Traveling to Russia can be a joyful experience. Staying in a five-star hotel and exploring the country are surely the most common things you can enjoy in Russia.
However, for some people who prefer to have traditional and adventure itinerary for traveling in Russia, they might want to explore Russian forests more.
If you are one of the travelers who loves adventure and explores forests, then you need to be aware of the most dangerous animals in that country.
Remember, you are a visitor and you are not really familiar with the environment, including what kind of animals, specifically the dangerous ones living there. That’s why you need to be aware of these 7 most dangerous animals in Russia.
- The Brown Bear
Do you know Mishka? Mishka is the brown bear famous in children’s tales and cartoons for adults. It also became the mascot of the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Brown bear is one of the 8 bears you can find around the world. They can be cute and fierce at the same time.
Unlike its appearance which is huge and clumsy, this brown bear is also alert of its surrounding. It can stalk its prey and by the speed of 50 km/hour, it can easily leap on its prey’s back. Then, it will kill it by using its paw with a single stroke.
The brown bear can be easily found in the entire forest zone. Insomniac bear, the variant of this brown bear, is known to be the most dangerous bear in Russia.
For some reasons, insomniac bear does not hibernate during winter, instead it wakes up ahead. This bear should be put on the list of animals you should be aware of when you visit Russia.
- The Grey Wolf
The grey wolf might be one of the most common predators in Russia. The grey wolf can be found entirely in the country except on some islands.
It loves to live in packs, which makes them become more dangerous because once the alpha wolf calls, then the pack will easily attack humans in a very short time. Wolf is commonly found in a snowy place, that’s why it becomes one of the gorgeous winter animals.
In fact, wolves are not really fond to attack humans. They may do that once they are short of food. If you plan to visit Russia and accidentally meet these wolves, then some hunters advise climbing the nearest tree. Moreover, wait until the pack is losing its patience and deciding to leave.
- The Amur Tiger
The Amur tiger, is also known as the Northern tiger, inhabits the southeast area of Russia. It inhabits specifically on the banks of the Amur and Ussuri rivers, so it has “Amur” on its name.
This tiger species is very cautious and dangerous type of beast. If you simply find this tiger alone, there will be two possibilities: it is either you or the beast which will become the prey.
The Amur tiger is known to have five times better night vision than human. Its body is much bigger than its southern kind. Unfortunately, this species has been classified as the endangered one.
However, because of the efforts from some experts to protect the wild animals there, the Amur tiger is no longer facing extinction ahead.
If the experts of wild animals are eager to save the population of wild animals, then they might be able to handle these reasons behind the Sumatran tigers population decline. Hopefully, they can be saved just like the Amur tiger.
- The Lynx
This feline species is as big as a big dog. Siberia is the place where you can find most of the lynx population. Do you know why the lynx is considered as the most dangerous animal in Russia?
It is because it can attack you from above and quickly target your neck. The lynx does not commonly attack people, only the very hungry ones possibly attack the henhouse or hunt domestic rabbits. Just be aware when you are picking mushrooms or berries up on the trees, look up into the trees as you might find the lynx there.
Do you know that lynx belongs to the animals which you can find in Siberian taiga?
- Karakurt Spider
The most dangerous animal is not always the big one. Even the small one, like the karakurt spider is able to attack and kill. The karakurt is considered as one of the most dangerous spiders on Earth and it inhabits Russia’s Astrakhan Region. The karakurt spiders live to stay in ravine slopes and they are very active during summer nights.
Biting is the way they attack. Their bite will surely cause pain that will spread after 15 minutes to 6 hours and it will spread through the bitten limb, to the muscles of the body, chest and abdomen.
If it happens to you, immediately hold a burning match and put it against the bitten place. This way is kind of effective to prevent any worse effect of the bite. It is because the heat from the burning match will be able to destroy the poison that has not been penetrated into the body.
- Wolverine
This animal is known to be cunning and strong as it is able to escape from all the traps and even kills! Wolverine is a mix between a bear cub and a dog. Siberian indigenous people believe that wolverine is the master of the taiga.
Wolverine, unlike wolves, will not leave the area where it kills the prey until it finishes eating everything, including the bones. Wolverine does not commonly attack human, if it does, it will only do that in extreme cases. Wolverine is also well known to be the untamed animal.
- Common Viper
There was a case of the common viper killing Prince Oleg, one of the founders of the Old Rus state. He could be saved, only if he had the modern medicine. The venom of the common viper can kill small person, but not the healthy person whose weigh is over 60 kg.
This snake species has poisonous fangs that are around 4 mm long. These poisonous fangs aren’t able to bite through jeans and shoes. So, it is kind of impossible to step on a viper accidentally.
If you meet this common viper in Russia, then you can follow this advice given by some hunters. You can simply stomp your feet loudly and once the snake feels the vibration, it will directly get out of your way.
Dangerous animals should not be killed, instead their population should be maintained. As humans, we are not allowed to kill them, but by learning about them, we can prevent being harmed by those wild animals.
You might also be interested to see the other dangerous animals just like elaborated in deadliest animals in Africa and most dangerous sea creatures.