The Kronotsky Nature Reserve holds unparalleled spectacles for even the most experienced travelers. There are warm waterfalls flowing down from rocks, groves of sea plants and noisy bird colonies on the coast, narrow paths with walls of giant grasses and flowers, magnificent volcanoes with steaming tops, deep river valleys and spectacular geysers.

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How do you like the diamonds?

Every part of the Reserve is absolutely beautiful, even the dew.

The cloudberry.

The sweetbrier shows that the summer is close.

Bears are following fishes.

Do you know what the mushrooms are called?

The sandpipers arrive in the beginning of August.

They feed on various berries including crowberry and fill the space with their voices.

A huge population of sea lions can be found on the Kronotsky Peninsula.

Bears are everywhere. It doesn’t matter what animal you are going to take a picture of, a bear will always be present against the background.

So such a bear photobomb was shot…

In summer animals suffer from mosquitoes and wait for the rainy weather to come.

There is a wonderful dew plant that feeds on mosquitoes and other small insects catching them with its sticky legs.

Dew plant and cloudberry.

Dew plants and a mushroom.

This bear has eaten too much of fish and is having a rest. They don’t produce any movements while sleeping that’s why don’t come too close thinking that they can be dead.

This legendary bear wears a collar with antenna that helped to make a considerable contribution into science about these animals. It also communicated with cosmonauts, generals and ministers and became the first bear seen by thousands of people for the first time in their lives.

Enjoying the wonderful and quiet  morning.

This is a view from the mountains.

This is what the Peninsula looks like in winter.

You will never forget the place after you visit it once. You will miss the ocean noise, volcanoes covered with snow, wide and huge populations of bears and foxes, solitude and fogs, smell of wet grass, dim silhouettes of bushes and trees.

This fox named Alice is busy with catching fishes and birds and providing her pups with food. ‘The father of the family’ lost its interest in the pups long time ago and now stays alone. The vixen also tried to stay far from the pups after they are supplied with food.  Only 4 pups out 6 are alive till now.

The fox got stuck in a fishing net left nearby and spent a lot of efforts trying to leave the area of fast approaching water. He was lucky to be found by people but not by bears. Tourists cut the rope on his neck but the fox couldn’t even stand. It crawled to the water to drink and then hid in a hole nearby where it was found next day…

Why should people be so careless about throwing garbage around? Fishing nets which are left abandoned both at sea and on the coast kill many animals.

Getting vet aid was impossible in this case. The fox couldn’t move, eat and drink. The nearest road is 100 km away from the place, a vet center is even further. Hiring a helicopter to take the fox to Petropavlovsk city will cost around 16000 USD. But no helicopters were available those days due to bad weather conditions. Even a human wouldn’t get a qualified aid if left there. So what could be done in that case is to hope for the best outcome for the fox and be more careful about the ecological situation in future.

The fox could never survive. Its vixen continues raising 9 pups who are never hungry as the nearby waters are abundant with fishes. Unlike Alice, she is a good mother. Young pups are scared of people. Soon they will grow and understand that people who visit the Reserve are not dangerous at all.

It’s a pity that animals staying in a place so rich with food have to die.

via shpilenok