How many islands do Russian Shantar Islands include?

The Shantar Islands are a group of fifteen islands located off the northwestern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk east of Uda Gulf and north of Academy Bay. Most of the islands have rugged cliffs, but they are of moderate height; the highest point in the island group is 720 metres. The name of the island group has its origins in the Nivkh language from the word ч’андь č’and’ meaning "to be white". The islands are currently uninhabited.

There is no permanent population on the Shantar Islands, but they are often visited by commercial fishermen who use them as a base. Other economic activities undertaken on these islands are fur hunting and trapping as well as logging, which in the past were often done illegally. There are spruce forests on the largest islands. Other trees in the island taiga are the Siberian spruce, the Dahurian larch and the mountain pine.

There are many endangered birds on these islands, including the Blakiston's fish owl, osprey, black stork, red-necked grebe, gyrfalcon, solitary snipe, Steller's sea eagle and the Siberian grouse.

The Kamchatka brown bear (Ursus arctos beringianus), sable and marten, caribou, red fox, and river otter are common on the Shantar Islands. Reindeer can be seen as well. Rivers on these islands are populated by sturgeon, salmon, trout, and various other fish.