Wildlife researcher Jonathan Slaght's account of his five-year doctoral study of the elusive Blakiston's fish owls of far eastern Russia is due out next week, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The memoir recounts rigorous field research juxtaposed on eccentric locals, daunting winter weather and the haunting loveliness of a truly remote wilderness. Below is a conversation with him in late March at his home near Lake Nokomis. It has been edited for length.
Q: What attracted you to field research?
A: It's extremely romantic, experiencing wilderness as fully as possible. There are only so many places where few people have been in this century. Some places I went to for fish owls, I was the first foreigner, possibly ever. Beyond where the road ends is just remote and unexplored.
Terney, one base of operation, is the same latitude as Minneapolis, 45 degrees. There's four seasons, the autumns there are just as beautiful as they are here. The Siberian tigers at the Minnesota Zoo — this is where they live.
Q: And what is compelling about Primorye, Far East Russia?
A: A tiger researcher friend has a favorite beach in Primorye. He says, "It's the kind of place where you're more likely to see tiger prints in the sand than a human print." Any time you set off on a hike, you never know what's going to be around the corner. Maybe a bear, maybe one of innumerable unique wildlife species. The human population density of Terney County is 1.2 people per square kilometer, pretty low. There's these little pockets of people. Everything else is wilderness.
Q: Describe the research working conditions.
A: Snow depth is variable, on average 2 feet. We walk around on those hunter skis — relatively short and relatively wide. Planks of wood, essentially. The coldest it ever really got was about 20 degrees below, Fahrenheit. Every year, there was always a sustained period of cold. And blizzards. Some people think it's the worst time to be out in the forest, February to April. We're in the dead of winter. Living in a truck.