Animal Info - Russia

(Part of the former Soviet Union)

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area, Economy), References and Links

Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur in Russia and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.

Critically Endangered:
- Evorsk Vole (Microtus evoronensis). (Endemic to Russia.)
- Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus).
- MuiskVole (Microtus mujanensis). (Endemic to Russia.)
- Wrangel Lemming (Dicrostonyx vinogradovi). (Endemic to Russia.)
Endangered:
- Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus).
- European Bison (Bison bonasus).
- European Mink (Mustela lutreola).
- Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus).
- Long-tailed Birch Mouse (Sicista caudata).
- Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris).
- Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis).
- Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia).
- Steller's Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus).
- Tiger (Panthera tigris).
- Ussuri Tube-nosed Bat (Murina ussuriensis).
- West Caucasian Tur (Capra caucasica).
Vulnerable:
- Argali (Ovis ammon).
- Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus).
- Bechstein's Bat (Myotis bechsteini).
- Caspian Seal (Phoca caspica).
- Dhole (Cuon alpinus).
- East Caucasian Tur (Capra cylindricornis).
- Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra).
- Geoffroy's Bat (Myotis emarginatus).
- Giant Mole-rat (Spalax giganteus).
- Greater Mole-rat (Spalax microphthalmus).
- Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena).
- Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
- Lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros).
- Long-tailed Goral (Naemorhedus caudatus).
- Mehely's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mehelyi).
- Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus).
- Paramushir Shrew (Sorex leucogaster). (Endemic to Russia.)
- Pond Bat (Myotis dasycneme).
- Russian Desman (Desmana moschata).
- Siberian Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus).
- Spotted Souslik (Spermophilus suslicus).
- Steppe Pika (Ochotona pusilla).
- Western Barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus).
- White Whale (Delphinapterus leucas).
- Wild Goat (Capra aegagrus).
- Wolverine (Gulo gulo).
Other:
- Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus). (Rated Lower Risk: Conservation Dependent in the 2004 IUCN Red List; recommended rating of Vulnerable in 2005 by the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group )

Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Number of endemic species: 20 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Threatened species: 1996: 31 (IUCN 1996); 2000: 43 (IUCN 2000)

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

Russia contains the Central & Eastern Siberian Boreal Forests & Taiga, Ural Mountains Boreal Forests & Taiga, Kamchatka Boreal Taiga & Grasslands, Chukotsky Coastal Tundra, Taimyr Coastal Tundra, Lake Baikal, and Lena River Delta Global 200 Ecoregions as well as portions of the Russian Far East Temperate Forests, Altai-Sayan Montane Forests, Caucasus & Northeast Anatolia Temperate Forests, Daurian Steppe, Russian Far East Rivers & Wetlands, Volga River Delta, Bering & Beaufort Seas, Sea of Okhotsk & Northern Sea of Japan, and Svalbard/Franz Joseph Land Marine Ecosystems Global 200 Ecoregions (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)

Population

Population in 1995: 147,480,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 8.6 people/sq km (22.4 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 146,861,022 (World Almanac 1999)