The brown bear (Mishka) is the hero of many children’s tales and cartoons for adults. It was the mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
In spite of its huge weight and apparent clumsiness, it is a very agile animal. It can stalk its prey, leap on its back (at a speed of 50 km an hour) and kill it with a single stroke of its paw.
The brown bear inhabits almost the entire forest zone and the most dangerous variant is the insomniac bear. This is a bear who, for some reason, does not hibernate in winter, or emerges from its den long before the winter ends. A bear that wakes up ahead of time has a very nasty disposition and should be given a wide berth.
The Amur tiger
The Amur tiger (also known as the Northern tiger) lives in the southeast of Russia on the banks of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and in some Asian countries. It is a very cautious, secretive and dangerous beast: If you try to spot one independently, there is a big question mark over which will become the prey — man or beast.
The Amur tiger is much bigger than its southern kin and its night vision is five times better than man’s. The tiger has long been regarded as an endangered species. The efforts of experts who protect wild animals have, however, been successful and as of 2007, the Amur tiger no longer faces extinction.
The grey wolf
This is probably the most common predator in Russia. They live all over the country except in the taiga thickets and on some islands. Wolves live in packs, which makes them dangerous because, at a call from the alpha wolf, the pack could easily attack a human.
In Old Rus, one of the cruelest types of execution was to tie people to trees in the forest, leaving them to be devoured by wolves. Yet wolves do not attack people very often: it may happen only in early spring, on some deserted footpath through the forest when the wolf is short of food. If in danger, hunters advise climbing the nearest tree and waiting until the pack loses patience and leaves to find a less ingenious prey.
The white (polar) bear
While the brown bear is rightly regarded as the master of the Russian forests, the polar bear inhabits the drifting and coastal sea ice where it finds its main prey: ringed seal, bearded seal, walrus and other marine animals.
Although films often portray it as an innocuous animal, the polar bear is very powerful and dangerous. Like its brown brother, it can knock a person’s head off with a single blow. Yet polar bears only attack humans in exceptional cases, when their habitats are destroyed.
There are special routes for tourists in Russia that include observing and photographing polar bears by helicopter. The polar and brown bears, along with the Mississippi alligator, the salt-water and Nile crocodiles, the tiger, the lion, the white, tiger and grey bull shark are among the 10 most dangerous animals on the planet.
The wild boar
Experienced hunters say that the wild boar is even more dangerous than a bear. The bear, which has excellent eyesight, would prefer to get out of the way if it sees a human from a distance.
The poor-sighted wild boar will charge. Even experienced hunters are not always able to kill this fast animal with a single shot. Considering that the average boar weighs 200 kilograms (441 lbs), wrestling with it is hopeless.
The females are especially dangerous when protecting their offspring. The wild boar sticks to watery and marshy terrain. In the Amur Region, wild boars have been known to attack cars. The boar’s most formidable weapon is not its impressive weight, although it can easily crush a person to death, but its tusks.
Common northern viper
It was the bite of the common viper that killed the legendary Prince Oleg, one of the founders of the Old Rus state. Modern medicine could, of course, have saved him. The viper’s venom can kill a small person, but it is not lethal to a healthy person weighing over 60 kilograms (132 lbs), especially if he has antihistamine drugs in his pocket.
The viper’s poisonous fangs are just 4 millimeters long and cannot bite through most jeans, let alone shoes. Specialists say it is virtually impossible to step on a viper inadvertently.
The snake allows a person to approach it to within 3-4 meters (10 feet) and then hisses loudly as a warning and… retreats. Hunters advise people to stomp their feet loudly if they suspect there may be snakes around. The snake feels the vibration and gets out of your way.
The lynx
This northernmost feline can be the size of a big dog. In Russia, 90 percent of the lynx population lives in Siberia. The beast is most dangerous if you forget to look up into the trees because you are engrossed in picking mushrooms or berries.
The lynx usually attacks its prey from above and targets the neck, but it does not usually attack people. It only approaches human dwellings in exceptional cases: a very hungry lynx can break into a henhouse or hunt domes.