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Raptor-link
Russian Birds of Prey and Owls Newsletter.

This message contains an article from the Russian Birds of Prey and Owls
Newsletter "Raptor-link" N1 1993. Subscription information is given below.

THE DEPLETION OF THE SNOWY OWL POPULATIONS IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS OF RUSSIA.

As is widely known, there has been Arctic Fox trapping on the tundra for many
years. Trap hunters use so called "pasti" (lit. "jaws" in Russian, or a trap
made of logs) and gin-traps. These are placed on high tussocks or specially
constructed cone-shaped mounds of peat called "koga", 0.6 m high. There is a
gin-trap on top attached to a peg with a chain. On the "koga", the trap is
rarely covered in snow due to strong winds, but the height of the "koga" means
that its black sides are always are visible from a distance.  Very often kogas
are the only high points on the flat tundra and this is why Snowy Owls use them
for perching. It is not hard to imagine what happens to them. The trap snaps
shut and the disabled owl must wait for a trapper to arrive. The situation in
the Taimyr Peninsula is especially tragic. The  Senior Mechanic of the State
Hunters Estate (gospromkhos)  Mr. S.I.Goryachev claims that each of the
trappers catch tens of owls in their traps. One of the hunters had amassed 53
Snowy Owls. This situation cannot be disregarded since it may result in the
extinction of Snowy Owls.

Nickolay K. Vereshagin, Rashetova St. 11 f. 67, St. Petersburg, 194017, Russia.
(Prof. Nickolay K. Vereshagin in the leading Russian Mammologist, currently
working for the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences,
St.Petersburg)

Raptor-link
Russian Birds of Prey and Owls Newsletter.

"Raptor-link" is the first newsletter of its kind on Russian Birds of Prey
and Owls. Not only is it the first newsletter ever to appear in Russia,
but it is also bilingual (English-Russian) and is delivered to both Russian
and Western readers simultaneously. This newsletter has been launched to
encourage Raptor research in the former USSR and bring together Russian and
Western ornithologists. The newsletter will continue to focus on:

      *Birds of Prey and Owl distribution and ecology in the former USSR;
      *their migration;
      *Biology and conservation of Birds of Prey and Owls in the former USSR;
      *Expeditions and current studies of Raptors within the former USSR.

"Raptor-Link" is an independent periodical (3 issues per year) edited and run
by Eugene Potapov for the Russian Working Group on Birds of Prey as well as
both professional and amateur ornithologists worldwide. Financial assistance
for Russian subscriber has been provided by the Peregrine Fund.

     All correspondence should be addressed to Eugene Potapov, c/o Edward Grey
Institute for Field Ornithology, Dept. of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford,
OX1 3PS, UK. Phone (0865)271133. Fax (0865)310447.
E-mail: Potapov at vax.ox.ac.uk. E-mail contributions welcomed.

     Subscription information

    3 issues of Raptor-Link will be published in 1993 priced (Pounds sterling
only)  5 (UK);  6.50 (Europe); 8 (elsewhere).
Please return the following slip to Eugene Potapov, c/o Edward Grey
Institute for Field Ornithology, Dept. of Zoology, South Parks Road,
Oxford, OX1 3PS. UK.

Please accept my subscription to the Russian Birds of Prey and Owls
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