Shikahogh reservation
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Shikahogh reservation
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 Shikahogh State Reserve, August 2016 |
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| location | Syunik , Armenia | |
| surface | 100 km² | |
| WDPA ID | 20679 | |
| Geographical location | 39 ° 3 ' N , 46 ° 24' E | |
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| Setup date | 1958 | |
The Shikahogh reserve is located in southern Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan .
It covers an area of 100 km² and was founded in 1958 primarily to protect the forests.
landscape
The protected area covers altitudes between 700 and 2400 m , with oak-dominated deciduous forests predominating as habitat. These forests are favored by the relatively humid climate and occur above an altitude of about 1000 m . Mountain grasslands dominate the forests, at altitudes of around 2200 m and more. There is a broad transition area between the two types of habitat. The two main rivers are the Tsav and the Shikahogh .
In the east of Azerbaijan, the Basutchay reserve borders directly on the Shikahogh reserve. A few kilometers southeast of it on the opposite side of the Aras River in Iran is the Arasbaran Conservation Area . In 2009, the Arevik National Park bordering the Shikahogh reserve was set up by the Armenian government.
fauna
The wildlife of the reserve has not yet been further analyzed, but wolves , bears, red foxes , wild cats , deer , badgers and wild goats are found in the reserve. The leopard is considered extinct. The bird species include the Caspian king chicken , bearded vulture and griffon vulture . Caucasian rock lizards (genus Darevskia ) are common in Shikahogh and are represented by different species.
threat
The Armenian government planned to lay a road link to Iran directly through the protected area. This project was averted in 2005, although construction work had already started. During a visit to the reserve in August 2016, a ranger reported that the wild boar population had declined dramatically over the past two years due to the African swine fever . This also had an impact on the wolves' hunting behavior, so that they are now increasingly hunting deer.
literature
- Nazik Khanjyan: Specially protected nature areas of Armenia. Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia , Yerevan 2004. online PDF
- Shackleton, D., M., (ed.) And the IUCN / SSC Caprinae Specialist Group: Wild Sheep and Goats and their Relatives. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Caprinae . IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge 1997.