Fyodor Yurchikhin — pilot-cosmonaut of the Russian Federation, Hero of Russia, President of the Center for Cosmonautics and Aviation at VDNH

The last shelter for all tailed animals who were not lucky enough to find their friend and owner exists today near the capital of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Former veterinarian Sergey Nikolaevich always tried to help animals, but no one could have imagined that he would fully devote his life to saving four-legged ones, writes Krasny Tundrovik.

Once it all started with one dog. Young Sergei was asked out of friendship to shelter a dog, he agreed, especially since he always loved animals.

"At one time I was engaged in commerce, I was an entrepreneur. I sheltered one, then the second, the third. It's a whole village of dogs. I had to move the business, and now I've been with dogs for 25 years," says Sergey Shevelev.

Sergey Nikolaevich is a lean man of short stature with a swarthy face, because a northern tan instantly sticks to those who spend all their time on the street. And there is no other way in the shelter.

"My father taught me to help animals from early childhood, both domestic and wild. He instilled that one should not hunt for pleasure, any little ones are inviolable, and help to those in need is mandatory. Animals are the most vulnerable in the modern world and therefore need protection more. In addition, they respond to any human attitude with love, adoration and trust. I like to make fluffy creatures happy, maybe this is the purpose, the purpose of life, a way of spiritual growth," Sergey Nikolaevich shares his thoughts.

There are currently 60 dogs in the Naryan-Mar private shelter. Someone was picked up on the street, dying of hunger, someone was found in the forest as puppies, someone was brought after serious injuries, dogs often get run over by cars.  There are also representatives of the feline, as their owner calls them - basement cats. There were other animals, because Sergey Shevelev believes that help should be provided to everyone who needs it. The head of the dog family spends most of the day at the shelter. He arrives before lunch and stays here until late at night. Everyone needs to be fed, water poured, and the territory cleaned.

‘Sometimes I wish I didn't have to go anywhere, but there's a dog at home, Nick, and I'm the only one who walks him. He's also from the shelter. Once he got sick, and I took it upon myself to nurse him. Now Nick considers himself completely at home, he does not remember his past life," the zookeeper continues.

Sergey Nikolaevich talks about himself reluctantly, says that he is very ascetic in life. And his life is almost entirely devoted to the shelter. And it is not easy to feed 60 dogs, especially in the north, where enhanced nutrition is required. And then the boarding school and military units come to the rescue, their canteens give away leftovers. And volunteers are raising money for fuel and weekly snacks for the shelter's guests. Sergey Shevelev is well known in the district, so residents of the city and nearby villages bring a lot.

Photos from Sergey Shevelev's personal archive.

The unusual nominees of the sixth season of the award "My affectionate and necessary animal" are bats. This is the first time our award has such representatives of fauna.  Bats live in the Juanina Library building in the Portuguese city of Coimbra on the territory of the local university. The library was built during the reign of King Juan V, and is considered a national monument of the Baroque era. There are 60 thousand books stored here, most of which are more than a hundred years old, writes Atlas Obscura. 

The deputy director of the library, Antonio Eugenio Maya do Amaral, named the bats honorary librarians, thereby recognizing and officially legitimizing their contribution to the common cause of preserving the rarest books. Despite the fact that the library staff carefully protects old books from dust, mold, and fungus, books still have one more enemy. These are insect pests, they just eat old paper and glue in valuable folios. And for bats, insects are food.

In a sense, bats perform the function of orderlies, because during the day they hide under the ceiling, and at night they fly through the halls and hunt midges and bugs. Thus, bats are not just a tribute to traditions, because they have been living here since the 18th century, but also valuable helpers.

The history of the appearance of bats in the library is shrouded in mystery, someone believes that they were brought here on purpose. But the deputy director of the library, Antonio Eugenio Maya do Amaral, believes that the mice got there themselves. After all, says Maya do Amaral, "What could be quieter than a library at night?" 

An interesting fact is that two species of bats live in the library of Zhuanin: the broad-eared folded-tooth and the small bat. And when the Portuguese librarians changed the massive wooden doors for new ones, the carpenters were asked specifically to make the same gaps in them as in the old ones so that the mice could freely fly out of the building at night to drink.

Photo "Atlas Obscura"

Alyona Rodovskaya is the first Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian Union of Journalists.