Autumn is a good time for students
Autumn has come, and students have started a new academic year, which means that volunteers from MGIMO must definitely appear in the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve. Every autumn first-year students from the Department of International Integrated Environmental Management and Ecology of this prestigious educational institution come to us to help with household chores and get acquainted with the activities of the reserve. This year’s meeting took place on a beautiful sunny day on the 1st of October. The team of young people was already very friendly, despite the fact that it was only the second month of their studies together. Before work, they had an exclusive excursion to the background monitoring station (SFM), located in the protected area of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve, where its head Vera Ableeva spoke in detail about the station’s activities and demonstrated the equipment used in research. And there was something to show! Psychrometric boxes are located in a small fenced area, soil thermometers are laid out, gas analyzers and equipment for sampling air and precipitation are working. More than 30 parameters are measured here. Next the students faced a very difficult task – to help in painting the demonstration bullpen at the Bison Breeding Centre. It turned out that for many it was the first experience of working with paint, especially green! However, future diplomats and economists learn on the fly, and within a couple of minutes, everyone was deftly handling the slats and brushes. After working hard, the young people went to a tea party. The students have another interesting tradition – they hold an annual dedication of first-year students in the reserve. But we respect other people’s secrets and we never spy on this mysterious ceremony.
“Reserved Kaleidoscope”
On October 23, 2025, a large-scale photo exhibition “Reserved Kaleidoscope”, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve, opened in the lobby of the metro station “Business Centre” of Filevskaya Line. The exhibition, located on the upper tier of the transport hub, introduces passengers to a unique corner of wildlife located just 100 km from the capital. Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve is the only nature reserve in Moscow Region. For eighty years they have not only preserved the country’s natural heritage, but have also been actively engaged in scientific and environmental education work. The exhibition features unique images taken on the territory of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Natural Biosphere Reserve by professional wildlife photographers. The exhibition introduces the biodiversity of this protected area of federal significance, its main symbol is the bison and its tourist potential. The opening ceremony was attended by distinguished guests: Maria Khilchenko, Head of the Moscow Metro’s External Relations Service.; Marina Karpova, Head of the press service of Roszapovedcenter, Svetlana Rodionova, Head of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve. Olga Kalinina, the author of the presented photographs and a leading specialist in environmental education, shared: “It is a great honor for me to show the beauty of protected nature to thousands of people who take the subway every day. Let these shots make someone stop, think, and maybe visit the reserve for the first time.”
Graduation at the bison
Every autumn an important event takes place in the Bison Breeding Centre of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve – sending young bison to new habitats. Grown-up pets leave their native home to replenish free-living populations as part of the Bison Restoration Program in Russia. On October 20, 2025, ten young bison born in 2024 went to Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park: Munaka (05/01/2024), Muline II (05/11/2024), Mulubchik (05/21/2024), Mussorgsky (05/19/2024), Muzasaurus (05/30/2024), Mureshka (06/17/2024), Mundialita (07/13/2024), Mutador ( 07/22/2024), Moissanite (09/22/2024). The tenth was Musinj (12/19/2023), who did not join the youth group that was taken to the Vologda region last year. The organization of this complex and time-consuming event was provided by our partners: the animals were transported in cages provided by LLC Trading House GRASS, and the financing of the transportation itself was carried out at the expense of LLC RVB. Andrey Stefutin, Deputy director of the reserve for bison breeding, went to the Smolensk region to monitor the condition of the pets, along with a team of experienced bison breeders who are well acquainted with the characteristics of each pet. The bison endured the long journey to Smolensk region well and upon arrival were placed in a quarantine enclosure in the Shevelevo tract (the 59th block of the Glaskovskaya forest cottage). After passing through quarantine, they will be released into the wild and will join their relatives. Two reintroduction points have already been organized in Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park, and the total number of bison in the territory is approaching 150 individuals. The main task of the Bison Breeding Centre is to restore the free bison population in Russia and the annual export of grown-up bison to new habitats is an important step towards increasing the number of rare species.
Autumn accounting
Last Sunday the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve hosted the autumn count of the chicken-like birds. Under this funny name, very interesting birds hiding in the protected forest – capercaillie, grouse and black grouse. These types are the main objects of accounting. It is especially important to understand the condition of the capercaillie population, because in Moscow region its habitats are under threat. For a long time, the scientific department doubted which day to schedule the registration. We need good weather, and forecasts on weather websites shamelessly change every few hours and contradict each other. In the end we decided to go on October 26. It rained at night, but it stopped the next morning, everything got better, and the sun even came out a couple of times. As in previous years, the accountants completed 11 routes, each 10-12 km long. Capercaillie and grouse were encountered, and black grouse were marked on one route. According to the calculation, the number of birds is close to the annual average. The pleasure of researchers, the specialists of the Department of Environmental Education, inspectors and volunteers (a total of 22 people participated in the survey) from the routes traveled in the remote protected forest, fatigue from crossing beaver dams, wind tunnels and swamps, and for some, stress from the sight of a huge horned moose rushing through the forest are also close to the annual average. which rose from the accountants instead of the expected grouse. The next such event will be held only in winter, it will be a traditional winter tracking route of mammals. Fans of forest routes can only wait and remember the past accounting by looking through photos and sipping hot autumn drinks.
Feeding troughs for bison
The Bison Breeding Centre, located in the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve, has received significant support from partners. The Charitable Foundation “Green Mission” and the company “Greenway Global” have funded the manufacture of 30 new feeding troughs for bison, which will be created according to original drawings. In the Breeding Centre, designed to keep about 50 animals, feeding grounds are visited by bison daily. Several paddocks are equipped with upgraded feeders – stationary boxes on rollers, but at the same time, most of the sites operate on “Zablotsky feeders” – time-tested structures that have been waiting for updates for more than 20 years. The uniqueness of this project lies in its fidelity to history. The new feeders will not be made according to modern templates, but according to unique drawings from 1951, developed by Mikhail Zablotsky, the founder of the Bison Breeding Centre, a leading specialist in bison, whose name has been given to the reserve since 2015. “Rough” use is the main test for feeders. The bison are looking forward to feeding and, having lowered their muzzle into the box, they quickly and forcefully pull it towards them. Year-round exploitation in rain, snow and slush, as well as the presence of a special salt trough, which fails faster due to salt impregnation, lead to natural deterioration. The help of the Charitable Foundation “Green Mission” and the company “Greenway Global” will immediately replace about half of the worn-out feeders in the breeding centre, which will improve hygiene on the feeding grounds and conditions in general.
