Photo of the Week: Mirny Bison, Siberia – August 2013

Mirny Bison

On our way from Lensk to Yakutsk, we stopped in Mirny after an unfortunate event with our car window. What was meant to be an overnight stop turned into a five day sightseeing spree when we were invited to stay with a local policeman, Andrey (more about that in our next blog post). He took us to see the local ‘zoo’, which comprised of several deer, elk, rabbits and bison in enclosures, plus a bear in the tiniest cage imaginable. Why the bear did not have the space of the other animals in a zoo in the middle of nowhere is anyone’s guess, and it was a little sad. But we had to put on a smiley face for our hosts who were proud of their local attraction.

This particular bison wanted carrots, and it was not impressed when the carrots were replaced with a camera! It was a little scary getting this close to it, as it was quite moody and jumpy, but it made for interesting photos. And the hole in the fence (one of many) was appreciated for getting a good shot from the nose!