Wrangel Island, Russia (not to be confused with Wrangell Island, Alaska) is 2,900 miles of the remotest Arctic wilderness on the planet. Located between the Chuckchi Sea and East Siberian Sea, it has been said that the only place harder to get to is the moon. But Wrangel Island has the highest density of polar bear dens in the world; twice as many plants as any other arctic tundra area of similar size; the last place on earth with a thriving woolly mammoth population (dying out only 4,000 years ago); seals, Arctic fox, Arctic wolves, walruses, lemmings, snowy owls; and the only breeding population of snow geese in Russia. This wilderness was declared a World Heritage site, the northern-most World Heritage site, in 2004.
In spite of its remoteness, Vasiliy Baranyuk has studied the island’s wildlife for the past 29 summers, with stretches as long as 87 days without seeing another human. Vasiliy is a Russian biologist, specializing in the study of this rare population of snow geese. Wrangel Island’s snow geese nest in an interior mountain valley and—like the Antarctic penguin—the pre-flight goslings walk 120 miles from their nests to the sea.
Vasiliy is also an accomplished photographer, with three decades of stunning pictures and videos of the island’s wildlife. Through a grant from the Pacific Coast Joint Venture, he is conducting a lecture tour of western Washington, Portland and Sacramento to share his love of the land and wildlife, and especially the snow geese of Wrangel Island. His lectures include videos and photos of this remarkable place and its magnificent inhabitants.
Add new comment