia, Kazakhstan, the south of Eastern Siberia, as well as in places in the European territory of the CIS - from Karelia to the delta of the Volga and Danube rivers. Gray geese always, with the exception of the nesting period, keep in flocks. Usually the arrival begins in mid-March and ends in the second half of April. Nests are made on large lakes, surrounded by reeds and swamps, in remote, hard-to-reach places. The goose lays 4-5 white eggs and incubates them for four weeks. Chicks appear at the end of May-June. Males, unlike other waterfowl, take an active part in caring for their offspring and are always with their broods. In June, adult birds molt: all their primary flight feathers fall out, and they escape from enemies only by diving or climbing into the thickets of coastal waters. and aquatic vegetation. Young geese stay with their parents all the time and almost simultaneously rise to the wing when the flight feathers grow. The food of gray geese is seedlings of grass and bread, aquatic vegetation; on lakes - crustaceans and leeches. After molting, the geese are united in 2- 3 broods together and begin regular flights to feed - in the field, steppe, in shallow water. Flight to the south from the tundra begins in late August - early September; in the middle zone they fly in late September - early October; winter in the southern part of the Caspian Sea. Methods hunting: on flights; stealthily; from the entrance; on profiles. The cartridges are loaded with shot No. 2-4.

Great snipe. Kulik, wing length 135-146 mm. The crown is black and white with a yellowish longitudinal stripe, the sides and belly are with large transverse streaks of dark color, often in the form of angles or brackets, the outer tail feathers are white. It can withstand a dog's stance better than a snipe, flies straight and low, moves relatively close - 100-200 m. It is easily recognized by the characteristic “convex” noise of its wings during takeoff. It wanders on the ground, gathering at night in favorite places that remain unchanged from year to year. At dusk you can see their flowing white tail feathers and hear the characteristic crackling sound. In autumn, during migration, it is often found on arable land and in vegetable gardens. Arrives at the end of April - beginning of May, flies away two to three weeks earlier than the snipe. Great snipe hunting is allowed only in autumn, The best way- with a cop, use fractions No. 9 and 8.

Garnish. Wing length 101-117 mm. The back is brownish-brown with longitudinal ocher stripes on the sides; part of the feathers on the back and shoulder feathers with a metallic sheen of greenish and lilac shades; chest and crop with vague longitudinal streaks. Inhabits marshy swamps overgrown with reeds. It arrives at the same time as the great snipe, and in the fall it flies away even later than the snipe, when the swamps begin to freeze. The spearfish sits very tightly and takes off at the very last moment. The dog makes a stance on the spearfish at a close distance (“short”) due to its small size and habit of hiding in depressions in the soil and thick grass. Having taken off, the gunshot first flies against the wind, then, as if unable to fight it, to the side - or even downwind, forward again, etc., so it is not so easy to shoot it. The cartridges are loaded with shot No. 10.

Godwit. The sandpiper is the size of an ordinary pigeon; wing length 176-240 mm. The crown is black-brown with longitudinal streaks of rusty color, the throat is white, the crop and chest are red with dark transverse stripes, the belly and sides are gray-white with stripes; the back of the back is blackish; the rump is white, the tail feathers are black with white bases. The feathers on the back of young birds are blackish-brown with light edges, the abdomen is without mottled lines, the chest is light with an ocher-smoky coating. The godwit's voice resembles the cry of pigtails (lapwings). Inhabits grassy swamps in the forest-steppe and in the southern part of the forest zone of the CIS. Hunting for godwit is prohibited in spring. In the fall it is caught from the approach (it does not stand up) along with hunting for other swamp game; cartridges are loaded with shot No. 7 and 8.

Landrail. The body is oblong and laterally compressed. The corncrake runs quickly in the tall grass. The back is dark brown with yellowish and gray spots, the lower wing coverts and axillary feathers are reddish-brown, the sides are yellowish-red, the chest and crop are yellow with white transverse stripes, and buffy-red in autumn. The beak is short, no more than 25 mm, significantly smaller than the metatarsus. Chicks are black. Lives in damp and swampy meadows and fields; in autumn it is found in bushes and forest edges. The corncrake is often called the twitcher, since its loud, squeaky voice during the mating period can be conveyed by the sound combination “twitch, twitch, twitch.” The flight of the twitcher in spring, summer and early autumn is slow and clumsy (it flies with its back lowered, as if sitting), therefore it prefers to flee from danger; he rises onto the wing only as a last resort, if the dog forces him to do so. Late autumn, before departure, the corncrake rises even without a dog, and flies in a horizontal position and very quickly. Arrives in mid-May, departs in early October. In spring, hunting for corncrake is prohibited. In the fall they shoot him from under a cop's gun. He usually cannot stand the stance and runs away, so the dog must work well not only on horseback, but also on the scent, have a quick lead (preferably a throw), and be disciplined. The spaniel works great on the corncrake, preventing it from running away and quickly lifting it onto the wing. For shooting, shot No. 8 and 9 are used.

Pheasant. A medium-sized bird with a long wedge-shaped tail; wing length 190-240 mm; the feathers on the head and neck are shiny, blue or green. The plumage color of males of different subspecies is different, females are almost the same color. Distributed in the river valleys of the plains of Central Asia and Southern Kazakhstan. Inhabits thorny berry bushes, reeds, agricultural crops, bush thickets along the banks of rivers and lakes, and forests with dense undergrowth. Pheasants live sedentary, alone or in groups of 4-5 individuals; some subspecies make small migrations, gathering in flocks of 80-100 individuals. This bird is well bred in captivity and acclimatizes in the central regions of the CIS, provided it is fed and protected from predators. They hunt pheasants with a pointer, and a dog with a tight eyeliner is unsuitable for this. Good results hunting with a spaniel gives. When shooting, you need to take into account that the pheasant first rises vertically upward and only after that flies horizontally. The cartridges are loaded with shot No. 5-7.

Gray partridge. Small bird; male weight 400-500 g, female 350-450 g, wing length 143-159 mm. The back is gray with an olive tint and a black streaky pattern, the crown is brownish with light streaks, the throat and head on the sides are rusty, the crop and chest are light gray with a gray or speckled pattern, the neck in front is buffy, and there is a horseshoe-shaped dark rusty spot on the belly. In females this spot is small or absent at all; the upper wing coverts have transverse stripes. Lives in the steppe, in the north it is distributed up to 50-60° N. sh., in the east - to Altai, in the south - to Azerbaijan and the northern outskirts of Central Asia. In terms of physique and habits, the gray partridge resembles a domestic chicken; it easily tolerates captivity, so it can be bred in cages. In harsh winters with lots of snow, partridges die from lack of food, stray cats and dogs, poachers, under the ice crust after thaws followed by frosts. Therefore, in many places, despite a long-term ban on hunting it, the gray partridge has almost completely disappeared. In autumn and winter, partridges live in flocks, in spring - in pairs, in summer - in broods. In spring, gray partridges are not hunted. In the fall they are shot from under a cop's gun. For the first time, the brood rises all at once, often unable to maintain a stance and outside the shot, but moves not far. After one or two or three rises, the partridges hide tightly; They stand up well and rise one at a time. When shooting at a brood or flock, you need to aim at one bird, otherwise only an accidental hit is possible. The shot for shooting in the right barrel is No. 8, in the left - No. 7. In late autumn, partridges become very cautious and rise at a long distance. The bearded partridge (Daurian) lives in the steppes of the foothills of Central Asia. Unlike the gray partridge, its throat and head on the sides are buffy, its crop has yellow-buff feathers, and the spot on its abdomen is dark brown or black. In autumn and winter, tufts of hard feathers 18-20 mm long grow on the sides of the chin.

Quail. The physique resembles a partridge; slightly larger in size than a starling. Wing length 97-111 mm; the color of the upper part of the body is brown, on the crown there are three light longitudinal stripes (one in the middle and two on the sides), on the back there are sharp longitudinal streaks, the crop and chest are light rusty; The male's throat is brown (light in autumn); The female has a chest with dark streaks and a whitish throat. The call of displaying male quails (fight) consists of two sounds: “va-vva, va-vva” and “high-low”. He repeats the first quiet knee 2-3 times, followed by the second, i.e. the actual fight, which is heard at a great distance. Lives in fields and meadows, feeds on insects, grass seeds, and grains. In the middle zone it appears in early May and flies away in mid or late September. The breeding period is extended over 2-3 months, so quail can be found even in August. In spring, quail hunting is prohibited. In the fall, they are shot from under the gun and from the approach with shot No. 9. In the southeast of Siberia, the silent quail lives, characterized by its smaller size and brighter color; his throat and cheeks are rusty-red, white in autumn; The sides are red with longitudinal white stripes. Lives in damp meadows, less often in fields.

In the early nineties, the economy and the entire content of life changed radically in our country. New business opportunities have emerged, including in the field of hunting and game management.

Part one.

In the early nineties, the economy and the entire content of life changed radically in our country. New business opportunities have emerged, including
in the field of hunting and game management. In addition, hunting in other countries has become incomparably more accessible. It is clear that for visiting hunters this is a paid pleasure, but for the receiving party it is a complex but quite effective business. Moreover, the experience of countries where it has long been well developed shows that the hunting industry is more profitable compared to traditional agriculture.

In a number African countries significantly reduce the intensity of forest harvesting to preserve forests as a habitat for game animals. During foreign hunts (especially the first ones), most of our compatriots experience serious shocks. It is clear that in Africa there is a sea of ​​​​unseen animals, but this is expected and generally known. However, when in European countries - Spain, Sweden, Austria, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, etc. - you catch dozens of ungulates and hundreds of game birds in one day, you begin to seriously think about how they manage to do this.
Probably everyone has heard about the Spanish Montereys, during which about a hundred (!) animals are killed in one large drive: European red deer, fallow deer, mouflon and wild boar. These hunts are carried out in compliance with traditional rituals - with bonfires, music, etc. The festive dinner is also an indispensable part of the ritual.

As a rule, hunting participants are offered to hunt red partridges in a pen. No one refuses such an invitation. Usually, each guest is given two identical shotguns, five hundred rounds of ammunition and a secretary - loader.
With the beginning of the drive, the partridges move in an increasing wave. Secretaries sometimes barely have time to reload their guns. My compatriots, unaccustomed to such an abundance of game, simply go crazy. Will we ever be able to get several hundred heads of game in a couple of hours?!
I remember the incredibly productive hunts for ungulates in private farms in Sweden (“ROG” No. 51, 2011). In an area of ​​less than three thousand hectares, without any barriers, hundreds of ungulates stayed. With very strict restrictions on the sex and age of animals of each species allowed for hunting, at least twenty ungulates of different species (elk, European red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, wild boar) were taken in each hunt.
It is possible to raise and maintain such a number of animals in relatively small areas thanks to high-quality and varied feeding. In addition to the abundance of animals, Swedish hunts are amazing due to the presence of very good roads and technical support. Here there is radio communication for all participants in the hunt (including dogs), and vehicles, including special ones, with winches for pulling hunted animals out of hard-to-reach places, and cars with warm kennels for transporting dogs, and cars that transport shooters to half-towers before the start of the hunt and collected after. The number of service personnel significantly exceeds the number of hunters. At the bases where hunters are received, impeccable living conditions and absolutely luxurious food and service are provided.
I had vivid impressions from hunting red partridges and pheasants on the grounds of the Montefeltro company in the northern part of Italy. Each of the fifteen hunters was given a pair of guns and one secretary (assistant) who loaded them. There were three pens. Each hunter fired approximately 200 shots. It is clear that the effectiveness of shooting was mainly determined by the shooting skills of the guests. The flight of the bird was so intense that it was impossible to touch the barrels of the guns, and the secretaries did not always have time to load. The general situation of the hunt aroused extraordinary excitement even among seasoned hunters. The traditional display of game, and then a luxurious dinner with the organizers of the hunt, was a wonderful end to this rare holiday.
It is impossible to forget the exciting hunts in Germany, when four dozen animals were hunted in one pen.
These Amazing Hunts Make You Think important issue: how small industrialists manage to developed countries with a high population density to host tens of thousands of foreign hunting enthusiasts annually? A well-developed service sector for “expensive” hunters provides fantastically interesting and very eventful hunts. Their organizers manage to turn each hunt into an unforgettable holiday, colored by national flavor. How is it possible to provide them all with fabulous prey hunting? The answer lies on the surface. Hunting farms are engaged in raising wild animals (ungulates and birds) intended for hunting in the same way as peasant livestock breeders do. As the necessary conditions are achieved, the animals are “sold for sale” - released into hunting grounds.

It is characteristic that the forms of keeping hunting and ordinary domestic animals are almost completely the same. There are essentially three of these basic forms: aviary, semi-free and free. Birds - ducks, partridges, pheasants - are almost always bred in enclosures. However, they do not get there right away. Usually it all starts with modern large incubators that are used in poultry farms. Large European farms breed several tens of thousands of birds per year. After the incubator, the chicks are kept in rooms with special conditions. Special feed is prepared to feed the young animals. At about three weeks old, the chicks are transferred to open-air enclosures. A high concentration of poultry requires close veterinary observation and periodic vaccination, since in such conditions the chances of losing livestock from an epizootic are very high. In addition, growing birds must be forced to move - first to run and then to fly. There are also a number of specific problems. For example, as they grow older, pheasant cockerels become so pugnacious that they can beat an opponent to death. To prevent fights, they wear special “glasses.”
Ungulates have also been raised in closed enclosures for a long time. Man began to build the first “enclosures” for wild animals, probably back in Neolithic times. All civilizations ancient world, about which we know at least something, were associated with hunting and keeping wild animals in captivity. In Western European countries, enclosure keeping of game animals has developed rapidly since the beginning of the 16th century.

(Martes zibellina) is the pearl of our country's fur wealth. Outside Russia, it is found in small quantities only in China, Korea and China. The resources of this mustelid species, largely thanks to the organization of natural ones (Altai, Barguzinsky, Kronotsky and a number of others), which were created as “sable” ones, have now been restored to a level corresponding to the capacity of the land. High price the use of sable furs contributes to the intensive development of its reserves, which in some places leads to excessive fishing pressure. In addition to the fishing pressure, in recent decades the influence of the processes of industrialization and urbanization of Siberia on sable populations has been increasing.

The level of fluctuations in sable growth in different regions ranges from 22 to 142%, which is due to the cyclical nature of the main feed. The high migration activity characteristic of the sable causes a rapid equalization of its density over large areas.

In recent years, sable resources in the country have stabilized at 1.1 million individuals. The highest densities of the species are characteristic of some regions of Central and Southern Siberia, Far East.

It has two subspecies: stone marten (Martes foina) and forest marten (Martes martes). The fur is thick, fluffy, very beautiful. In the pine marten it is usually dark brown in color, while in the stone marten it is lighter, with a fawn tint, and less dense.

The pine marten prefers mature and overmature taiga-type forests with tall, hollow trees. Since her food ration is quite heterogeneous, it is characterized by smoothed natural fluctuations in numbers. The main food of the marten is mouse-like, hazel grouse, squirrel; from plant food - rowan. During the years of the mountain ash harvest (about once every 4 years), the marten is inactive, and after such wintering its reproduction is successful.

The resources of pine and stone martens living in Russia have not undergone significant changes in the recent period. The highest average density of martens is characteristic of the Central region.

The total volume of legal production of martens is approximately 10 thousand individuals.

The stone marten is a more southern species. It inhabits southern Russia, Southern and Central Europe, including Denmark and.

(Mustela sibirika). According to genetic characteristics, it is a representative of the genus of weasels and ferrets. The distribution area covers mainly low-mountain forest spaces in the south and central zone of Siberia and the Far East, reaching the Urals to the west. Over the past decades, the range of the Siberian weasel has expanded in Yakutia. This small predator is confined mainly to the forest river network and avoids large open spaces.

For housing, Siberians use the burrows of rodents - chipmunks, water voles, pikas; they settle in hollows, lying logs, make nests among heaps of dead wood, under “inversions” - the rearing roots of fallen trees.

According to the nature of their feeding, the Siberian Siberian Siberians occupies an intermediate position between typical “mouse eaters” (weasel, ermine) and polyphagous predators (sable, marten). The diet of this animal consists of voles (including water voles), mice, hamsters, and small passerine birds. In autumn great importance The column's diet consists of migratory fish.

Column fur is quite valuable and is used both in its natural form and to imitate more expensive furs. The long tail hairs are used to make high-quality painting brushes.

It belongs to common predators, but its numbers have now dropped significantly due to hunting, deterioration of food resources, and destruction of habitats.

Ermine is most numerous in taiga and tundra regions. Their choice of habitat is determined by the abundance of their main food - small rodents. As a rule, the ermine prefers to settle close to water: along the banks and floodplains of rivers and streams, near forest lakes, along coastal thickets, bushes and reeds. In hungry and food-poor years, stoats leave their areas and sometimes move considerable distances. Sometimes migrations are also caused by mass reproduction of rodents in neighboring areas.

Ermine is a commercial object (the fur is used as a finishing fur). Useful for killing mouse-like rodents.

The number of small mustelids - weasel, ermine, ferret, weasel, living in mountains, forests, open spaces, often near human habitation - is subject to large fluctuations and is closely related to fluctuations in the main types of food - small mammals (mainly rodents).

(Lepus tumidus) and brown hare(Lepus europaeus) are the most common objects of hunting. Lifestyle is twilight and nocturnal. They usually move by jumping at speeds of up to 70 km per hour. They stay alone.

In recent years, the number of white hare has remained at the level of 5.0–5.7 million animals, but in the late 80s - early 90s. last century it was much higher. Over 30% of the species' population is concentrated in, more than 20% in the Northwestern Federal District, and more than 25% in and.

More than 50% of the habitat has a very low (less than 1 individual per 1 thousand hectares) hare distribution density, over 30% has a low density (up to 3 individuals) and only 4% has a very high density (more than 10 individuals per 1 thousand hectares).

Over the past years, the resources of the brown hare in Russia have been at the level of 800–900 thousand animals, which is 1.5–2 times lower than the annual average of 1986–1990. To date, more than 50% of the population of this species is concentrated in the territory of the Southern federal district, 20% each in the Volga Federal District and.

The main factors limiting the number of hares are conditions and human activities. With the return of spring colds with rain and snow, the death of the first litter of hares is great. In open spaces, deep snow covers up twig food and worsens feeding conditions. Great damage is caused by predators - lynx, wolf, goshawk, etc. The greatest damage is caused by ownerless storage and irrational use of fertilizers and pesticides by agricultural workers. Predatory hunting greatly undermines population numbers. The death of hares from helminthiases has been reported.

• take into account the influence in various ways livestock hunting;
• apply rational methods of cultivating agricultural fields (from the center to the periphery);
• prohibit raid hunts and extermination hunts from vehicles;
• regulate hunting by prey standards (up to 30% for the brown hare and up to 40% for the white hare) and hunting periods;
• apply the reintroduction of hares and improve the ecological conditions of their habitat;
• carry out fertilizing and construction of salt licks.

European, or river beaver (Castor fiber), by the beginning of the 20th century. was almost everywhere exterminated. But thanks to re-acclimatization and the creation of special reserves and reserves, by the beginning of the 1980s. its range and numbers have been almost completely restored. At the same time, the role of the beaver in the Voronezh Reserve in the resettlement of the beaver is especially great, sending more than 4 thousand individuals to other reserves (Pechora-Ilychsky, Khopersky, Mordovian, etc.), which became centers of secondary resettlement of this species.

On the territory of Russia (in the western part of the Republic and the Leningrad region, another species of beaver is also acclimatized - the Canadian beaver (C. canadensis).

The well-being of the beaver is determined mainly by feeding conditions, hydrological conditions (floods or drying out), as well as anthropogenic factors. In recent years, wolves have begun to hunt beavers. Stray dogs cause great damage to livestock.

During floods, beavers in some settlements where the main bank is located far from the reservoir (200 m or more) experience certain difficulties. A necessary measure to save them is the construction of life rafts. These rafts are also used by other semi-aquatic animals during floods: otter, mink, muskrat, water vole.

In the country as a whole, beaver resources have stabilized with a slight growth trend.

Of the rodents, squirrels are of greatest importance in the fur trade.

(Sciurus vulgaris) can reach high densities (up to 10 or more individuals per 100 hectares of forest) due to the large mosaic nature of forest lands. Its number varies significantly with a cycle of fluctuations of 4 - 8 years, due to natural reasons (seed yield coniferous species trees) and ongoing felling of mature coniferous plantations, providing the animals with their favorite food - seeds from cones.

Common fox- the largest of the foxes (in Russia, representatives of this genus of wolves also include the corsac fox and the Afghan fox). Habitats vary from deserts to deserts. Most active at dusk, lives in burrows.

Since adaptability allows the fox to exist successfully under almost all conditions, the food supply does not limit the number of the species. The fox is pursued by wolves, lynxes, dogs and especially humans. It also suffers from an epizootic of scabies, which significantly reduces the number of livestock.

In Russia, a noticeable increase in the number of foxes has been observed since the early 1990s. Throughout the Central Federal District, the population density of foxes is one of the highest in the country and remains above average. In the Urals and Siberia its density is below average, but in the south of these regions it remains at an average level. In the Far Eastern region, the fox is scarce.

According to the expert assessment of Tsentrokhotkontrol specialists, the corsac population in Russia in recent years amounts to 20–30 thousand individuals. These figures are significantly lower than the reserves in the 1970–1980s, when, according to statistics, stocks were kept at an average level of 2.5–7.6 thousand individuals, but in fact significantly more than 20 thousand individuals were harvested annually.
Wolves are the ancestors of the domestic dog. There are several species in the wolf family - wolf, jackal, coyote and others. The wolf (Canis lupus) lives everywhere in Russia, except for the Solovetsky Islands and some islands of the Far East and the Polar Basin. Lives in pairs formed for life, sometimes in flocks in winter. In natural ecosystems, it plays the role of an orderly, eating weakened and sick animals, and regulates the number of ungulates. Causes damage and... Wolf hunting is permitted at any time of the year. In a number of areas, in almost the entire territory, the wolf has been completely exterminated. A slight deterioration in the food supply in the last decade (small numbers of moose and hares, almost no carrion due to the decline in agricultural production) limits the reproduction of wolves in Russia. However, according to VNIIOZ estimates, the number of wolves in the country continues to remain consistently high.

Since damage to hunting and agriculture from a wolf can be quite significant, it is necessary government system measures to regulate the number of this species.

(Ursus arctos) is one of the symbols of Russia and the largest predatory animal in the forest zone. It goes into winter dormancy in the second half of October, sometimes later, with snow falling. Emerges from the den in March–April. The bear is omnivorous; selective logging does not have a significant impact on it. Poaching causes damage to livestock everywhere.

The decline in bear numbers that took place in the first half of the 1980s has now stopped and the population has stabilized. Only in the Central Federal District, in some constituent entities (Republic of Buryatia), Northwestern Federal District and Far Eastern Federal District, the downward trend in the number of this species continues.

The wild pig, or boar (Sus scrofa) - the most productive hunting species of wild ungulates - belongs to the non-ruminant artiodactyls and is the ancestor of domestic pigs. Wild boars live in groups (males are solitary outside the rutting period) and are active at dusk and at night, and are omnivorous. Wild boar is one of the important fisheries; it provides valuable meat, skin, and bristles.

The distribution of wild boar is mainly determined by the availability of food and the protection of habitats in winter. Animals are reluctant to leave their chosen places even after prolonged pursuit. 10–20 years ago, in winter, they often spent their days near or directly in silage pits, near unharvested crop residues (near such food reserves, animals, if not disturbed, can live up to 2–3 months). In the forest, they make their nests on anthills. March is the hardest month in the life of a boar.
Due to high ecological adaptability and the ability to restore the population due to good fertility and early reproduction ability, wild boars can quickly increase their numbers. The high growth of young animals makes it possible to maintain a high level of the rate of removal (harvest) of these animals (30–50% of the pre-harvest number).

Of all game animals, the wild boar is the most responsive to feeding (artificial feeding in troughs and laying out fodder fields with various crops). Feeding fields serve as the basis for creating foci with an increased concentration of animals during the hunting period, and in the summer-autumn period they also serve the function of diverting animals from agricultural crops and forest plantings, to which this species can cause serious damage.

Currently, the wild boar population is emerging from the depression that engulfed it in the early and mid-1990s. The total legal harvest of all types of ungulates in Russia in recent years amounts to 100–120 thousand individuals.

Elk or elk(Alces alces) is the largest species of deer and the most valuable species among wild ungulates in our country. Body length up to 3 m, height at the withers up to 2.3 m, weight up to 570 kg. It lives alone or in groups of 5–8 (up to 20) individuals.

It is characteristic that as a result of massive forest felling, the abundance of food for this species increases significantly (up to 20 times). Despite a significant increase in the feeding capacity of the land in recent years, the existence of elk is limited mainly by the qualitative state of the food supply and factors limiting the availability of food (disturbance factor, the abundance of blood-sucking insects in daylight hours days). Disorganized hunting sometimes leads to the destruction of forest animals in areas where moose are not hunted, as well as to a decrease in the proportion of adult females in the population (females are less shy and more attached to their habitat).

The number of moose is also subject to natural cyclical fluctuations lasting 14–18 years, associated with changes in the quantity and quality of preferred food, in turn associated with fluctuations in weather and climatic conditions (mainly precipitation) and successional changes in vegetation cover.

By the beginning of the 21st century. The density of the moose population in Russia (0.67 individuals per 1 thousand hectares of forest area) decreased to the level of 1956. The decline began in 1987–1991. coincided with the period of maximum rejuvenation of forest communities due to industrial clear-cutting in the 1960s–1970s. The main factor of this crisis is anthropogenic: overfishing, disruption of the sex and age composition of the elk herd, etc.

The overall decline in the moose population, which began in 1988 and spanned varying degrees all regions of Russia, ceased by 2001. However, the general trend towards a decrease in density towards the boundaries of the range remains. In general, the relatively low density of the moose population in Russia (about 10 times less than in the Scandinavian countries) is due to unsustainable hunting practices and poaching.

Legal elk harvest is approximately 20-25 thousand. individuals.

The main limiting factor for roe deer or wild goat(Capreolus capreolus) is a snow cover height of more than 50 cm, which prevents the expansion of its range to the north. Due to their high fertility, roe deer are able to quickly increase their numbers. In terms of production volume, roe deer is not inferior to elk.

After a sharp decline in the number of roe deer in the country in the second half of the 90s of the last century, the population has now stabilized. Its numbers are limited mainly by disturbance and poaching.

The main limiting factors for another species of deer are: wild reindeer(Rangifer tarandus) - are: pressure from predators (mainly wolves), snowy winters (mass mortality from exhaustion); return of cold weather in spring (death of young animals); anthropogenic factor. Wild reindeer resources are almost universally used extremely irrationally. “Planned”, legal production of animals is not much different from poaching and is carried out in the same way - with the use of helicopters. Moreover, in many regions of Russia, the extermination of individual populations is methodical and massive. Defragmentation of landscapes by pipelines, which disrupt the migration routes of this species, has also become a serious problem.

The population density of red deer (Cervus elaphus) throughout almost the entire country is currently several times lower than possible. The most important reason for this is poaching. Competition for deer in the biotopes they inhabit are sika deer, elk, and roe deer.

(Tetrastes bonasia), a bird of the grouse family of the gallinaceae order. Body length 35–37 cm, weighs 350–500 g. Distributed in Russia - from the western border to; in the forests of the North Caucasus and is absent. The hazel grouse lives sedentary, making only short feeding migrations. They settle in separate pairs in damp, cluttered conifers (spruce-fir) or. In winter, hazel grouse feed on trees with catkins of birch, alder, etc., and spend the night in the snow. Main food in summer: green parts of plants, berries, seeds and insects. The hazel grouse is a valuable game bird.

(Tetrao urogallus), a bird of the grouse family of the gallinaceae order. Males weigh on average 4100 g, females - 2000. It is a sedentary bird, but sometimes makes seasonal migrations. Inhabits mixed conifers of Europe and Asia. The distribution area and number of wood grouse have decreased greatly over the past 100 - 200 years, and in some places it has disappeared. In Russia, as forests are cut down, the capercaillie retreats to the north; in a number of regions in the south, the forest zone has disappeared completely. During the mating season, from year to year they gather in the same places - mating grounds. Food - in summer, plant shoots, flowers, buds, berries, for chicks - insects, spiders; in autumn - larch needles, in winter - pine and spruce needles, buds. Capercaillie is an object of sport and, in some places, commercial hunting.

(Tetrao), like the capercaillie, belongs to the order of grouse. The most famous are the black grouse (Tetrao or Lyrurus tetrix) with a lyre-shaped tail, the Caucasian grouse (Tetrao mlokossewiczi), the common grouse, the field grouse (Tetrao Tetrix), the field grouse, the field grouse, the birch grouse, and the polewort. The male koscha is a rather slender bird with a strong beak, feathered legs not only up to the toes, but also between them, short wings, blunt and trough-shaped, concave from the inside. The tail of males has a characteristic deep notch. The plumage of males is generally black; the head, neck and lower back are blue, there is a white band on the wings, and the lower plumage of the tail is pure white. The distribution area of ​​the Kosach occupies the whole of Europe and Siberia. The kosach is replaced by the related Caucasian grouse, discovered only in 1875. Kosach prefers wild, dead forests rich in low bushes; birch is his favorite tree. It also loves marshy areas, although it is not actually found there. He is more dexterous than the capercaillie. He is very sensitive, his vision and hearing are excellent. Food consists of tree buds and leaves, berries, grains and insects. In the summer he eats blueberries, lingonberries, raspberries, blackberries, in the winter - juniper berries, heather, birch, beech buds, and sometimes green cones of coniferous trees; he never touches the needles. The chicks are fed exclusively on insects.