New kind of bear hunt from eye in the sky

This is reported to be the first time rangers have used drones to take a census of wild brown bears in Russia. Over a five day period they registered eight bears around the rivers Srednyaya Ters and Nizhnyaya Ters.

The experiment was undertaken in part to assess the reaction of the bears to the quadcopters. The reaction from the local bear population was mixed: some came as close as five metres to study the 'big bumblebee'.

Others sensed danger and fled as soon as they heard it. Park rangers say they can tell the age and sex of the bear from its appearance.

In the future the inspectors of the reserve plan to use quadcopters to search for and study ungulates, such as elk, Siberian roe and reindeer. 

They will also be used to search the reserve for illegal hunters or other activities harmful to nature. 

Meanwhile, the pictures obtained show the stunning beauty of this mountainous region of southern Siberia - in Kemerovo region.

The basin of the Kondoma River in Gornaya Shoriya is remarkable for the lime-tree woods which are thought to be the relics of a pre-Pleistocene nemoral vegetation of Siberia.

Around the Kondoma River in Gornaya Shoriya are lime-tree woods which are believed to be relics of the pre-Pleistocene nemoral vegetation of Siberia.