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33-586: The total area of the preserve is 3,648,679 ha (36,486.79 km) of which 2,177,398 ha (21,774 km) constitute a marine buffer zone. The land territory includes most of Bering Island , all of Medny Island , as well as thirteen smaller islands and rocks. It was created in 1993 to protect the ecosystems of the Commander Islands and the surrounding marine waters of the Bering Sea and northern Pacific Ocean . Because of its isolation and

66-552: A jealous rival and recalled to St. Petersburg. At one point he was put under arrest and made to return to Irkutsk for a hearing. He was freed and again turned west toward St. Petersburg, but along the way he came down with a fever and died at Tyumen . Some of his journals, which reached the academy and were later published by Peter Simon Pallas , were used by other explorers of the North Pacific, including Captain Cook . There

99-523: A massive northern relative of the dugong , lasted only 27 years after Steller discovered and named it. The sea cow had a limited population that quickly became victim of overhunting by the Russian crews that followed in Bering's wake. Steller's jay is one of the few species named after Steller that is not currently listed as endangered. In his brief encounter with the bird, Steller was able to deduce that

132-637: A natural habitat for sea otters , and their population now appears stable, unlike on other Aleutian islands, and although they had been hunted to near extinction on the then-recently discovered Bering Island by 1854. Steller sea lions continue to summer on Bering Island, but the manatee-like Steller's sea cows , which fed on the kelp beds surrounding the island, were hunted to extinction by 1768. Bering Island has also long been famous for its seal rookeries, including northern fur seals , common seals and larga seals , although that population dropped to but 2 rookeries totaling 3,000 seals by 1913 (two years after

165-861: A physician on a troop ship returning home with the wounded. He arrived in Russia in November 1734. He met the naturalist Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt (1685–1735) at the Imperial Academy of Sciences . Two years after Messerschmidt's death, Steller married his widow and acquired notes from his travels in Siberia not handed over to the Academy . Expeditions Steller knew about Vitus Bering 's Second Kamchatka Expedition , which had left Saint Petersburg in February 1733. He volunteered to join it and

198-568: A planeload of Aleuts from Nikolskoye met another planeload of Alaskan Aleuts in Kamchatka's capital, and were surprised they could still communicate in the old Aleut language. Because of their isolation, like the now-Alaskan Pribilof Islands , the Aleuts have been used for studies of genetic drift. The area surrounding Bering Island is now a biosphere reserve, known for its diverse wildlife, and particularly marine mammals. The island's shores form

231-485: A situation made only worse by frequent raids by Arctic foxes . The crew hunted sea otters, sea lions, fur seals and sea cows to survive the winter. In early 1742, the crew used salvaged material from the St. Peter to construct a new vessel to return to Avacha Bay and nicknamed it The Bering . Steller spent the next two years exploring the Kamchatka peninsula. He was falsely accused of freeing Kamchadal rebels from prison by

264-412: A sketch of what they think the mainland would look like. On a remarkable journey, Steller became the first European naturalist to describe a number of North American plants and animals, including a jay later named Steller's jay . Although Steller tried to treat the crew's growing scurvy epidemic with leaves and berries he had gathered, officers scorned his proposal. Steller and his assistant were some of

297-612: Is a round island with a diameter of 800 m (2,600 ft). In 1741 Commander Vitus Bering , sailing in Svyatoy Pyotr ( St. Peter ) for the Russian Navy , was shipwrecked and died of scurvy on Bering Island, along with 28 of his men. His ship had been destroyed by storms as they returned from an expedition that discovered mainland Alaska as well as the Aleutian Islands for Russians. The survivors under

330-718: Is also a journal of Steller's published by Stanford University Press that is titled Journal of a Voyage with Bering, 1741-1742, which has detailed accounts of the Second Kamchatka Expedition or the Great Northern Expedition . Scientific Contributions Of the six species of birds and mammals that Steller discovered during the voyage, two are extinct ( Steller's sea cow and the spectacled cormorant ) and three are near threatened and vulnerable ( Steller sea lion , Steller's eider and Steller's sea eagle ). The sea cow, in particular,

363-774: Is located off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Bering Sea . At 95 km (59 mi) long by 15 km (9.3 mi) wide, it is the largest and westernmost of the Commander Islands , with an area of 1,667 km (1,036 mi). Most of Bering Island and several of the smaller islands in their entirety are now part of the Komandorsky Zapovednik nature preserve. Bering Island is treeless, desolate and experiences severe weather, including high winds, persistent fog and earthquakes. It had no year-round human residents until roughly 1826. Now,

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396-542: The Great Northern Expedition (1733–1743) and his observations of the natural world helped the exploration and documentation of the flora and fauna of the North Pacific region. Steller pursued studies in theology and medicine before turning his attention to the natural sciences. In 1734, he joined the Russian Academy of Sciences as a physician, eventually being selected to accompany Bering's expedition to

429-610: The Kamchatka Peninsula and the Commander Islands significantly expanded scientific knowledge about the region's biodiversity. Early Life Steller was born in Windsheim , near Nuremberg in Germany, the son of a Lutheran cantor , Johann Jakob Stöhler (after 1715, Georg changed his last name to be Steller to accommodate with Russian pronunciation), and studied at the University of Wittenberg . He then traveled to Russia as

462-558: The North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 ), particularly after the 20 year hunting lease of Hutchinson, Kohl and Company of San Francisco, which removed over 800,000 pelts. Whale species sighted in the surrounding waters include sperm whales , orcas , several species of beaked whales , humpback , and right whales . Porpoises also frequent these waters. Bering Island also has numerous seabirds. UNESCO noted that 203 bird species have been sighted on

495-477: The Oyashio Current on its western flank. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −23.5 to 21.9 °C (−10.3–71.4 °F), with the latter occurring as recently as July 11, 2022. Georg Wilhelm Steller Georg Wilhelm Steller (10 March 1709 – 14 November 1746) was a German-born naturalist and explorer who contributed to the fields of biology, zoology , and ethnography . He participated in

528-528: The whooper swan , Steller's eider , and Steller's sea eagle . Fishing is entirely prohibited within the 50 km (31 mi) buffer zone surrounding the preserve. An additional stated purpose of the preserve is to foster the ecologically and culturally sustainable development of the only inhabited settlement on the Commander Islands, the village of Nikolskoye (pop. approximately 750 as of 2007). Bering Island Bering Island ( Russian : о́стров Бе́ринга , romanized :  óstrov Béringa )

561-622: The Aleutian islands to the United States in 1867, Bering Island was placed under the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky jurisdiction. The population grew from 110 people in 1827 (17 Russians, 45 Aleuts and 48 mixed race) to more than 300 people in 1879 (100 Aleuts on Copper island alone, along with 332 mixed-race and about 10% Russian or other nationalities). In 1990, after 170 years of separation and loss of cultural traditions,

594-483: The Commander Islands, including 58 nesting there. Puffins are abundant, although the semi-flightless spectacled cormorant became extinct circa 1850. Two species of the Arctic foxes that tormented Bering's crew remain. Humans introduced reindeer , American mink and rats to the islands, with negative effects on native wildlife. Like the rest of Kamchatka Krai, Bering Island has a subarctic climate ( Dfc ), though

627-619: The Ice Ages, but whose surviving relict population was confined to the shallow kelp beds around the Commander Islands , and which was driven to extinction within 30 years of discovery by Europeans. Based on these and other observations, Steller later wrote De Bestiis Marinis ('On the Beasts of the Sea'), describing the fauna of the island, including the northern fur seal , the sea otter , Steller sea lion , Steller's sea cow, Steller's eider and

660-538: The Russian mainland, Steller then explored the Kamchatka peninsula and ultimately published De Bestiis Marinis (‘On the Beasts of the Sea’). However, his sympathies for the native peoples led to accusations that he was fomenting rebellion, so he was imprisoned and recalled to St. Petersburg , dying en route at age 37, although his diaries were later published to great acclaim and historic significance. In 1743 Emilian Basov landed on Bering Island to hunt sea otter, beginning

693-476: The command of the Swedish born lieutenant Sven Waxell  [ ru ] were stranded on the island for 10 months, and managed to survive by killing seals and birds. They were able to build a boat out of their stranded wreck and managed to return to Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula in 1742 with sea otter furs and preserved meat from the newly discovered island. Another of the expedition's survivors

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726-528: The expedition sailed to the Kamchatka Peninsula with Bering and his two expeditionary vessels sailing around the peninsula's south tip and up to Avacha Bay on the Pacific coast. Steller went ashore on the east coast of Kamchatka to spend the winter in Bolsherechye , where he helped to organize a local school and began exploring Kamchatka. When Bering summoned him to join the voyage in search of America and

759-616: The island's documented human habitation as well as ecological destruction. Promyshlenniki began to island-hop across the Bering Sea to the Aleutian islands and ultimately Alaska. In 1825 the Russian-American Company transferred Aleut families from Attu Island to Bering Island to hunt, and another group of Aleut and mixed-race settlers followed the following year, thus establishing the first known permanent human habitation on Bering Island. After Russia sold Alaska and

792-543: The jay was kin to the American blue jay , a fact which seemed proof that Alaska was indeed part of North America. Despite the hardships the crew endured, Steller studied the flora, fauna, and topography of the island in great detail. Of particular note were the only detailed behavioral and anatomical observations of Steller's sea cow , a large sirenian mammal that once ranged across the Northern Pacific during

825-460: The ocean makes temperatures much less extreme than interior Siberia, with winters being about four degrees milder than in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky . The transition to the subpolar oceanic climate of southwest Alaska to the east is very apparent, especially in the extremely low sunshine hours, which average only around 2.8 h per day due to the consistent fog from the Aleutian Low and

858-442: The productivity of the Bering Sea and the Pacific continental shelf, the reserve is marked by a diversity of animal life. It is a refuge for over a million seabirds, several hundred thousand northern fur seals , several thousand Steller's sea lions , common seals , and spotted seals , a population of sea otter , some 21 whale species, two endemic subspecies of Arctic fox , and endangered or threatened migratory birds, such as

891-744: The strait between the two continents, serving in the role of scientist and physician, Steller crossed the peninsula by dog sled . After Bering's St. Peter was separated from its sister ship the St. Paul in a storm, Bering continued to sail east, expecting to find land soon. Steller, reading sea currents and flotsam and wildlife, insisted they should sail northeast. After considerable time lost, they turned northeast and made landfall in Alaska at Kayak Island on Monday 20 July 1741. Bering wanted to stay only long enough to take on fresh water. Steller argued Captain Bering into giving him more time for land exploration and

924-469: The uncharted waters between Siberia and North America. Steller kept detailed records of species and cultures encountered, as well as ocean currents during the journey. Steller discovered many new species, as he documented numerous plants and animals, many of which were previously unknown to Western science. Notable among his discoveries was the Steller's sea cow and Steller's sea eagle . His exploration of

957-439: The very few who did not suffer from the ailment. On the return journey, with only 12 members of the crew able to move and the rigging rapidly failing, the expedition was shipwrecked on what later became known as Bering Island . Almost half of the crew had perished from scurvy during the voyage. Steller nursed the survivors, including Bering, but he could not be saved and died. The remaining men made camp with little food or water,

990-440: The village of Nikolskoye is home to 800 people, roughly three hundred of them identifying as Aleuts . The island's small population is involved mostly in fishing . Two and a half miles (4 km) off Bering Island's western shore lies small Toporkov Island (Ostrov Toporkov) 55°12′9″N 165°55′59″E  /  55.20250°N 165.93306°E  / 55.20250; 165.93306  ( Toporkov Island ) . It

1023-465: Was Georg Wilhelm Steller , who eventually managed to convince his companions to eat seaweed (thus curing their scurvy). Steller explored Bering Island and cataloged its fauna, including Steller's sea cow , which became extinct within three decades due to being hunted for its meat. The island's highest point (2,464 feet (751 m)) is now named to honor the German-born naturalist. Upon returning to

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1056-682: Was accepted. He then left St Petersburg in January 1738 with his wife, who decided to stay in Moscow and go no farther. Steller met Johann Georg Gmelin in Yeniseisk in January 1739. Gmelin recommended that Steller take his place in the planned exploration of Kamchatka. Steller embraced that role and finally reached Okhotsk and the main expedition in March 1740 as Bering's ships, the St. Peter and St. Paul , were nearing completion. In September 1740,

1089-414: Was granted 10 hours. During his ten hours on land Steller noted the mathematical ratio of 10 years preparation for ten hours of investigation. While the crew never even set foot on the mainland, Georg Steller is credited with being one of the first non-natives to have set foot upon Alaskan soil. The expedition never made mainland landfall because of a stubbornness and a "dull fear". They left with only

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