A huge operation to cull 3,000 wolves in Russia's largest region began today - 15 January - amid claims banned poisons could be used.
The government of the Sakha republic in Siberia has allocated extra cash to slaughtering wolves threatening remote reindeer villages.
As Western children salute Santa's Rudolph, here in the Sakha Republic the antlered animals are in peril from ravenous predators.
Many prehistoric creatures craved salt and vital minerals missing from their diets due to abrupt climate change, suggests a new scientific expedition.