Pleistocene Park

The Pleistocene Park ( Russian Плейстоценовый парк ) is a scientifically accompanied ecological experiment in Eastern Siberia in the lower reaches of the River Kolyma south of the settlement Tscherski . A typical landscape of the Pleistocene is to emerge here on an area of around 160 square kilometers . Yakut horses , reindeer and elk live here in a fenced area of around 16 square kilometers . In addition, musk oxen arrived from Wrangel Island in autumn 2010 , and European bison and Altai marale in spring 2011 . The settlement of Siberian tigers is also being considered. The park has two long-term goals. One is the restoration of a Pleistocene primeval landscape, which, according to the megaherbivore hypothesis, was typical of the area, but which has been lost through the loss of large herbivores. The other is a decrease or at least a delay in global warming .

Restoration of the steppentundra

Recovered grasslands in the Pleistocene Park

It is believed that the tundra and taiga areas of the park will be transformed into a mammoth steppe by the large number of grazing animals , which disappeared along with numerous large animal species at the end of the Pleistocene. A fence is supposed to prevent the animals from leaving the area until their populations have established themselves. One is already toying with the idea of introducing the woolly mammoth as the most important type of character of the mammoth steppe, in case it could one day be awakened by genetic engineering.

Reducing global warming

The Pleistocene Park experiment is not only about resurrecting the steppe tundra (a grass cold steppe) with its megaherbivore fauna, but also an important experiment in the context of avoiding (or at least delaying) global warming. In the permafrost of the Arctic is double bonded about as much carbon as the time is freely available worldwide in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. As part of global warming, the permafrost is now beginning to thaw and release the bound carbon. Partly as carbon dioxide, but to a considerable extent as methane gas , which has a greenhouse effect many times stronger than carbon dioxide. Through the restoration of the steppentundra with its high animal density, the thawing of the permafrost should be prevented or at least delayed, and global warming should be dampened. The underlying theory is that, on the one hand, the megaherbivore herds destroy the insulating snow cover in winter and thus the ground can cool down considerably more, and on the other hand, the steppe tundra created by the megaherbivores has a much higher albedo (sunlight reflection) all year round than the existing tundra and Taiga, so the ground warms up less.

Plans for 2017

The purchase of prairie bones and house yaks is planned for 2017 . The money for the purchase, transport and care of the animals was raised through a crowdfunding campaign that ran from March to the beginning of April 2017.

A first expedition has already taken place. On June 9, ten house yaks from Irkutsk Oblast arrived in the Pleistocene Park. A calf was born two days after arrival, and a second a few days later.

A second expedition to bring the prairie bisons is expected to take place in autumn 2017.