Dr. Taras Sipko

Organisation

Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Field of expertise

Russian mammals

• Experts - Large herbivores
• Experts - Nature management, development and recovery
• Experts - Reintroductions and animal transport
• Experts - Vast landscapes and wilderness areas
• Experts - Veterinary and genetic issues
• Experts - Zoos and breeding centres

Species

• Bison bonasus - Wisent, European Bison
• Cervus elaphus - Red Deer
• Alces alces - Eurasian Elk
• Rangifer tarandus - Reindeer
• Ovibos moschatus - Musk Ox
• Rupicapra rupicapra - Northern Chamois
• Ovis nivicola - Snow Sheep

Regions

• Altai
• Caucasus
• Carpathians
• Vologda

About

Taras Sipko is a dedicated and well experienced researcher on large mammals within Russia and surrounding countries. He is and has been working with: European bison, Moose, Reindeer, Muskoxen, Red Deer, Chamois, Snow sheep and American bison.

Dr. Sipko is a specialist on Bison bison athabascae - Wood bison and involved in re-introducing Wood bison on the territory of Yakutia, the region in East Siberia.

He is working at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This institute was established in 1934 by academician A.N. Severtsov and is one of the leading biological institutes of Russia. The Institute is a scientific research centre on ecology, biological diversity, ethology, evolutionary morphology and nature conservation.
The principal Directions of studies are:

structural and functional organization, dynamics and evolution of populations, communities and ecosystems

ecology of organisms and mechanisms of adaptation

ecological and evolutionary aspects of animal behavior and communications

morphological regularities and mechanisms of animal evolution

biological diversity and sustainable use of biological resources

fundamental problems of nature conservation

Dr. Sipko is involved in the study of “Regularities from the structure of hoofed ungulates populations and their genetic and demographic aspects”. Here he works on and with:

wild ungulates,

long-term re-introduction into the wild,

in-breeding,

examining populations – numbers and demographic proportions of animals, and

on Cryopreservation (freezing) of male gametes.

Expert groups and scientific commissions

Chairman Commission on studying European bison and American bison (Wood bison) of Russia RAS.

Member European Bison Specialist Group SSC/IUCN

Member Re-introducing Specialist Group SSC/IUCN

Member Captivity breeding Specialist Group SSC/IUCN

Library

• Articles

  • 70 years Wisent in the Caucasian mountains
  • European bison in Russia – past, present and future
  • Fragmentation of Eurasian moose populations during periods of population depression
  • Predicting potential European bison habitat across its former range
  • Reintroduction of Musk ox in the Northern Russia

• Network meetings

  • Network meeting Moscow, 2011

• Presentations

  • Network meeting Moscow May 2011

• Videos

  • Bison world in Russia