A FEW MORE PAGES ABOUT FISH

Our planet experiences regular weather changes throughout the year. Such changes are usually called seasons. All seasonal changes in nature have their own name. It is winter, spring, summer and autumn. Changes in the weather and changes in the behavior of the animal world during these periods depend on the amount of solar radiation spreading to different regions of the globe. The angle of incidence of a sunbeam on the Earth's surface is also of great importance. The more the angle of inclination tends to a straight line, the hotter it becomes at a particular place of incidence of this ray. Also, the length of the day affects seasonal changes.

Dependence of seasonal changes on territorial location

In the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the seasonal changes are completely opposite. It depends on the location of the Earth in relation to the Sun. An imaginary red line on the globe separates the two hemispheres exactly in the middle. This line is called the equator. Throughout the year, the sun's rays fall on this area at almost right angles. And therefore, in the countries located on the equator, the weather is constantly hot and dry. Traditionally, winter is considered the beginning of the year.

Winter is cold and beauty

It is located farthest from the Sun in winter. All seasonal changes in nature during this period freeze in anticipation of warming. Time of low temperatures, snowfalls, winds and heavy ice formation. Many animals hibernate to conserve vital energy. After the winter equinox, the sun begins to rise higher above the horizon and the length of the day slowly increases.

Winter time for nature is a period of struggle and beauty. Plants stop growing, some animals and birds move to warmer countries, and people escape the cold in sheltered areas. Abandoned bird nests, bare tree branches and large amounts of snow can be seen.

Changes in winter weather

Winter weather is changeable and unpredictable. One week there may be severe frosts, and the next - an unexpected thaw may come. In the cold, you can hear the trees crackling in the frost, water freezes in rivers, lakes and ponds. Ice crystals form a solid upper layer of water on the surface of reservoirs, which reliably protects the deep inhabitants from the penetration of cold. In hard-to-reach mountain areas, snowstorms sweep the roads, and people have to stock up on provisions in advance.

During thaws, seasonal changes in nature can be manifested by unexpected rains, which, when frost returns, create an ice crust on the roads and plants. Trees, houses, cars and roads are covered with ice. This natural phenomenon is very dangerous for animals and people. The accumulation of ice breaks trees, damages power lines and makes bridges and roads unusable.

Fauna and flora in winter

Most are at rest. Only some species of evergreen trees, such as spruce, cedar, pine or fir, turn green among the snow-white heaps of snow. At the end of winter, with warming, the juices begin to move, and the first buds appear on the trees.

Many birds fly to warmer regions, but more than 30 species remain in the Northern Hemisphere even during the most severe frosts. These are, as a rule, birds that feed on the seeds of some plants. Birds also remain for the winter - scavengers such as crows, gulls and pigeons, and hunters such as a hawk or an owl.

Winter is a time of long sleep for many animals, and seasonal changes in wildlife occur in different ways everywhere. Frogs go into hibernation mode and bury themselves in the mud, while small animals like voles and marmots hide in previously dug burrows. Earthworms, caterpillars and bumblebees also behave. Stacked up in warm dens and bears. During hibernation, animals are in a state of suspended animation. Many other mammals also endure seasonal changes in nature. These are otters, muskrats, deer, hares and many other species of forest dwellers.

Spring is the time to bloom

From March 20, the length of the day increases significantly, the average daily temperature rises, the first flowers begin to bloom. Animals hibernating in cold weather begin to molt, and hibernating animals return to their previous way of life. Birds build nests and begin to acquire chicks. Numerous offspring are born and various insects appear.

In the Northern Hemisphere, spring comes on the day of the vernal equinox. The length of the day is compared to the length of the night. In spring, heavy rains and melting snows begin. Water pools overflow and spring floods begin. The first flowers bloom, and their active pollination by emerging insects begins. The first flowers to appear are snowdrops, irises and lilies. Leaves appear on the trees.

Wildlife awakening

Gradually, the air is filled with the singing of migratory birds returning from hot countries. Toads and frogs wake up after hibernation and start singing their mating songs. Many mammals are exploring new territories.

Spring seasonal changes in wildlife begin with the appearance of various insects. Mosquitoes and flies can be seen very early. Behind them, other insects wake up in early spring. Various bumblebees, wasps and the like are reliably protected from spring frosts by a fluffy striped coat.

Summer is a ripening crop

After June 21, real summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere. All plants are developing rapidly, and the time for increased nutrition is coming for herbivores. Predators, in turn, actively hunt green food lovers. All seasonal changes in nature occur very quickly in summer. Great weather allows people to grow so many vegetables and fruits during the summer months that they can last for a very long time. Perennial plants also gain their main strength during the summer months.

At the end of summer, harvesting of the ripe crop begins. Many shrubs, trees and other plants are ripe for fruit. But summer production of vegetables and fruits is sometimes drastically reduced due to dehydration of the soil and inability to provide plants with sufficient water.

In the summer, many birds train their chicks and prepare them for a long autumn flight. Summer and seasonal changes in nature in summer is a wonderful topic for studying the behavior of not only birds, but also many insects and other representatives of the animal world. Educational excursion "Seasonal changes in nature" will be very interesting for children.

Autumn - fruit picking

From September 22, new seasonal changes take place throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and a cold snap begins pretty soon. The temperature drops, and the midday sun no longer warms very much. The days are getting shorter and the life cycle of many plants is ending. Animal world prepares to migrate south or builds warm shelters for long hibernation. Some animals and birds change their summer outfits for warmer winter ones. Among many animal breeds, the mating season begins. The grass dries up, and the leaves on the trees change color and fall off. The sun does not rise over the North at all, and for the next six months the Arctic will be in complete darkness. Autumn ends on the day of the winter solstice.

The most interesting seasonal changes in nature in autumn can be traced during the short Indian summer. Returning warm weather for a few autumn days allows animals and plants to finish preparing for the extreme cold. Gardeners and gardeners are closely watching the harbingers of frost in order to have time to complete the collection of a bountiful harvest of vegetables and fruits.

Fauna in autumn

Many animals and birds are starting to move south in search of milder temperatures and reliable food supplies. Some species of animals hibernate. The bears go into deep winter sleep. In late autumn, a large number of insects die. Some insects burrow deeper into the ground or hibernate as larvae or pupae.

A variety of seasonal changes in nature in the fall for preschoolers will be understandable if you explain to the children what is happening and supplement the story about autumn with illustrative examples. This is a demonstration of beautiful orange and red maple leaves, various crafts made from autumn leaves and twigs, observing the animal world. Children can also be interested in the autumn seasonal changes in a corner of nature, which, as a rule, is created in any preschool institution.

Nature calendar

To consolidate knowledge about changing seasons and better acquaintance with nature, together with preschoolers, you can draw up nature calendars. These can be children's thematic drawings or appliques using summer or autumn natural materials. Natural phenomena can be presented in the form of a schematic image or using a variety of thematic stickers.

Various plot pictures are placed on the calendar in accordance with the passing season.

In winter, these can be images of sleeping bears or animals with white fur. Spring can be illustrated with images and the arrival of migratory birds. There are many ways to visualize the summer season. This demonstration of ripe fruits and different autumn seasons is also demonstrated with the help of the fallen leaves of the trees.

In general, a story about natural changes during different seasons and the creation of a calendar of observations of significant changes in the surrounding nature contributes to the development of children and fosters love for their native land in them.

In the video, children 5-10 years old will see the flood in the forest, and wolves on the hunt, and how a bear crawls out of a den, and many other spring phenomena in nature. This film was made at the studio of educational films for children and is built as a dialogue between a child and an adult. A child observes animals and asks questions to an adult, an adult answers his questions and gives interesting additional information. Watch a movie with children. The film is very high quality and made professionally, taking into account all the requirements for educational films for children. Happy viewing and new discoveries!

For the curious: about forest cubs and their mothers. Interesting information about animals in spring

Hares in spring

Mama - hare feeds the rabbits, and immediately runs away, leaving them alone under the bush. And the rabbits sit under a bush for three to four days - waiting for their new mother - a hare to feed them.

Bunnies do not have rabbits of strangers - they are all their own, they will always feed. Rabbits' milk is fatty and nutritious, it is enough for hares for 3-4 days.

Why is it so arranged in nature? The fact is that in hares, sweat and sebaceous glands are found only on the soles of the paws. And if the hare lived with the hares, they would be quickly found - they would smell them - a fox or a wolf. Rabbits have many enemies - fox, wolf, marten, lynx, and birds of prey. And when a tiny hare sits under a bush and hides its paws under itself, it is impossible to find it by its smell. It turns out that, running away from the rabbits, the hare saves them.

After 8-9 days, the rabbits will have teeth, and then the grass will appear, and they will begin to feed themselves.

Squirrels in spring

Have proteins squirrels also appear in spring. They are born naked, helpless, see nothing. The squirrel mom takes care of them, for two months she feeds the squirrels with milk. But dad - the squirrel does not live with his family, he lives separately.

Mom spends a lot of time - the squirrel spends in search of food, otherwise the squirrels will grow up frail and sick. Squirrels require special attention from squirrels - mothers, they need to be covered, warmed, fed. Only after a month, the squirrels open their eyes and begin to look out of the nest.

In spring, the squirrel is the enemy of all birds and the most dangerous predator for many birds. She ravages bird nests on tree branches and drags chicks and eggs from them.

Hedgehog in spring

In April hedgehogs also appear. They are born in a hedgehog nest, similar to a hut of dry leaves, twigs and moss. The hedgehog feeds the hedgehogs with milk, takes care of them.

Hedgehogs, like squirrels, are born helpless and naked, without needles. A few hours after birth, tubercles appear on the skin, then they burst, and thin needles appear from them. Then the needles will harden and turn into thorns. Mom - the hedgehog first feeds the hedgehogs with milk, and then, when they grow up, brings them earthworms and slugs to the nest.

Bears in spring

In April, a bear wakes up and leaves the den with the grown cubs. She wanders through the forest looking for food: she pulls out bulbs and roots of plants, looks for larvae.

Coming out of the den, the bear stretches, rolls, tries to warm up after hibernation, tidies up his fur coat. And looking for food.

By the time they leave the den, the bears are molting. Their winter thick coat falls out and grows short, darker. All summer long the wool will grow again and grow thick and warm by the new winter (bears do not shed in autumn).

In the spring, the she-bear not only feeds the cubs with her milk, but also teaches them to get their own food - to dig roots out of the ground, look for insects, last year's berries. Even if the she-bear is hungry, first of all she will give food to her cubs. Defending the cubs, the bear can rush at any enemy.

In the spring, the bear bathes her cubs in streams and lakes: she takes by the scruff of the neck and lowers it into the water. Later, when the kids grow up, they will begin to bathe themselves.

Creative task "Unwashed Raccoon". Read the wonderful story about the Raccoon to the children. And come up with with your child how this story ended.

E. Shim "Who looks like whom?"

“Little Raccoon ran home, and my mother gasped:

- Fathers, who do you look like ?! Where are you transported? Why is all the fur in the trash?

- And I stirred up the anthill.

- Why are the paws in the swamp mud?

- And I chased the frog.

- Why is the nose in the ground ?!

- I dug a beetle ...

- No, just look at him! - mom says. - Do decent animals look like that?

And what do decent animals look like?

- The fur of decent animals shines, noses are licked, claws are cleaned! Look at yourself!

- I wanted to have a look, - Raccoon replies, - but they just didn't give it.

- Who didn't?

- And the Bear. I didn’t come to the river, I went down to the water - suddenly the Bear with the cubs! Such a terrifying one! Angry-yu-hinging!

- Do you know why she came to the river?

- I do not know. I quickly ran away.

- She brought the cubs to bathe. And she is ashamed when the children are grimy!

- That's it ... - says the Raccoon. - Now understand. And then I could not guess why she was waving her paw and growling: "Oh, you little chum, oh you Raccoon unwashed!"

Questions for children:

1. Why couldn't Raccoon look at himself - at his reflection in the water?
2. Why did the Bear come to the river? Why was the Bear growling and angry?
3. What did the Raccoon do next when he found out why the Bear was angry and cursed "Unwashed Raccoon"?
4. Together with the children, think of how this story ended. (For example, Raccoon ran quickly to the river, washed, combed his hair, cleaned his claws. He returned home, even his mother did not recognize him, and was very happy ...)

Sometimes in a family of bears there is an older bear cub - "pestun" (a bear cub from last year's brood). So it is called from the word "nurture". The bear cub - pestun - is the main assistant of the mother - the she-bear, the role model for the kids - the cubs. He shows them how to climb hollows for honey, how to feast on ants and their larvae. He separates the cubs if they fought and puts them in order. The bear has such an assistant! And dad - the bear does not take part in the upbringing of the kids - the cubs.

The little bear is a pestun, although he is an older bear, but he loves to play very much. Read the dialogue between Magpies and Teddy Bear - Pestun to your child:

E. Shim "The Magpie and the Bear"

“- Bear cub, are you going to break this mountain ash?

- Are you bending it into an arc?

- Do you want to rip her off?

- Leave me alone, Soroka. I do not want anything. I just took it and swing on this mountain ash. Give me at least a little play, until my mother comes and makes my little brother babysit! "

Foxes in spring

Foxes also have cubs. Usually in March - April 4-6 cubs are born to a fox. Little foxes are dark brown in color, and the tips of their tails are white! After 3-4 weeks, the cubs stop eating the milk of their mother - foxes, but they still live in the burrow. Parents bring them food into the hole.

Their mother, a fox, does not allow anyone to approach the foxes. She guards the burrow. Mom - a fox carefully monitors whether there is a danger nearby. In case of danger, the fox barks loudly, and the foxes quickly run away - they hide deep in the hole. And if people or dogs have visited the fox's hole, then the fox will definitely transfer its cubs to another safe place - away from the previous hole. Daddy - the fox also helps to raise the cubs. He teaches them, they bring booty.

Wolves in spring

To raise wolf cubs, wolves make a den in the forest thicket. In the spring, a she-wolf gives birth to 4-7 cubs. They are born helpless and covered in gray fluff. First, the she-wolf feeds the wolf cubs with her milk, and does not leave them anywhere. And dad - the wolf brings food to the she-wolf. When the cubs grow up, then both mom and dad feed them together.

Elk in spring

In the spring, a moose cow gives birth to 1 - 2 calf calves. The moose mother licks them after birth, and they immediately stand on their feet. And after 3-4 days, little moose calves run after their mother! For a long time their mother, the moose cow, feeds her milk, and the moose calves grow like heroes - by leaps and bounds!

Badgers in spring

The badger wakes up and crawls out of the hole. The badger is a very neat and tidy animal. Therefore, in the spring he starts repairing his house, renews his bedding, cleans the passages, throws out the trash.

In the spring, the badger has everything edible it can find, as it needs to quickly recuperate after hibernation. He eats larvae, earthworms, mice, and ruins the nests of birds.

In April, the badger gives birth to 3-6 badgers. She brings them up alone. For several days she does not come out of the hole at all, then it comes out, but not for long. To make the kids grow faster, the badger takes them one by one into the sun into the fresh air - she will take them in her teeth, bring them and put them side by side under a bush or under a tree. When the badgers are two months old, they come out of the burrow on their own.

Fish in spring

In spring, the ice on the river melts, and it is no longer possible to walk on it. And then the ice drift begins altogether. All the inhabitants of the reservoirs are happy that it has become light under the water. Fish swim to shallow places where the water is warmer by the sun.

In the spring, the fish begin to grow, and their scales grow in rings. And by their number, you can determine how old the fish is.

In May, fish spawn. Fry appears from it.

First, the fry are naked, without scales, then they grow scales. First of all, the pectoral fins of the future fish grow, then the fins on the back, and then on the stomach. When the fry grow up, it has a tail.

The fry hide from their enemies in the darkness. In some fish, fry hide in their parents' mouths and sit there safely. Sometimes the fry hide next to their parents, clinging to their side and swimming away from a dangerous place.

Migratory birds in spring: logic puzzles for children

Logical task 3. Each has his own term. Birds in spring

Each bird comes to us in "its own time". Here is how it is written in the story of N. Sladkov:

N. Sladkov. Birds brought spring

“The rooks have arrived - they brought thawed patches. Icebreaker wagtails broke the ice on the river. Finches have appeared - the green grass has twisted.

This is how spring is done: every little by little. "

Why does each bird have its own arrival date? Try to guess for yourself with the children.

And it will help you guess what the reason is, a fabulous dialogue in the forest "Crake and Rook" (E. Shim)

“- Crake, why are you late, from the warm lands so late arrived?

- And I was waiting for my house to grow up.

- How is it, the house will grow up ?!

- You are in a tree, Rook, you live, you do not understand. And I live in a clean meadow, I hide in the grass. So I was waiting for the grass to grow up! "

Another one prompt- the first to return to us are those birds that flew away last in the fall. And vice versa, the last to return to us, almost in summer, are those birds that were the first to fly away from us at the beginning of autumn. Why? Let's remember, together with the children, why the birds flew away from us in the fall and did not winter with us? They would freeze, they would have no food. Which birds arrive first? Those who can get their own food even in March.

Why do swallows come only in May? Let's remember how swallows fly close to the ground before the rain - why do they do this? Because they catch insects (in the summer in the village, show this phenomenon to children). Swallows feed on insects. And when do insects appear in our forests, fields, gardens? In May. So the swallows come to us when food has already appeared for them.

Logic task 4.Birds - auditors

“Tractor drivers call these birds“ rezivors ”. As soon as the tractors go out to the spring arable land, these proud black birds are right there - decorously and importantly walking behind the tractor along the freshly plowed strip, picking out worms from the ground. What kind of birds are they? "

Why are rooks called "auditors"? Who is an "auditor"? Are Rooks Migratory or Wintering? Why do people call rooks "messengers of spring"?

Logical problem 5. Why do rooks have a white beak?

Rooks come to us one of the first, proudly walk through the fields, looking for worms, larvae, beetles on thawed patches.

What color is the rook's beak? White. And some rooks have a beak ... black !!! Why do you think? This riddle has a very interesting solution. And it will be told to you and your children by the old rook White Beak and the young rook Black Beak (E. Shim "Black beak and white beak").

The best way to act out this story is with two rook figures, differently colored.

“- Rook, you probably flew to the fire?

- Why is it - on fire?

- Yes, you have a sooty nose!

- Why is it sooty?

- Rooks have white noses, and yours is black! As if it was smoked on purpose!

- And you're all lying! My nose is normal! And very handsome! It's just that I'm still a young rook, I've been to the field a little, I've been picking a little in the ground ... So I didn't have time to clean my beak to a shine! "

After reading this short story - a dialogue, ask the child how to understand - did we meet an old rook in the village in the spring or a young one? Why was the young rook's beak called "smoked"? (Explain to the child - what happens in a fire, what is “sooty.” Remember the soot that the children could see in the country, the coals from the fire, tell the child that only black coals remain after the fire. And the beak of the young rook is also black. Therefore called its beak "smoked").

Entertaining problem 6. The secret of the nightingale

In the spring, nightingales sing. And when do they eat? You will not be full of songs. It turns out that the nightingales have their own secret. Here's what:

“A nightingale sang in bird cherry. He sang without a break, loudly and bitingly. Its tongue in its wide-open beak beat like a bell. Whenever he has time to eat and drink! After all, you will not be full with a song.
He dangled his wings, threw back his head, his sharp beak clicks like scissors in the hands of a clever hairdresser. Clicks and clicks out such sonorous trills that even the neighboring leaves tremble, and a warm steam bursts out of the heated neck.

... And mosquitoes flock to the park! Under a tight feather, they cannot undermine their nose, so they sound over an open beak. Themselves in the mouth and ask, right on the tongue stick themselves! The nightingale clicks songs and ... mosquitoes. Two things at once. And one is not a hindrance to the other. And they also say that the nightingale is not fed songs! "

(N. Sladkov. Nightingale)

Curious: interesting facts about nightingales in spring

In the first half of May, the nightingales return to us. First, the nightingales - males come to us and immediately begin to sing, but they still sing weakly and uncertainly. Their singing is a signal for female nightingales. When the females arrive, the nightingale songs begin. The voice of this bird is amazingly beautiful!

But not every nightingale will learn to sing beautifully. They have been learning to sing the nightingales for three whole years! Only in the third year they become great singers. Young nightingales learn to sing from their neighbors - old nightingales. If the neighbors do not sing very well, then the nightingale does not acquire its full beautiful voice. As they say, with whom you will lead - from that you will gain. This proverb literally refers to the "musical school of nightingale singing", in which experienced nightingales teach the singing of young nightingales.

Usually Nightingale Day is celebrated on May 15 - this is the time of sunny warm spring and nightingale songs. People used to say: "Nightingales arrive when they can drink dew or rainwater from a birch leaf."

In May - June, nightingales begin to build nests. The nest is made from grasses, wool, dry leaves. The female incubates eggs for two weeks.

Chicks are born in June. At this time, the salt concerts end - the nightingales raise their chicks.

Many have heard the nightingale, but not all have seen. He is invisible. It is very difficult to see a small gray bird.

E. Shim. The nightingale and the funnel

“- Carr! Where are you, little gray piglet, small and squeaky, climbing? Go away!

- Why?

- In these bushes Solovushko lives - a golden sock, a silver neck. Are you equal?

- Have you seen him?

- It hasn't happened yet. But they say - so good, so good-looking! Just take a look ...

- So look. I am Solovushko! "

Cartoon about birds in spring

And in conclusion, I propose to look at the wonderful cartoon for kids based on V. Bianchi's fairy tale "Orange Neck" about a lark and its neighbors - partridges. From the cartoon in a very entertaining and accessible form of a fairy tale for kids, children will learn about how birds live.

First, I suggest reading this book to children (it is quite large, so here I will not offer its text, the book "Orange Neck" can be found in any children's library), and then watch a cartoon about this informative fairy tale.

So our journey to wonderful world nature and animals. You and your children have learned a lot about animals in spring, invented their own stories, played out dialogues. I hope this article will help you and your little ones, and will bring a lot of joy and amazing discoveries!

More about spring speech games, poems, physical education, pictures, fairy tales for classes with children can be found in the articles of the site:

Migrations of fish, that is, their travels from one place to another, like the flights of birds, represent the deepest biological meaning and majestic in beauty phenomenon. Fish migrations are also of great commercial and economic importance, since the main catch of fish is carried out on the routes of their mass movement both in the sea and in lakes and rivers. The most grandiose in terms of the scale of migration of marine fish and anadromous fish, at certain periods of their life, migrate to fresh waters. But purely freshwater fish migrate for the same reasons as marine ones.

Fish migrate in search of food. Emaciated during spawning off the coast of Norway, cod travels east to the Murmansk waters, where they find good pastures. This is a forage migration. Salmon from the sea goes to rivers for reproduction - spawning migration. Some fish leave for the winter from their summer residences to deeper places - wintering migration.

There are also vertical migrations in fish, when in whole herds they move from one depth to another, from the bottom to the surface and vice versa. These journeys are more often in the nature of forage migrations. Zooplankton (the smallest animal organisms that serve as food for fish) are concentrated in the upper layers of water at night, and deeper during the day. Following the plankton, fish feeding on it move.

Fish migrations are also associated with temperature, light conditions, water flow, wind direction. In many fish, eggs and larvae are carried over long distances by currents.

Caspian lamprey migrations

In 1911-1912, I followed the migration of the Caspian lamprey in detail. Until that time, such observations were not made on this extremely secretive fish. It turned out that the lamprey begins to enter the river from the sea in autumn at a water temperature of 10–11 ° and is directed mainly along those Volga branches where the current is faster. The course of the lamprey was traced to Saratov. At Saratov, we established the spawning grounds for this fish.

Lamprey is most active at night. It is interesting that on dark nights she walks in herds, and on light (moonlit) nights - in significantly fewer and adhering to great depths.

In those days, on the Volga, lampreys were caught with a "lantern", believing that it strives for light.

On the ice, above the swift, usually not very deep, where the densest passage of the lamprey was supposed to be, a brightly burning lantern was placed near the hole, and at some distance from it several more holes were punched, in which they scooped the lamprey with sakas, believing that it was "swirling" around illuminated streak of water. Indeed, the lamprey gathers near the lighted strip, but this is not due to the fact that the fish strives for light, but because, on the contrary, it avoids it.

On page 60 you can see a diagram of lamprey fishing using a lantern: s - light source, lantern; e - a column of water illuminated by a beam of light rays; d - ice surface; a and b - ice holes (a - with a lantern, c - where fishing takes place). The lamprey, moving all the time in the dark towards the fast-flowing stream, encounters light (e) and, hiding from it, rises up into a darker space, where it gets into the sack catcher.

During its journey along the Volga, the Caspian lamprey travels 50 kilometers per day, and if we take into account that the lamprey goes mainly at night, it becomes clear that it moves very quickly. I was able to trace the migration of lampreys by marking the fish with the attachment of long-lasting woolen marks. Tagging fish is one of the best ways to observe their migration.

The Volga lamprey performs spawning migrations. The fish enters the river, rises along it, driven by the instinct to reproduce.

Herring migration

Migrations are clearly expressed in Atlantic, Pacific (Far Eastern), Caspian and Black Sea herrings.

Atlantic, so-called Norwegian, herring approaches the shores of Norway in spring, heading for spawning (spawning migration), after which they migrate to the Barents Sea pastures (forage migration).

Together with adult fish, juveniles also migrate, starting from the larval stages. The herring larvae emerging from the eggs, falling into the powerful current of the Gulf Stream, are carried away by them to the north, but after a while the fish return to their native places. This is the general picture of the migrations of the Norwegian herring, but this herring has several different herds (races), the migrations of which are different. One thing is certain: the migration of Atlantic herring is associated with spawning, feeding of fish and the flow of water into the sea.

Immature Atlantic herring travels in small numbers from the Barents Sea to the White, but soon returns to the Barents Sea. This kind of migration cannot be called spawning, and its feeding value, one must think, is small: it is unlikely that herring in the White Sea will find more food than in the Barents Sea. Apparently, this migration is associated with the flow of water in the throat of the White Sea and in the White Sea itself.

Several dates have been established for the approach of herring to Sakhalin. The first happens in early spring, when the ice just melts off the coast. Having found suitable spawning grounds (algae thickets), the herring lays eggs. After spawning, the fish quickly leaves the shores, making a reverse migration. A few days or weeks later, the second, followed by the third herring move begins. Herring migrates to the Peter the Great Bay as well, with groups of different ages at different times. In total, there are three or four moves of herring to the coast.

Researchers of the migrations of the Pacific herring come to the conclusion that the Sakhalin and coastal herring do not make distant migrations and come to the shores from the nearby areas of the sea.

The migrations of the Caspian herring are well studied, among which there are groups of marine, semi-anadromous and anadromous fish. The names of the groups show that the behavior of the herring of each group in relation to migration is unique.

On the example of the Caspian herring, one can see how great is the influence of temperature and water currents on fish migration. The Caspian Sea has a great length from north to south, and therefore, a significant difference in water temperatures. In winter, the northern part almost completely freezes over. The northern strip of the middle part of the sea is also cooling. Under these conditions, herring migrates to the south, where the water is warmer. There is a circular current (a kind of river within the sea), in the warm parts of which the herring keeps; in the cooled part of the current, near the western coast, there are few herring in winter. The hydrology of the Caspian Sea, especially the current, has been well studied by the outstanding Russian scientist N.M. Knipovich. When the spring warming begins, herring en masse comes to the western coast, then to the eastern and from there to the northern Caspian.

Semi-anadromous Caspian herring (pusanok) live in the northern Caspian, and spawn in certain parts of the Volga delta and in the ilmen. Migrations of puzankas are not far off.

More distant migrations were made by anadromous herring of the Caspian - Volga herring and black-backed herring. Volga herring in the lower reaches of the Volga went in massive herds and before the construction of hydroelectric power stations reached not only the middle Volga, but partially reached along the Kama to Perm, and sometimes rose higher. Another anadromous herring, the black-backed herring, entered the rivers about the same distance.

We have already talked about the Far Eastern sardine - Iwashi. It is believed that Iwashi spends his entire life traveling. In our Far Eastern waters, Iwashi travels in the summer, adhering to areas where the water temperature is 8–10 °. When the water temperature rises, Iwashi moves northward. When the water temperature drops to 5 °, Iwashi again changes its location, moving to the south.

In the spring, Iwashi from the southern part of the Sea of ​​Japan, possibly from more southern seas, head north, forming two branches: one goes to our western coast of the Sea of ​​Japan and reaches Sakhalin, the other moves along the western coast of Japan and also reaches Sakhalin. Then the two branches, united, descend south along our shores of the Sea of ​​Japan.

It is possible that in reality the Iwashi migration routes are more complex than they are shown in the figure, but the essence of migrations remains the same.

Cod migrations

Bottom fish cod is of great commercial value. Its fishery is well developed in the seas of the European north. Soviet and foreign researchers have been studying the features of the biology of this fish for decades. The migration of Norwegian cod has been studied in detail, namely the cod that is the main subject of our Murmansk fishery.

In June-July, large Norwegian cod approaches the Murmansk coast, heading from west to east. In August, one might say, it fills the Barents Sea, moving from one bank to another, from one pasture to another. The cod also extends beyond the Barents Sea; its flocks even penetrate into the Kara Sea in warm years. In search of food (small fish - capelin and gerbils), cod swims all over the sea and comes close to the shores.

In September, the return journey of the cod to the west begins. By the end of November, only a negligible amount of large cod remains in the Barents Sea.

The main spawning grounds for cod are off the coast of Norway. Spawning time is winter and spring, but sometimes summer months. The larvae that emerged from the eggs are carried away by the Gulf Stream far from the coast, on the way they feed and grow up. Some of the young fish end up in the Barents Sea, where they find abundant food. Having reached maturity, cod from the Barents Sea is sent to spawning grounds.

This is the general picture of the migrations of cod caught in the Barents Sea, but the details are more complex.

The Barents Sea and west of it have their own local cod herds, whose migrations differ from those of Norwegian cod.

Researchers annually tag the cod. Thousands of fish are tagged by attaching metal tags, which bear a conditional number, which makes it possible to find out when and where the cod was released into the sea. By these marks, it is possible to determine the path taken by the marked cod, the speed of movement of the migrating fish. Thanks to the tagging, it was established that the spawning Norwegian cod, having traveled from the western coast of Norway to the eastern limits of the Barents Sea, overcomes a distance of up to 2000 kilometers.

From cod fish, haddock migrates over long distances. Its migrations are also well researched.

Flounder migrations

Are there migrations in such fish that are tied to the bottom and are not well adapted to long-distance movements due to the shape of their body? Do flounders migrate? After all, it is difficult for them to swim for a long time, because their body cannot be vertical when swimming?

The flounder has migrations, but their length is shorter than that of fish such as herring or cod. The migrations of the sea flounder, common along the coast of Europe, from the Barents Sea to the Bay of Biscay, as well as the flounder, which lives in the North Sea, have been studied for a long time. There are many similarities in the migrations of various flounders.

The North Sea flounder for spawning moves away from the shores and descends to depths of several tens of meters. The larvae that emerged from the eggs begin to migrate to the shore. It was found that such seemingly helpless creatures as larvae can cover a path of 120 kilometers, making 1 kilometer a day.

In the shape of the body, the flounder larvae are similar to the larvae of other fish, and they do not stay at the bottom, but in the water column. Having reached a length of 13–17 centimeters (by this time the body has already become flat), flounders sink to the bottom and feed on the coast. Tidal and ebb currents force young fish to approach the shore, then move away from it. Moving from one depth to another, the fish also make vertical migrations.

Adult flounders are able to travel longer distances than juveniles. Cases are described when a flounder traveled 600 kilometers in 289 days. Flounder migrations are associated with the search for food, changes in water temperature, and spawning.

Lake fish migrations

Freshwater fish, which spend their entire life in lakes and rivers, also migrate, both vertical and horizontal, but the latter are shorter in them than in marine fish. Some lake fish temporarily leave the lake and go to the river for quite considerable distances.

Salmon of Lake Ladoga go mainly to Svir and Vidlitsa for spawning, salmon from Lake Onega go to Shuya, Suna, Vodla. Finnish and Soviet researchers carried out tagging of Ladoga salmon. This helped to establish the time, direction and distance of migrations. It was revealed that salmon pastures are located mainly opposite the north-western coast of Ladoga. After spawning, salmon return to their pastures, to places far from spawning grounds.

Salmon tagged in the Svir River (downstream salmon) left for feeding to the western and eastern coasts of the northern part of Ladoga. During tagging, these fish were severely emaciated, since they stayed in the river without food for a total (before and after spawning) more than six months. Once in the lake, the salmon quickly began to increase their weight. Salmon, marked on June 1, 1929 at the mouth of the Svir, weighed 2.5 kilograms, when caught on August 11 of the same year, a little north of the mouth of the Vidlitsa River, weighed 3.25 kilograms, that is, in 72 days it increased in weight by 750 grams.

Onega salmon along the Shuya River can rise to its source, covering a distance of 150 kilometers.

Landlocked salmon migrations are very similar to sea salmon migrations, but the difference is that the sea is replaced by lakes for landlocked salmon, from which they migrate to rivers. Not all salmon that have spawned in the river return to the lake; a large number of them die from exhaustion. Secondary spawning in salmon is rare.

There are several whitefish breeds in Ladoga and Onega. Lacustrine whitefish do not enter rivers, anadromous migrants go to rivers for breeding and follow them over long distances.

The anadromous whitefish of Ladoga is the Volkhov whitefish, which used to go to the Mstu River for spawning. To reach it, the whitefish had to pass the Volkhov River. The construction of the Volkhov dam deprived the whitefish of the opportunity to make such migrations. The fish passage, which is improperly arranged in the dam, does not help either. The herd of the Volkhov whitefish has noticeably decreased. This is how much habitual migrations mean in the life of fish! It would seem that, having met an insurmountable dam, the Volkhov whitefish could change the direction of its migrations, using neighboring rivers, but this takes place only on an insignificant scale. Therefore, the Volkhov whitefish herd can be restored only in the future.

There are migratory whitefish in many rivers in the northwestern region. They also exist in Siberia.

The lake smelt can be called a semi-anadromous fish: it spawns in rivers, where it goes in the spring. But even a few months before spawning, the smelt living in Lake Ladoga makes massive migrations in the lake itself in the direction from north to south along the eastern coast. This direction is not accidental. From the southern part of the lake to the north, near the eastern shore, there is a lake stream, a kind of intra-lake river. A smelt moves towards him. After spawning in the lower reaches of rivers, it returns downstream. The smelt migrates not only for spawning or in search of food, but also when the wind direction changes, causing a change in water temperature.

In many lakes, there is a small smelt, or smelt (Pskov, Belozersky, Vodlozersky). This fish lays eggs in the lakes themselves. But there are sea smelts that enter rivers and swim along them over very long distances. The Arctic smelt along the Yenisei River rises 1000 kilometers, the White Sea smelt also enters the rivers, but its river path is very short. Marine, Neva, smelt rises along the Neva to the rapids and spawns here.

The migrations of vendace are also different. Ladoga large vendace - ripus enters the lowest part of the Volkhov River only in an insignificant amount. This fish spawns in the lake opposite the river mouth. The migrations of the ripus resemble those of the White Sea smelt, which enters the Vyg River from Sorokskaya Bay only 1–2 kilometers away and spawns in the bay opposite Vyga. Small lake vendace, inhabiting many water bodies, does not leave the lakes for spawning. In terms of its migrations, it is similar to smelt.

These examples are interesting in the sense that they make it possible to find an answer to the question of the reasons for the migration of freshwater fish.

Many freshwater fish once lived in the sea. With their resettlement to fresh waters, migrations gradually changed: at first, fish migrated from lakes to rivers, then they limited themselves to approaches to the mouths of lakes' tributaries, and, finally, many moved to a permanent residence in the lake. It can be assumed that in this way the burbot, perch and other fish gradually lost their habits for distant migrations, which migrate only within the limits of their small lakes and rivers.

River eel migrations

I would like to especially dwell on the amazing migrations of the river eel. There are so many mysterious, sometimes difficult to explain, in the behavior of this valuable game fish!

The eel lives in the rivers of the European coast Atlantic Ocean where it is an important fishing target. In our country, the eel fishery is developed in the Baltic States, including the Gulf of Finland. But eel is found in other places as well. There have been cases of catching eels in the rivers of the White Sea and the Black Sea rivers. Sometimes this fish is found in the lower reaches of the Pechora and even in the Volga delta, that is, in two unconnected river systems of the north and south. Eel is accidentally caught in the lakes of Karelia. Eels were also found in Lake Peipsi.

If we compare the named places, the question involuntarily arises, how does the eel get into these reservoirs that are so far apart from each other, moreover, they are often poorly connected to rivers? Why did no one find spawning grounds for eels, their eggs and larvae either in rivers or lakes?

It is difficult to find any other fish whose life would be as observable as the life of an eel. No wonder the most fantastic stories circulated about this fish. Some have argued that eels come from earthworms, which they resemble in their bodies; others believed that the eel is born from the viviparous eelpout fish; still others said that eels reproduce differently from other fish, that they do not have eggs.

The tiny (less than 1 centimeter long) eel larvae found in the seas were mistaken for a special fish called "leptocephalus brevirostris" (these two words, one Greek, the other Latin, translated into Russian mean "small-headed, short-necked"). Indeed, leptocephalus has a very small head ending in a short stigma. Then the researchers began to assume that leptocephalus is not an adult fish, but the larva of some fish.

In the end, 60–70 years ago, scientists came to the conclusion that the mysterious leptocephalus was nothing more than the larvae of an eel. They began to look for the locations of the smallest eel larvae in order to find out in this way where the spawning of adult eels takes place. For many years, scientists have tried to solve this problem and finally succeeded. Here's what is now known about eel migrations.

Eels grown in rivers and lakes, having lived here for 4–6 years and reaching puberty, leave fresh water bodies. It is interesting that mainly females live in fresh waters, and eel males prefer salty and brackish water and enter fresh water bodies in negligible quantities; in the Gulf of Finland, male eels are not found at all.

Migration of an adult eel, prepared for spawning, occurs in an unusual way: not towards the flow of water, as anadromous fish go to spawn, but downstream. The further path and behavior of the eel are even more surprising. Having entered the sea waters, the females descending from the rivers and the males in the coastal parts of the sea go further together, cross the Atlantic Ocean and in the ocean region between North and South America, in the Sargasso Sea, at a depth of about 1000 meters, where the water temperature not less than 7 °, females spawn. The details of the spawning of the eel are still unknown. Researchers believe that after spawning, eels die. No one has yet found spawning eels.

The worm-like larvae, 1–2 mm in size, emerging from the eggs, gradually rise from the depths to the surface and begin their long journey in the direction opposite to that of the parents. For three to four years they sail along the Gulf Stream to the shores of Europe.

In the first summer, the larvae reach a length of 25 millimeters and are located in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean; in the second summer, their length is 50–55 millimeters, and they are already in the central part of the Atlantic Ocean; in the third summer, the larvae approach the shores of Europe and begin their journey to fresh waters. ; at this time, their length is 75–80 millimeters.

During such a long journey, the body of the larva undergoes great changes. In the first days of life, the eel larva bears some resemblance to the larvae of other fish - it is round in shape. Then the larva takes the form of a thin woody leaf (one-year-old larva), then, increasing, it becomes similar to a flat fish (two-year-old larva), after a while (before entering the rivers) the larva turns into a fish with a high body, then - into a worm-like glassy eel and finally, already in fresh water - in a large eel.

Sturgeon migration

The most ancient of our anadromous fish are sturgeons, which are found in the Black Sea, Azov, Caspian, Aral and Baltic Sea basins, in Baikal and in some water bodies of the Far East. The closest ancestors of modern sturgeon fish lived in salty and brackish waters. Later, they began to enter fresh waters, first only in the lower reaches of rivers, and then in the middle and upper sections.

The Amur Kaluga rises along the Amur almost to its sources, the Caspian beluga goes far along the Volga, the Aral sturgeon - a thorn rises along the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. The sterlet has already become a completely freshwater river fish that has lost its connection with the sea, but temporarily it descends into the coastal strip of the sea, although it never spawns here. The Baikal sturgeon is also a freshwater fish that never leaves for the sea, but this fish has kept its migration to river waters. Baltic sturgeon migrates from the sea to rivers, enters the Neva, along it reaches Lake Ladoga, spawns in the Volkhov River. Apparently, this fish in Lake Ladoga can become purely lacustrine, since it is found here at all ages. The Azov stellate sturgeon rose 1000 kilometers along the Don, the Caspian goes to the Urals, Kura, Volga and other rivers.

After spawning, sturgeons return to the sea; their fry swim here too. The very course of sturgeon along the rivers presents an interesting picture. It would seem that sturgeons, fish of a bottom lifestyle, should adhere to the bottom during migrations. But during the course of the fish, you can see from the shore how the sturgeon jumps out of the water and dives again with noise. In this case, fishermen say that the sturgeon "soared", that is, it rose abruptly, like a bird. By the frequency of such leaps, it is judged how herd ("runno") the sturgeon is.

Migrations against the flow of water are usually called catadromous (translated from Greek "running up"), migrations downstream - anadromous ("running down"). Migration cannot but be influenced by the speed of the current. Some fish choose a fast current for their migrations, others a quiet one.

Each species of anadromous fish has its own temperature optima at which migration takes place. Knowing them helps to correctly determine the fishing time. In the old years, Astrakhan industrial fishermen spent a lot of money on the so-called trial fishing. In order not to miss a move, for example, roaches, they pulled a seine and watched what kind of fish was and in what quantity. And when the researchers established that the vobla is walking in the lower reaches of the Volga at a temperature of 10-15 °, the time of movement (and fishing) began to be determined not by a net, but by a thermometer.

Migrations of sea salmon

Even more striking are the migrations of sea salmon from the sea to the rivers for breeding. This refers to Atlantic salmon (salmon and taimen) and Pacific salmon (chum salmon, pink salmon and others), which are also called Far Eastern salmon.

Atlantic salmon enter the Neva from the end of May and continue their migration until the middle of September with a break in the middle of summer. Salmon are found in all parts of the river, from mouth to source. A negligible amount is included in Lake Ladoga (reaching its northern part). Salmon were found near the Valaam Islands and even in the Vuoksa River. Perhaps this is evidence of more massive migrations of sea salmon to Ladoga in earlier times. Sea salmon through the Svir River previously reached Lake Onega, but here it was found extremely rarely.

From mid-October to winter, salmon, extremely emaciated after spawning, returns, rolls into the sea; many salmon die after the first spawning. In very rare cases, the same female salmon enters the Neva (or other rivers) three times for spawning. Only once in Scotland was a female salmon found spawning 5 times.

Taimen enters the Neva, Luga and rivers of the Karelian Isthmus, like common salmon, in spring and autumn, but in very small quantities.

Salmon is the same Atlantic salmon, but it breeds in our northern rivers flowing into the Barents and White Seas. As an exception, salmon was found in the Kara River, which is the eastern limit of the distribution of this fish.

Studies of Soviet and foreign scientists have established that salmon has two varieties - summer and autumn. Sex products (caviar and milk) are the first to ripen in river water in a short time, 2-3 months; the second sex products - for 12-13 months. Summer salmon enters the rivers in the summer, when it already has well developed reproductive products, and spawns in the autumn of the same year, the autumn salmon enters in the fall, with immature reproductive products, and spawns in the autumn of the next year, that is, a year after entering the river waters.

On the basis of centuries-old observations, the White Sea fishermen assigned special names to various herds of salmon - "podledka", "frozen", "cut-off", "low water", "tinda", "autumn".

The ice cap migrates to the rivers at the very beginning of spring, when there is still ice in the river.

Zaledka - salmon following the opening of the river (in the White Sea rivers usually in early May).

Cutting is done from the beginning or from half, sometimes from the end of June. Covering is represented mainly by females with developed reproductive products. This is the real summer salmon, which is also called spring salmon.

From mid-July, along with the cutting, there is a low water period - also a summer salmon with a predominance of large males.

Tinda - small males - comes with low water. The height of the tinda is the second half of July and the beginning of August.

Autumn lasts from mid-August until freezing.

Ice and ice are sometimes mistaken for autumn salmon wintering in the lower reaches of the river, which in spring resumes its course to spawning grounds.

In individual rivers and in different years, migrations have their own characteristics, but their overall picture is pretty uniform everywhere.

After spawning, the surviving salmon returns to the sea thin, with large changes in the body. Such emaciated salmon were called "suckers" and "walchaks". A silvery, slender, handsome salmon becomes dark, red and orange spots appear on the sides of the body and head, similar to bruises, the snout lengthens, the jaws bend into hooks, and the front teeth are greatly enlarged on them. A huge number of male salmon die after spawning, and there are few females left.

Previously, it was believed that the White Sea salmon does not go far to the west. But that's what the tagging showed. A female salmon was caught in the Vyga River with a tag indicating that the fish had been tagged off the western coast of Norway. Since salmon usually come to spawn in the river where they hatched, we can assume that the salmon caught in Vyga hatched in this river. Here she lived for three years in the form of a fry, then went to the shores of Norway. There in the sea she grew for another three years (this can be seen on the scales), reached puberty and returned again to Vyg.

The fish traveled about 2,500 kilometers in one direction and the same amount in the other. On the way back, as the mark shows, the salmon took about 50 days. This means that the fish traveled at least 50 kilometers a day. It is known from foreign sources that salmon can travel up to 100 kilometers per day. This is quite plausible if we bear in mind that the salmon migrating into the rivers is very strong and differs in significant speed in swimming.

The young generation of salmon remaining in the river after 1–5, more often after 2–3 years, rolls into the sea and grows rapidly there.

Among the fish of our waters, there is no other genus, the species of which would have such complex migrations as the Pacific Far Eastern salmon - chum salmon, pink salmon, red salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon and sima. One Russian scientist, more than a hundred years ago, quite correctly called their migrations "wandering to death."

Chum salmon, like salmon, has summer and autumn varieties. Summer chum salmon go to Amur from July, autumn chum salmon - in August-September.

Three times (in 1925, 1926 and 1928) I observed the migration of chum salmon to the Amur and other rivers of the Amur estuary, the Tatar Strait and to the Bolshaya River (on the western coast of Kamchatka). First of all, attention is drawn to the fact that chum salmon goes into the river in separate herds, with breaks. The reasons for the breaks seem to be related to the weather or the different ages of the migrating fish.

Chum salmon goes to the Amur from the Sea of ​​Japan through the Tatar Strait, sometimes close to the shores, sometimes at a distance from them. Chum salmon rises very high along the Amur, enters its tributaries and lays eggs there, and the summer chum salmon is closer to the river mouth, the autumn chum salmon reaches the upper reaches of the Amur and its tributaries, which lie at a distance of more than 1–2 thousand kilometers from the lower reaches of the river.

The spawned chum salmon never returns back to the sea - all producers die.

Near the city of Nikolaevsk, at the mouth of the Amur, pink salmon appears in June; at the same time it goes in the Tatar Strait and in the Amur estuary. At first, the fish comes in small quantities, but then, after 10 days, a massive movement of pink salmon is observed during the crescent. Then the number of pink salmon going to spawn decreases and stops altogether a month after the start of the turn. Only one month a year, and even then not every year, pink salmon appear in huge herds in the waters of the Amur. This month is a very busy time for fishermen.

In my hands was a mark taken from a pink salmon caught in the Amur estuary on July 18, 1928. Through the Soviet mission in Japan, it was possible to establish that this pink salmon was marked by the Japanese off the coast of northeastern Korea on May 18, 1928. This means that pink salmon came to the Amur from the southern part of the Sea of ​​Japan, having covered at least 1600 kilometers in two months (overcoming 25 kilometers a day).

But there are other directions of pink salmon migrations. Often, a herd of pink salmon in the southern areas is found later than in the northern ones; all the more, the timing of the course of the Amur pink salmon and the Kamchatka salmon does not coincide. Comparison of the timing of the course suggests that pink salmon has several (probably many) herds living in different parts of the sea.

When pink salmon is walking, the sea opposite the river mouths presents an extraordinary picture. Against the pink background of the evening dawn, everywhere, wherever you look, here and there glowing splashes rise - pink salmon plays, jumps out of the water. The sun has gone down, the dawn has gone out, and the fish fountains all rise, all flash over the lead-dark surface of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

I watched the passage of pink salmon along the Bolshoi River in Kamchatka. An amazing sight! The weather was calm and sunny. The play of the impetuous streams that collided near the riverbanks only occasionally slightly changed the mirror-like surface of the water. Suddenly, from the middle of the river, from an underwater hillock between two river fairways, a terrible noise was heard, reminiscent of the splash of water boiling in a large cauldron.

From the shore, we admired for a long time the movement of a huge shoal of pink salmon, which, like a strong stream, burst into the Bolshaya River and, overcoming its current, rushed further and further, higher and higher. The school was at least 1 kilometer long and about 100 meters wide, so without exaggeration it can be assumed that there were more than one million fish in it.

For two weeks, from morning until evening, the humpbacked backs of pink salmon males and the silvery abdomens of females jumping high above the water were noticeable rising above the surface and again slowly sinking into the water. This incessant dance of fish in the river did not stop even at night.

The onset of the pink salmon disease is manifested from the moment it enters the fresh water of the river. I will cite my notes, made 13 kilometers from the mouth of the Bolshoi River, that is, very close to the place where pink salmon enters the river from the sea. “A school of fish slowly swims between the piles of the fishing raft. Many wounded fish. I can clearly distinguish between scratches made by the claws of seals (straight, usually pronounced two or three parallel stripes), and lacerations received from the same seals.

Many wounds rot, covered with a white web of marsupial mushrooms, which, like cotton wool flakes, stuck to different parts of the fish's body. In some fish, these destructive flakes crawled over the eyes, in others they formed continuous muffs that encircled the caudal peduncle and deprived it of correct movements, in others, plaque began to appear near the base of the caudal fin rays. The fish does not grab food, although some individuals quickly rush to the surface of the water when we throw something from the raft. Every day the movement of pink salmon becomes slower, it hides the joys and sorrows of its life more and more in underwater hiding places ... "

In order not to return once again to the question of the death of pink salmon after spawning, let us trace the fate of the fish to the end. Having reached the spawning grounds and having laid eggs, the pink salmon is completely weakened. A huge number of half-corpses are carried away by the water downstream, a lot of fish die right there, in the spawning grounds, covering the bottom of the river with corpses. You see all this when you sail in a boat. After low tide, the banks of the river are exposed with many corpses of pink salmon.

Dogs and birds, which until recently hunted for pink salmon, are already full. The dog will approach the pink salmon, bite its head and walk away. Birds peck out only their eyes. And the bears, whose paths from the taiga to the river are as trodden as the paths of the livestock of our villages, make supplies for the winter - they pull out the fish and bury it in a hole.

What a tragedy the migration of pink salmon ends in! Only once in her life does she go for spawning and pays for it with her life. This is the fate of other Far Eastern salmon. The only difference is that other salmon live longer before spawning, from 3 to 7 years, while pink salmon live only a year and a half.

The juveniles of pink salmon, emerging from the eggs, roll into the sea in the spring or summer of the same year.

Fish live so restlessly. They are in constant motion, everyone is striving somewhere, looking for something. Some leave the sea, go hundreds and thousands of kilometers into almost drying up streams in order to lay prepared eggs there, others make a long journey to find food for themselves, "a piece of bread", others, avoiding sunlight, descend into gloomy depths, fourth, on the contrary, they are in a hurry to rise to the surface, and so on.

True, there are also fish-couch potatoes. Only for a short time does the burbot leave its secluded corner (under stones and on the banks); catfish have not left their pool for many years. But couch potatoes, willy-nilly, have to crawl out of their homes. Read about fish travels in the fascinating book by P. Yu. Schmidt "Fish Migrations".

So, we found out the reasons for the travel of fish. But how can one explain that some fish take one route, while others take another? Some Siberian whitefish, taking care of the preservation of eggs and fry, go to spawn in the rivers, but why do they need to spend so much energy to climb the river more than 1000 kilometers? Why not stop at the tributaries of large rivers close to the sea? Why did the Caspian white fish climb so high along the Volga and its tributaries? There are many such “why's”.

The migration routes of fish are rightly associated with the movement of ice during the Ice Age. But if we imagine the directions of the routes of these migrations, we get an extremely complex picture. Migrations northern fish to the south and their return from south to north can easily be explained by the paths of movement of glaciers from northwest to southeast and vice versa. But eel goes from east to west, salmon - from west to east and from east to west. As you can see, there is still something to think about in order to unravel the reasons for the emergence of certain routes of fish migration.

We have already said that salmon and Far Eastern salmon come to spawn in the rivers in which they hatched. Observations of salmon in nature and experiments on transplanting them into rivers confirm that, for example, pink salmon “remember” their homeland and breed a new generation in their “native” river. The pink salmon fry that emerged from the eggs swim off somewhere in the sea a few months after birth, but the next year they go to the same river where they were born. They have no guides, their parents died a year ago. The pink salmon path is not surrounded by any buoys or landmarks. How does she find "her" river? There is no consensus on this score. Some scientists believe that salmon go to their native rivers by instinct. They are guided, as American scientists say, by the "homing instinct", that is, the instinct at home, at home.

The seasons play a huge role in animal life. For them, each season is a period of certain activities. If a person can transfer his plans or change his lifestyle, then animals are not capable of this. Life by the rules of nature is in their blood.

Spring

How animals greet spring

Spring for all animals is a period of new life. After a long and calm winter, all representatives of the animal world begin to actively prepare for the onset of a hot summer.

Spring days in the life of animals are accompanied by a change in wool cover - from winter to summer. Squirrels change their gray skin to bright red. They are increasingly seen in parks. Squirrels jump through trees in search of food.

After hibernation, chipmunks wake up. Outwardly, it can be confused with a squirrel, but the main difference is the five dark stripes on the back. Chipmunks have been stocking up on food since winter, before they hibernate. Therefore, these animals, with the arrival of spring, are not puzzled by the search for something to eat.

But bears, also hibernating, do not care about what they will eat after a long sleep. Therefore, in the spring they leave their dens in search of food.

For wolves, spring is the time when they have offspring. Little wolf cubs stay in the den of their parents until the time when they have sight in order to navigate well in space. Being small, they are very similar to foxes, only the tips of their tails are not white, but gray.

Hares begin to shed, changing their winter white coat to a gray and less warm one. Also, raccoon dogs, waking up after hibernation, change their color to a less remarkable one. The color of the coat matters a lot. In winter, the skins are white, this makes it possible to merge with the snow-white cover of the earth, if a predator is hunting nearby. Gray wool also serves as a kind of camouflage in summer.

In early spring, hedgehogs wake up, because in April they will have offspring.

Summer

Animal life in summer

Summer is the most favorable period in the life of animals. Long sunny days, warmth and abundance of food undoubtedly delight the animals. They are especially active at this time of the year. They are not yet preparing for winter, but they are preparing their offspring for the harsh period. Therefore, animals are in constant search of food for their young in order to saturate them with useful substances and vitamins.

Herbivorous mammals occasionally leave their habitats, because what they eat grows everywhere. Fresh juicy leaves allow them to stock up on nutrients for future use.

For birds, summer is a feast, because they can find a treat absolutely everywhere. Midges, worms, caterpillars, fish - all this is their food in the summer. Also, birds are assistants to gardeners. They eat all pests that can destroy the crop.

Despite the fact that summer is the most active period in animal life, there is one exception. Gophers prefer to rest on these warm days. And to saturate with vital energy, they go hunting at night.

The most active animals in the summer are squirrels, wolves, bears, and various rodents. Also this time is loved by: giraffes, camels, hyenas, cheetahs, monkeys and many others.

Autumn

Change in animal life in autumn

Autumn is a period of preparation for the winter cold. Their life in winter depends on how they will live the autumn, what they will manage to do during this time. Shaggy, feathered, predators - everyone should take this preparation responsibly, because their own lives and the lives of their offspring are at stake.

The very first insects feel the arrival of cold weather. They begin to build burrows for themselves, look for shelters, which most often fall on fallen leaves or tree bark. Here they will spend the whole winter.

Butterflies have their own way to survive the cold period - they turn into pupae.

Toads, frogs, snakes and lizards are also among the first to hide. Some frogs live closer to water bodies in order to dive into them with the onset of cold weather and sleep at the bottom until warm days return. But toads, on the contrary, are hiding on land. Their winter refuge is tree roots or rodent minks.

In the autumn, forest animals begin to feed often and satisfyingly, because they need to accumulate a supply of substances and fat that will help them survive in severe frosts.

And squirrels, mice and moles begin to stock up on food for future use. They bring as many nuts, berries and cones as possible to the house.

Most animals undergo a natural pre-winter molt process. They again change their skins to warmer and less attractive ones.

Winter

How animals winter

As a rule, only those animals that are capable of it hibernate. And those who are categorically afraid of the cold run away to the southern regions.

Animal life freezes in winter. In the fall, everyone prepared shelters for themselves, in which they now live. Colds are not terrible for those warmly dressed in their skins: hares, squirrels, polar foxes, foxes, wolves, elks and many others.

And some just fall asleep: raccoons, marmots, chipmunks, badgers, bears and other animals.

Mollusks burrow in silt for wintering. Wasps, bumblebees, tarantulas also prepared minks for themselves.

Newts hide on the shore, in a thick layer of fallen leaves or branchy tree roots.

Sleep in winter is preferred by gophers, hamsters and jerboas.

In late August - early September, gophers, hamsters, jerboas climb into their deep burrows and fall asleep.