Description of the life of a sable, what it looks like and a photo of the animal. Full description of the sable and its way of life in the wild Sable animal photos

Niramin - Jun 19th, 2016

The Barguzin sable lives in Russia in the Siberian taiga and the Urals, and is also found on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. The furry inhabitant of forests prefers the headwaters of rivers, dense thickets of cedar trees and stone scatterings of rocky surfaces.

The Barguzin sable looks like most members of the mustelid family, being distinguished by a more robust build. The body length of this agile animal is just over half a meter, and the fluffy tail reaches about 2 cm. Small rounded ears and bead-like eyes give the sable a touching expression. The entire body of the animal is covered with thick blue-black fur. Fur even covers the soles of the limbs. Thanks to this, the animal can move quickly and silently while hunting. Interestingly, the Barguzin sable makes sounds reminiscent of a cat purring.

This owner of luxurious thick fur eats both animal and plant foods. Its diet is dominated by various rodents, including hares, voles, squirrels and pikas. The small predator does not refuse birds, especially wood grouse and hazel grouse. Plant food is represented by various forest berries and nuts. Sable is a night hunter. Therefore, it lies in wait for its prey at night. If there is little food, the furry hunter can run about 20 km overnight in search of food.

Photo: Barguzin sable hiding in a tree.

Video: “Call of the Taiga” No. 12 Sable

Video: Sable

Video: Barguzin sable eats sausage (2)

Sable (Martes zibellina) is a mammal belonging to the mustelid family (Mustelidae). This representative of the Carnivora order and the Martens genus is distinguished not only by its external beauty, but also by its incredibly valuable fur.

Description of sable

Thanks to its beautiful, durable and quite expensive fur, sable received its second name - “king of wild furs” or “soft gold”. Scientists have identified about seventeen varieties of sables with different colors and coat quality, as well as sizes. The most valuable is the Barguzin species (Martes zibellina princers), often found in the east of the Baikal coastline.

This is interesting! In the natural environment, there is a white sable, which is a very rare representative of the Kunya family and lives in the impenetrable taiga.

Barguzin sable is distinguished by its deep black skin color, as well as soft and silky fur.. The most light-colored subspecies with coarse and short fur are represented by:

• Sakhalin subspecies (Martes zibellina sahalinensis);
• Yenisei subspecies (Martes zibellina yenisejensis);
• Sayan subspecies (Martes zibellina sajanensis).

The Yakut sable (Martes zibellina jakutensis) and the Kamchatka subspecies (Martes zibellina kamtshadalica) have no less valuable fur.

Appearance

The maximum body length of an adult sable does not exceed 55-56 cm, with a tail length of up to 19-20 cm. The body weight of males varies between 0.88-1.8 kg, and females - no more than 0.70-1.56 kg.

The color of the sable skin is very variable, and all its variations are characterized by special names:

• “Head” is the darkest, almost black color;
• “Fur” is an interesting color, very light, sandy yellow or fawn shades.

This is interesting! It should be noted that male sables are noticeably larger than females, by approximately one tenth of the total body weight.

Among other things, there are several intermediate colors, including “collar”, which very successfully combines brown tones with the presence of a dark belt in the back, as well as lighter sides and a large, bright throat spot. A predator with a wedge-shaped and pointed muzzle, has triangular-shaped ears, as well as small paws. The tail is short and covered with fluffy, soft fur. In winter, the fur covers the paw pads and claws. The animal sheds once during the year.

Sable lifestyle

A characteristic and fairly common inhabitant of the entire Siberian taiga, it is a very dexterous and incredibly strong predator for its not very significant size. The sable is accustomed to a terrestrial lifestyle. As a rule, the predatory mammal chooses the upper reaches of mountain rivers, fairly abundant thickets, and stone placers for its habitat. Occasionally, the animal is able to climb into tree crowns. The predator moves with the help of characteristic jumps, the average length of which is approximately 0.3-0.7 m. Very quickly wet fur does not allow the sable to swim.

The sable is capable of leaving fairly large and paired tracks, and their prints range in size from 5×7 cm to 6×10 cm. The wild animal is very good at climbing trees of different heights and shapes, and is also distinguished by excellently developed hearing and sense of smell. However, the vision of such a mammal is quite weak, and the vocal performance is also not up to par and in its parameters resembles a cat’s meow. The sable is able to easily move even on loose snow cover. The animal's greatest activity is observed in the morning hours, as well as with the onset of evening.

This is interesting! If a sable's hole or nest is located on the ground, then with the onset of winter, the animal digs a special long tunnel in the snow for entry and exit.

For the main rest, the sable uses a nest, which is set up in various voids: under a fallen tree, in a low tree hollow or under large stones. The bottom of such a space is lined with wood dust, hay, feathers and moss. In bad weather, the sable does not leave its nest, inside of which the temperature remains stable at 15-23 o C. A latrine is set up near the nest-hole. Every two to three years the old nest is replaced with a new one.

Lifespan

In captivity, sables are kept on average for up to fifteen years.. In nature, such a predatory mammal can live for about seven to eight years, which is due to many negative external factors, the lack of prevention of the most common fatal diseases, as well as the risk of encountering many predators.

Range, habitats

Currently, wild sable is quite often found throughout the entire taiga part of our country, from the Urals to the coastal zone of the Pacific Ocean, closer to the north and to the very limits of the most widespread forest vegetation. The predatory mammal prefers to inhabit dark coniferous and cluttered areas of the taiga, but is especially fond of mature cedar trees.

This is interesting! If the mountain and flat zones of the taiga, as well as cedar and birch forests, rocky placers, forest-tundra, windfalls and the upper reaches of mountain rivers are natural for the sable, then the predatory animal avoids settling in barren mountain peaks.

The animal is also quite common in Japan, in the area of ​​the island of Hokkaido. Today, in the regions of the eastern Urals, a hybrid form of sable with marten, which is called “kidus,” is periodically found.

Sable diet

The sable mainly hunts on the surface of the ground. Adult and experienced animals spend less time searching for food compared to young animals. The main, most important food for sable is presented:

• small mammals, including shrews, mice and pikas, squirrels and hares, and moles;
• birds, including wood grouse and ptarmigan, hazel grouse and passerines, as well as their eggs;
• insects, including bees and their larvae;
• pine nuts;
• berries, including rowan and blueberry, lingonberry and blueberry, bird cherry and currant, rose hip and cloudberry;
• plants in the form of wild rosemary;
• various carrion;
• bee honey.

Despite the fact that the sable climbs trees very well, such an animal can jump from one tree to another only if there are tightly closed tree branches, so plant food is limited.

Natural enemies

Not a single bird or animal of prey hunts sable solely for its own food. However, the mammal has a couple of food competitors, which are represented by the stoat and the weasel. They, along with sables, eat all kinds of mouse-like rodents, and are also capable of engaging in fights for prey.

The main risk group among sables are the youngest individuals, as well as very old animals that have lost speed when moving. A weakened mammal may well become a victim of almost any large predator. Young sables are quite often exterminated by eagles and hawks, as well as owls and other large birds of prey.

There is an amazingly cute forest animal with a charming cute face and a very beautiful fur coat. He lives in the taiga. There are a huge number of its varieties. You can learn about one of them from this article. This is a Barguzin - an animal (sable family). Let's consider and compare the types of sables living in Russian open spaces.

Sable in nature: varieties

Sables are divided into subspecies. Let's give a brief comparative description of some of them.

The Tobolsk sable is quite large in size: the body length including the head ranges from 370 to 510 mm (males are larger than females); tail length - from 130 to 170 mm. This is the lightest of all sable subspecies. Distributed from the Urals to the river. Obi.

Slightly smaller and darker than Tobolsk is Kuznetsk sable. Body length - 375-480 mm; tail 120-162 mm long. The fur color is lighter than Altai sable. Habitats: the western slopes of Alatau (Kuznetsk region) and the Tomi system.

Altai sable is distinguished by its larger body and skull size and darker color. Its body length reaches 380-490 mm, tail - from 120 to 176 mm. The color of its fur varies from yellowish to dark brown. It lives in the taiga areas of Altai. The barguzin, an animal acclimatized in these areas, is also found here. It is a cross with the Altai sable.

A huge number of subspecies of this furry animal live throughout the northeastern part of Russia. Yenisei, Angara, Tunguska, Sayan, Vitim, Chikoi, Yakut, Kamchatka, Far Eastern and others speak about their habitats by their names.

It should be noted that the rarest fur in the world is the skin of white sable, which is occasionally found in the remote Siberian taiga.

Barguzin (animal): description

Barguzin is a subspecies of sable, distinguished by its relatively small size and darker fur color. According to these characteristics, it is second only to Vitim sables. Its habitats: the coast of Lake Baikal (eastern); Barguzinsky ridge from the tributaries of the river. Barguzin (right) to the watershed with the river. Hangar (upper). A very modest and quiet animal, the Barguzin. Its dimensions are very small.

The body together with the head has a length of about 395-420 mm in males and 360-410 mm in females. The tail length of the male is from 122 to 155 mm, and that of the female is from 120 to 145 mm.
The sable lives in the Baikal forests.

A little about the Barguzinsky Nature Reserve

Typical taiga fauna is represented in There are some features associated with the mountainous terrain and the location nearby Lake Baikal.

Terrestrial vertebrates here are represented by more than 40 species of mammals, 280 species of birds, 6 species of reptiles, 3 species of amphibians, more than 40 species of fish and more than 790 identified species of insects.

Of all mammals, more than 80% are forest dwellers (among them is the barguzin, an animal of quite great interest). These forests also contain animals that are rare for these areas: flying squirrels, shrews (more common in Asia and northern Europe).

Among the eastern Palaearctic species (except for the weasel, musk deer, Asian chipmunk and lemming. Palaearctic species are red deer (wapiti). Alpine pika and vole are also present. A significant proportion of forest inhabitants are wolves, foxes, weasels, wolverines, ermines, lynxes, hares - hare, moose, etc. Species of the Beringian fauna also live here: the black-capped marmot and the beautiful reindeer.

Varieties of its value

Nature has endowed the Barguzin sable with valuable and warm fur. The animal has fur that varies in color from dark to light brown. Moreover, there is a noticeable light spot on his neck.

It should be noted that darker skin color is valued higher. The Barguzin sable, which lives in the forests of the Baikal region, is the darkest of all animals of this species found in Siberia. Its fur in many of its characteristics surpasses the quality of the skins of its fellows. It is soft, thick, silky and light.

In this regard, the cute barguzin is of great interest - an animal whose fur is of great value at international fur auctions.

Moreover, variations in fur color have their own special names: fur is the lightest color (fawn or sandy yellow) and the cheapest; the head is the darkest (almost black), more valuable and expensive.

Intermediate shades are: collar (brown tone with a dark stripe on the back); underhead (lighter sides and large bright throat spot).

Finally

A cute, cute fluffy animal, pleasing the eye with its lovely charming face, has the right to life, like everything that nature has created. I would like people not to destroy this amazing creature in pursuit of its valuable skin.

1. First of all, we draw a square - it will be the head of our sable. We insert this square into our irregular hexagon.
2. Draw the eyes, nose, paws, ears. The contours can be made not clear, or even lightly drawn. After all, you will need to draw wool.
3. Now let’s indicate the differences in fur, look at the photo where there is and where I have. I also drew a tail near the hind leg.
4. Be patient and pay special attention to drawing the fur. I paint the bottom or back layers first and then paint the top layers on top. In this drawing, I first drew the back of the body, in the next steps I drew the tummy, front legs, brisket, ears and muzzle: from the forehead to the nose. And I painted the lightest layers of fur - I left the darkest ones for the next step.
5. That very next step: We draw the dark areas according to the same principle as in the previous step - from the bottom/back layer to the front/top layer of fur. I used pencils with a hardness of "H" on my mechanical pencil and with a thickness of 0.5 mm for light, 3B for dark.
See also:

A charming and agile predator with beautiful dark fur, a relative of martens, inhabits the vast territory of the Siberian taiga from the Ural Mountains to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

The sable has been a true symbol of Siberia for more than three centuries. Back in 1672, during the reign of Peter I’s father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (Quiet), sables were depicted on the coat of arms of the Siberian kingdom as part of Russia. Two sables holding a crown and a bow and arrows personified the main wealth of the Siberian region, conquered by the Russian Cossacks under the leadership of Ermak and the governor Voeikov. In the 15th – 16th centuries, sable skins were a kind of currency: they were used to pay for trade transactions and pay taxes.

The sable is depicted on the coats of arms of many Siberian cities: Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Yeniseisk, Yekaterinburg, Kurgan, as well as on the coats of arms of the Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk and Tyumen regions.

Siberia has long been famous as a center of the fur trade, and sable has always been the object of hunting. The sable fur trade and the export of their skins abroad constituted one of the main items of the Russian budget until the 20th century. Soft, thick, silky and durable sable fur was literally worth its weight in gold. Of the 17 species of sable that scientists distinguish, it is the dark fur of the Barguzin sable, which lives in the vicinity of Lake Baikal, that is the most expensive and luxurious. A luxurious fur coat made of velvety sable is still considered a status item to this day.

Russia is the only supplier of sable fur in the world.

Siberia has always been associated with sable, which occupied first place in the Russian fur trade. However, active and long-term hunting for “fluffy gold” led to the fact that by the beginning of the 20th century, the existence of the sable as a species was in danger of extinction. Added to this were other negative factors: population growth, forest fires, railroad construction, etc.

Then, to preserve and protect the symbol of Siberia, the first nature reserve in Russia was created in 1916. It is located in the North Baikal region of Buryatia and includes the Barguzinsky ridge and the coast of Lake Baikal. On a large area of ​​3743 sq. km, zoological scientists preserve and study the life of the sable and the unique, inimitable nature of the Baikal region. Travelers can get a pass to the reserve and engage in educational tourism.

The sable can be seen in coniferous taiga forests among cedars, firs and spruces, where it makes its home in the roots of wind-fallen trees, in hollows or in dense bushes and marks the boundaries of its territory. The sable is a very clean animal: its toilet is not located in the house, but somewhere nearby. The Barguzin sable has very dexterous and strong paws, which have a unique ability not to fall into the snow due to the thick and dense arrangement of fur fibers. The animal feeds mainly on small rodents (voles, shrews, squirrels), but also enjoys the gifts of plant nature: pine nuts and taiga berries (blueberries, lingonberries). Sometimes the “soft gold” can act as a real predator and attacks larger animals such as squirrels, hares or wood grouse. In the event of a bad year or a very long and cold winter, animals can migrate long distances in search of food.

During the reign of Tsarina Catherine II, a “Siberian” coin of 10 kopecks was minted with the image of sables.

In nature, the sable has no serious enemies, although a young, fragile individual can be waylaid by large eagle owls or wolves - despite the fact that the sable does not like open spaces and prefers to move in buckles along low branches of coniferous trees. The animals reach sexual maturity at two to three years and 9 months after mating, on average, 3-4 puppies are born to the sable. The mother feeds them with milk, and by three months they grow to the size of adult animals - 30-40 centimeters. The lifespan of a sable can reach 20 years.

Over the 100 years of existence of the Barguzinsky Nature Reserve, the number and habitat of sables has recovered. Fortunately, thanks to protective measures to preserve the sable population, it is currently not in danger of extinction, and in the Red Book it is included in the “least concern” category.