Wildlife of
Kemerovskaja oblast'

Primary Threats

• Coal mining, especially large open‑pit mines, is the main cause of land change in the Kuznetsk Basin: soil and plants are removed, spoil heaps and tailings form, drainage changes, and forest‑steppe habitat is broken up. Mines and industry also push into foothill and river‑valley corridors linking taiga blocks.
• Coal mining, coal-fired plants and metal factories cause air pollution in Kemerovo-Novokuznetsk, harming plants and increasing contact between people and wildlife. Mine, industrial and city waste pollute the Tom River and tributaries (Inya, Kondoma, Mrassu) with silt, salt or acid, and heavy metals that harm fish spawning and bottom-dwelling animals.
• Beyond the mine pits themselves, habitat loss occurs through conversion of forest-steppe patches to industrial land, settlement expansion, and repeated disturbance that prevents natural regeneration on reclaimed sites. Riparian habitats are particularly vulnerable where floodplains are occupied by infrastructure and industry.
• Railways, haul roads, powerlines, and pipelines built to service mines and industrial sites dissect taiga and foothill landscapes, increasing mortality risk (vehicle strikes), facilitating access for illegal logging/poaching, and reducing connectivity for wide-ranging mammals between Mountain Shoria and Kuznetsk Alatau.
• Commercial logging and illegal harvest in accessible taiga areas reduce old-growth structure and key microhabitats, while road-building linked to timber and mining opens previously remote areas. Selective removal of valuable conifers and repeated disturbance can simplify forests and reduce nesting/denning quality for sensitive species.
• Poaching and unregulated take in some areas affect ungulates and furbearers; pressure tends to be highest along transport corridors and near settlements/worker camps. Sensitive raptors can also be impacted by persecution or incidental take.
• High-value wildlife products can incentivize illegal take, particularly musk deer for musk and occasional illicit capture of rare raptors for falconry markets. Trade pressure is most acute where road access from industrial development intersects with intact taiga refugia.
• Recreational and illegal harvest in clean headwaters (especially for large salmonids) can depress local populations where access is improved by roads serving forestry/mining. In addition, degraded water quality downstream reduces resilience of fish populations to fishing pressure.
• Channel modification, bank reinforcement, and floodplain development around industrial/urban areas simplify river morphology and reduce wetland/riparian function. Mine dewatering and altered drainage patterns can change baseflows in tributaries, affecting spawning gravels and seasonal connectivity.
• Warming trends increase wildfire season severity in forest-steppe margins and can shift snowpack and runoff timing in mountain catchments (Kuznetsk Alatau/Mountain Shoria). These changes can exacerbate pollution impacts (e.g., lower dilution flows during dry periods) and stress cold-water fish and taiga-dependent species.
• Off-road vehicles, unregulated recreation, and increasing visitation in scenic mountain-river areas (notably in Mountain Shoria) disturb nesting birds and large mammals, degrade riverbanks, and create informal trails that accelerate erosion.
• As landscapes fragment and attractants increase near settlements (garbage, livestock, apiaries), conflicts with large carnivores (e.g., brown bear and wolf in taiga districts) can rise, leading to retaliatory killing and reduced tolerance for protected-area buffer zones.
• High densities of domestic animals near settlements and worker camps can elevate disease transmission risks to wildlife (e.g., canine diseases to carnivores). Climate-driven expansion of ticks also increases disease pressure on wild ungulates and poses monitoring challenges for protected-area staff.
• Growth and densification around Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, and satellite towns consume remaining peri-urban forest belts and riparian greenways, increasing edge effects, light/noise pollution, and barriers to movement along river corridors.
• In forest-steppe sectors, conversion and intensification can reduce meadow-steppe remnants and wetlands important for migratory birds, while pesticide/nutrient runoff adds to cumulative water quality stress in tributaries already impacted by industry.
• High industrial demand for water and aggregates can stress local river systems and floodplains, particularly during low-flow periods, reducing habitat quality for aquatic and riparian species and complicating restoration of mined lands.
• Stocking and accidental introductions in river systems and reservoirs can alter fish communities (competition/predation), while disturbed industrial lands can facilitate spread of invasive plants that slow recovery of native forest-steppe vegetation on reclaimed sites.
• Fragmentation of taiga blocks by mines and transport corridors can isolate populations of forest specialists, reducing gene flow and increasing vulnerability of small or localized populations, particularly in foothill transition zones.