Description of the attraction
The Museum of Nature was originally created at the Pechora-Ilychsky Reserve, and its first collections were some biological objects that are genuine sources of information. Almost all species of vertebrates typical for the protected area were presented here. The official opening date of the museum was June 1, 1973.
Today the museum building is located in the central square of the reserve, which is located in the village of Yaksha. Since 1996, the Museum of Nature has been run by an environmental education organization.
The question of creating a museum was raised at a time when a fairly large amount of collection material was collected. The available zoological and botanical collections were collected by the museum staff in inaccessible areas of the protected area, which is of great value for scientific research. At the moment, the museum funds contain a huge collection of horns, stuffed animals, herbariums of lichens and higher plants, as well as historical and paleontological collections of peoples living in the area between the Ilych and Pechora rivers.
The first founder of the botanical collection was the famous botanist L. B. Larina, who worked in the reserve in 1935-1963. Later, the collection was replenished by researchers of higher plants - Kudryavtseva D. I., Fedorov V. V. and others. In the 90s, the botanical collection contained 1,700 units, as well as 96 species of lichens.
Particularly interesting is the collection of academic carcasses, the first specimens of which appeared back in 1935 with the participation of ornithologist VG Dormidontov. Most of the specimens of the theriological collection were collected in 1937 and 1938, when the composition of the protected fauna was being clarified. At the moment, the museum funds have more than 630 carcasses of various mammalian birds.
One of the most important collections was the collection of skulls of various mammals, numbering more than 1530 units, which was collected over 35 years by the senior employee of the reserve S. M. Sokolsky. There is a private collection of unique skulls belonging to insectivorous and mouse-like rodents (5 thousand copies). Approximately 20 thousand units belong to the collection of skulls of small mammals collected by senior researcher I. F. Kupriyanova during many years of research.
The paleontological collection was formed according to systematic and geochronological characteristics. It included representatives of invertebrates such as corals, molluscs and bryozoans, which are of great cognitive and educational value. The listed collections are permanent in the Museum of Nature of the Pechora-Ilychsky Reserve.
On the day of the 70th anniversary of the opening of the reserve, which happened in 2000, a local history hall was opened, in which a historical and ethnographic exposition was exhibited. It is known that in one of the oldest human sites found in the upper reaches of the Pechora River, large accumulations of bones belonging to Pleistocene animals were found. The bones and skull of a rare cave bear were found, as well as large musk ox horns.
In one of the exhibition halls there is an idol belonging to the objects of religious worship of the Mansi and Khanty peoples. It was believed that idols were installed in idols, and sanctuaries - near stone outliers or in caves. The Old Believers were able to preserve not only religious beliefs, but also the way of life of these peoples. Clothes, hunting equipment, fishing nets and many other interesting things are on display here.
The museum has a department "Shipping and trade in the Pechora", which presents materials related to the development of trade in the Kama. The exposition includes antiques, including merchant ledgers, samplers, weights, keys to the barn and much more. Today, the Museum of Nature of the Pechora-Ilychsky Reserve carries cultural, scientific, educational and educational values, delighting numerous visitors with various exhibits and promoting scientific knowledge.
