Studying the Arctic Wildlife of Russia's Wrangel Island

Alan Taylor
October 18, 2017
14 Photos
In Focus

High in the Russian Far East, in the Arctic Ocean, lies Wrangel Island, a harsh landscape that supports a surprisingly diverse ecosystem. Wrangel, about the same size as Yellowstone National Park, is home to musk oxen, Arctic foxes, polar bears, and several other species of land mammals, and is visited by more than a hundred species of migratory birds. The island was one of the last refuges for woolly mammoths on Earth. Today, biologists are studying the island’s animals and plants to monitor the effects of the warming climate and the growing presence of humans in the Arctic. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov visited Wrangel and returned with these photos, recently published in the online magazine bioGraphic.

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An Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) stands next to part of a reindeer skull on Wrangel Island in Russia's far east. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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Wrangel Island is home to the world’s largest population of Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus). In ice-free years, between 80,000 and 100,000 walruses gather in coastal rookeries. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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The white fur of the polar bear (Ursus marinus) contrasts with the dark, bare earth of the cliffs. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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The only population of snow geese in all of Asia breeds on Wrangel Island. The population’s numbers are now recovering from historic lows. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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An Arctic fox with a snow goose egg in mouth. Seasons mark stark contrasts on Wrangel Island, as embodied by this fox, in mid-molt from its winter to summer fur in June. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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Snow geese defend their nests and the eggs inside them from hungry Arctic foxes. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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A herd of musk oxen (Ovibos moschatus) traverses Wrangel Island. A population of 20 musk oxen were reintroduced here from Canada in 1975. Paleontology records show that the animals lived on the island during the late Pleistocene. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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A polar bear combs one of Wrangel Island’s many beaches, perhaps looking for a carcass washed up onshore. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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Mammoth tusks protrude from Wrangel’s beaches—relics from its earlier era as a sanctuary. Wrangel is believed to be one of the last places on earth where mammoths survived. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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A polar bear group on a beach, crowding around a carcass. In the absence of sea ice for hunting seals, the bears resort to scavenging carcasses on land. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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A polar bear can be seen through the window in one of the few buildings on the island. As the human presence on Wrangel grows, some fear an increase in conflicts between bears and people. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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Polar bears dig through discarded barrels on the island, searching for calories wherever they can find them. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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A herd of musk oxen in their snowy natural habitat on Wrangel Island. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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Portrait of a hardy musk ox, braving the island’s challenging winter conditions. #

Sergey Gorshkov / bioGraphic

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