Flora & Fauna

Despite Chukotka's extreme climate, its flora and fauna is diverse.

There are more than 900 kinds of plants and 400 kinds of moss and lichen in Chukotka. Even Vrangel island (at the northernmost part of Chukotka) is home to 385 kinds of vegetation-more plants than any other Arctic island of the same size.

Light forests are occasionally found in river valleys, where small pine and dwarf birch trees and, even rarer, are relic (old) poplar forests grow. More common vegetation in the low-lying river valleys are alder and dwarf cedar trees, sedge and cotton grass, blue and red bilberry shrubs, and low cranberry and blueberry bushes. Willow lives in the low wetlands and the most typical Chukotka landscape-its mountains and Arctic tundra-is inhabited by small bushes, weeds, moss, and lichen.

Many species found in Chukotka cannot be found in any other part of Russia.

The Bearing Sea is home to 402 species of fish, four species of crab, four species of shrimp, and two species of squid. About 30 species of freshwater fish can be found in inland reservoirs, including salmon, loach, cisco, lake herring, char, grayling, northern pike, smelt, pike, dogfish, whitefish, and burbot.

The Bering Strait is a migration destination for thousands of birds, making this ecoregion one of the greatest waterfowl reserves in Asia. Every year, about 700,000 birds fly in from North and South America, Asia, and Europe to breed. About 220 species of birds call Chukotka home (at least part-time), including tundra partridges, duck, geese, swans. Diving pigeons, spectacled eider ducks, murres, loons, puffins, and seagulls make up its coastal bird colonies.

As for Chukotka's animals, you can find polar bear, brown brea, reindeer (caribour), dall As sheep, snow rams, sable, lynx, grey wolves, wolverine, ermine, chipmunks, polar and common fox, snow hare, muskrat, and mink.

The oceans round the Chukotka region are alive with sea animals, including walrus, seal, narwhal, and several species of whales-humpback, fin back, grey, blue, and the razor-back.

And don't forget the insects! Mosquitoes, midges, black flies, and gadflies all live in Chukotka, too.

Source and image: courtesy of http://www.chukotka.org