A female moose was spotted in a Sakhalin wildlife refuge for the first time in 30 years.

A female moose was captured on camera in the Vostochny Nature Reserve on Sakhalin. This is the first time the rare animal has been spotted in this area in 30 years.

Return of a rare animal to the reserve

The camera captured a young female moose on the Pursh-Pursh River. According to Sakhalin ecologist Dmitry Lisitsyn, the female moose remained within the camera's line of sight for a long time and then returned to the same spot a week later.

She walked around for almost a minute, giving me a good look, and then reappeared a week later. She's a young female, about 1,5 to 2,5 years old, and has already survived at least one winter, maybe two.

Furthermore, experts consider the individual's appearance an important ecological marker. Therefore, the recorded encounter proves that the animals are gradually beginning to colonize new areas of the island.

History of the moose population on the island

Moose were hunted to extinction on Sakhalin Island approximately 150 years ago. In 1988, environmentalists attempted to restore the species and released ten young animals imported from the Magadan Region into the Poronai River valley. However, in the 1990s, poachers again virtually wiped out the established population.

Illegal hunting on the island has significantly decreased. However, the moose population on Sakhalin remains extremely low, numbering only about 50 individuals. However, current trends indicate that the animals are gradually expanding their range and successfully adapting to the local wildlife.