Barguzin sable and the Barguzinsky Reserve

"Charming and agile predators with beautiful dark fur, relatives of martens, inhabit the vast territory of the Siberian taiga — from the Ural Mountains to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The sable has remained a true symbol of Siberia for more than three centuries. Siberia has long been famous as a centre of fur trade, and the sable has always been a hunting object. The fur trade in sable skins and their exports abroad constituted one of the main articles of the Russian budget until [the 20th century]. Soft, thick, silky and durable sable fur was literally worth its weight in gold. The dark fur of the Barguzinsky Sable living now in the vicinity of Lake Baikal is the most expensive and luxurious one among the 17 species of sables known to scientists . . . Siberia has always been associated with the sable occupying the first place in Russia’s fur industry. However, active and long hunt for “fluffy gold” led to the fact that the existence of the sable as a species was under threat of extinction by the beginning of the 20th century. This was supplemented by other negative factors: population growth, forest fires, railway construction, etc. Then, in 1916, the first reserve in Russia — Barguzinsky State Natural Biosphere Reserve — was created, in order to preserve and protect the symbol of Siberia . . . During the 100 years of the existence of the Barguzinsky Reserve the number and habitat of sables have been restored. Fortunately, thanks to the protective measures on preservation of the sable population, it is currently not threatened with extinction and is included into the Red Book of Endangered Species within the “least concern” category."