Five-year-old Karina Chikitova went missing after wandering off from her remote family home in Olom Village in the Sakha Republic (Russia’s largest region). She survived for almost two weeks in the Siberian wilderness thanks to her dog Naida who stayed by her side before eventually returning to the family’s village to summon help.
Karina survived 12 nights in the Siberian wilderness infested with bears and wolves with just her dog for protection who also kept her warm at night.
Anatoly Poluektov │ The Siberian Times
Unknown to her father, then four-year-old Karina became lost after following him on a trip into the wild. Karina’s grandmother who was caring for her thought he had taken her on his trip.
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
Her pet Naida followed her and stayed with her, returning home after nine days to summon help. The dog’s return inspired emergency teams to redouble their efforts in finding Karina. The dog, however, was unable to show rescuers where she was.
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
Three days after the dog returned, rescuers found Karina’s footprint next to a paw print close to a river, where the little girl drank water and ate berries to survive. Karina was eventually found lying in a grassy hole, weak but safe. She was exhausted, hungry, and covered in mosquito bites.
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
Karina’s rescue story made headlines around the world.
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
There are many threats in the forests around Olom, notably bears and wolves. Rescuer Albert Semyonov revealed his men needed armed guards in looking for Karina.
“Close to the gunners we felt somehow calmer. However, the thought of bears immediately switched to another concern: somewhere in the forest was this helpless child.”
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
Karina underwent lengthy medical treatment to recover. When she and Naida were eventually reunited, she asked her pet,‘Why did you leave me?’.
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
Talina, Karina’s mother said:
‘She was helped by our dog Naida, who slept by her side and helped her not to freeze to death.
‘Karina spent summers in Olom since she was seven months old, perhaps this helped as well.
‘I always believed that she would be found. Many stopped believing that she was alive, but as a mother I felt that she soon would be found.’
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
A year after her daughter’s rescue, Talina is ever grateful to the people who helped find Karina:
I’d like to say my deepest and most sincere thank you to all who took part in the search for Karina, and who supported the team, and paid attention to this case. A special thank you to Artyom Borisov, he was the first to spot Karina. To search for a tiny girl in the area overgrown with impassable bushes, high grass and tussocks was literally like looking for a needle in a haystack.’
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
Sakha Republic Rescue Service │ The Siberian Times
As for Karina, her mother says she is “totally recovered”. She has an incredibly strong character and is just like she was before. Although, she prefers not to be asked about her stressful experience.
‘I don’t want to be photographed, I don’t like it. Why does everybody ask me what I’ve been doing in the taiga on those days?’
Svetlana Pavlova │ YSIA