Nikita Zimov ist Direktor des Pleistozän-Parks, einem wissenschaftlich begleitetem ökologischen Experiment in Ostsibirien. Aufmerksam auf dieses Projekt machte mich Dirk Steffens mit seiner Sendung Terra X „Faszination Erde: Sibirien – Zurück in die Eiszeit„.

Question 1: Which place in the Pleistocene Park do you like best and why?

Nikita Zimov: Within the old fenced area if you go around 1km east from the basecamp, you cross the small creek elevate a little bit above the floodplain, and enter the location which we call «savannah». It is the most affected by animal place, where instead of low productive and evergreen plants we now have very nice grasslands, and short and productive willow shrubs.

Question 2: Why did you found the Pleistocene Park?

Nikita Zimov: Pleistocene Park was founded by my father Sergey Zimov. I think the motivation is to restore really high productive ecosystems. Show people that wild nature can be abundant and outside of African national parks. And of course we want to create an ecosystem which will be big and powerfull enough to influence global climate. Very modest goal of ours:)

Question 3: How can everyone help save the climate?

Nikita Zimov: Climate change is the serious issue and there is no ultimate solution, so there should be different actions taken at different levels. If you believe us that Natural Climate Solution can help, then please support Pleistocene Park. Now it is most conveniently can be done here www.patreon.com/PleistocenePark. We just started this campaign yesterday.

Question 4: What were your most moving moments during your work in the Pleistocene Park?

Nikita Zimov: What do you mean by «moving»? In terms of the keystone moments. I think the fact that we managed to bring bison to the Park in the spring of 2019. It was a 35 day trip from Denmark. And it was final success after more than 20 years of unsuccessfull attempts to start the expedition.

If by moving, you mean when do we have to walk the most in the park, then it is when we were building fences in the Park. There were several campaign over the last 15 years.

Question 5: And finally a typical square foot (Quadratlatschen)
question: Which shoes do you prefer to wear and why do you like wearing them so much?

Nikita Zimov: Hmmm, it highly depend on the time of the year and situation. I hate rubber boots and prefer not to where them. I like sneakers, since they are light comfortable and even if they get wet, they drain and dry quickly. For the most cold conditions in the winter I have shoes which were made for me by native reindeer herders, which can hold any negative temperatures.

Thank you very much for this interview for Expedition Siebenegebirge!

Website Pleistoscene Park