Mouse "hunt".
(Trip to reserve)
Photoreports: Animals
and birds
Reserve nature
There were Christmas vacations last
eight days. I and my friends
decided to spend a part of them in Prioksko-Terrasny reserve. This
reserve is situated near Oka river in 90 km from Moscow in South
direction. We started there on 3rd January at the morning.
Unfortunately, Natalie had to go work that day. I drove her to Moscow
and then arrived to my friend's house. Then we waited for another
members of our trip and visited supermarket to buy some food. We spent
there a couple of hours.
Way to reserve was not so long. After an hour and a half we were at
the entrance. This winter leaves us without snow and we drove through
reserve roads in strange January forest. Sometimes we saw snow pots in
the forest and pond near cordon was covered by thin ice. There were
only tokens of winter. The dog Baikal met us at cordon with barking.
We had soon occupied our places at cordon two-store house. They were
situated at the first floor and we had to rise upstairs. We settled
there and then have a dinner. After dinner we walked toward Oka river
and then returned and walked around pond. We found trees gnawed by
beavers there. When darkness came we had to return home.
Next day we had excursion to aurochs nursery. That nursery was founded
at 1948. They growing aurochs there and than release them into another
reserves in wild nature. We spent there about a two hours and then
returned to cordon where made barbecue. Another meeting with nature
waited us for during we have meal at the evening. We had a supper in
the room where some plastic bags with food stood near sofa. Then I
heard some sound near one of the bags. I came and saw that bag was
gnawed through and cardboard box with chocolate was gnawed through
too. Then we got bags away from sofa and tied one peace of chocolate
with long rope and put it near sofa. We also took our cameras and sat
or lay on the carpet and began to wait. And mouse had come soon. It
showed her muzzle from under sofa and than came to chocolate. Next
half of an hour we watched mouse's fight against tied peace of
chocolate. Firstly mouse was afraid any movement and hid under sofa.
Then it came again and was fighting with chocolate. We were making
photos. When it was trying to gnaw rope Alexey pull by rope. At last,
mouse just untied(!) rope, had a look with a honour on us and proudly
went away under sofa with merited chocolate. Later biologists said
that it was field mouse who came to live into house. It was not
domestic one.
Next day I started again to aurochs nursery to make some shots (photo)
of aurochs and bisons. And returned to cordon at midday. And then
deputy director of reserve came to us with his family and we started
to have an excursion through some place of reserve. We visited some
relict dunes and white-moss pine forest, drove a little along splendid
ground roads of reserve, watched a couple of little forest lakes
covered with ice and cave craters where water wasn't frozen and, at last,
we saw a little plot where grow relict steppe plants. There was not any
snow and it was so strange to see that in the beginning of January.
Of course, plot was cut and we couldn't see such plants as steppe tulips
or "king of steppe" - feather-grass. But glade surrounded with pine
trees
was splendid under the sunshine which had come to us, at last. Then we
returned to cordon and made a barbecue again. There was nice evening
in a company of deputy director and his wife and pretty daughter.
Next morning we said "good-bye" to cordon and started home. But before
our returning we visited ostrich farm, where also grows pheasants.
Because our winter is not like itself we can see ostrich walking into
corrals and made some photo of them. Then we watched full covered
corral with many pheasants into it.
Two hours later we were at home.