North Ossetian nature reserve

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The North Ossetian nature reserve ( Russian Северо-Осетинский заповедник ; transcribed Severo-Ossetinsky Sapovednik ) is a nature reserve in Russia on the northern flank of the Caucasus in North Ossetia-Alania . The reserve is 295 square kilometers and surrounded by a 416 square kilometers buffer zone.

landscape

The nature reserve is located in the Ardon valley and extends from around 650 m to over 4,600 m. The highest point is the Wilpata at 4,646 m. The vegetation in the valleys consists of beech, hornbeam and pine forests, which are replaced further up by alpine mats and rocky regions. The climate lies in the transition area between the temperate zone and the subtropics .

Wildlife

The animal world is diverse. A total of 42 mammal species are represented, including numerous large animal species such as the Caucasian chamois , East Caucasian ibex , maral red deer , roe deer , wild boar , wolf , lynx and brown bear . In the 1960s, bison were reintroduced, which by the early 1990s had multiplied to around 220 animals. At that time, according to the responsible authorities, they began to negatively affect the vegetation by damaging blackberry stands and yew trees . By 1998, poaching reduced the population to only about 50 animals. Today the population remains constant at around 50 animals. The low number affects vegetation less, but makes the population more vulnerable to threats and endangers long-term survival. Smaller prey mammals are equipped with red foxes , wild cats , stone martens , tree martens , stoats and weasels also represented diverse. The Prometheus mouse is endemic to the region .

207 bird species live in the park, 18 of which are considered threatened. Five of them also breed in the reserve. These are the bearded vulture , the Egyptian vulture , the golden eagle , the peregrine falcon and the Caucasian black grouse . Other typical birds are the Caucasian king chicken , the mountain bullfinch , the giant redstart and the wall creeper . Migrant are gray crane , bee-eaters , quail , black kite , eastern imperial eagle , steppe eagle , osprey and short-toed eagle .

There are five reptile and three amphibian species, including the endangered meadow viper . The only fish species is the trout . In addition, over 2000 insect species have been detected so far .

Tourism and protection

In addition to the rich nature, there are ruins of medieval towers in the protected area . The reserve's visitor center serves 5,000 tourists each year . Poaching is a major problem .

swell

Coordinates: 42 ° 45 '  N , 44 ° 0'  E