Western Caucasus

Coordinates: 44°N 40°E / 44°N 40°E / 44; 40
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Western Caucasus
Krasnodar Region, Russia
CriteriaNatural: (ix), (x)
Reference900
Inscription1999 (23rd Session)
Area298,903 ha (738,610 acres)
Coordinates44°N 40°E / 44°N 40°E / 44; 40
Western Caucasus is located in Krasnodar Krai
Western Caucasus
Western Caucasus within Russia
The Western Caucasus as seen from peak Tabunnaya near Krasnaya Polyana

The Western Caucasus is a western region of the North Caucasus in Southern Russia, extending from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus.[citation needed]

World Heritage Site

Western Caucasus on se-tenant postage stamps of Russia, 2006

The Western Caucasus includes a natural

lowlands to glaciers. The site is situated 50 km to the north from the Russian resort of Sochi
.

Biosphere Reserve

The Western Caucasus also contains the

European Box (Buxus sempervirens) within the city of Sochi
.

About a third of its high mountain species of plants are recognized as

endemic. The area also includes the Sochi National Park
(IUCN management category II).

The Western Caucasus is also the place of origin and of reintroduction of the

Caucasian Wisent. The last wild wisent in the world was killed by poachers here in 1927. Wisents partly interbred with American bison
were reintroduced several decades later.

Persian leopard reintroduction

In 2009, a

Persian leopard reintroduction centre was created in Sochi National Park, where two male leopards from Turkmenistan are being kept since September 2009, and two females from Iran since May 2010. Their descendants will be released into the wild in the Biosphere Reserve.[2][3]

A pair of leopards were brought to the Sochi park in 2012 from the

litter, the first Persian Leopard cubs known to be born in Russia in 50 years. The cubs will be released into the wild after learning survival skills from their parents, according to Natalia Dronova, the WWF
-Russia species coordinator. [4]

Gallery

  • Lake Ritsa.
    Lake Ritsa.
  • Acheshbok massif.
    Acheshbok massif.
  • Khodz river headwaters.
    Khodz river headwaters.
  • Early dawn in Khodz river canyon.
    Early dawn in Khodz river canyon.
  • Tkhach mountain in clouds.
    Tkhach mountain in clouds.
  • Acheshbok mountain in clouds.
    Acheshbok mountain in clouds.
  • Southern slopes of Acheshbok.
    Southern slopes of Acheshbok.

See also

References

  1. ^ Kavkazskiy Biosphere Reserve profile at UNESCO website
  2. ^ WWF (2009) Flying Turkmen leopards to bring species back to Caucasus. WWF, 23 September 2009
  3. ^ Sochi.Live (2010) Sochi welcomes leopards from Iran Archived 2014-03-01 at the Wayback Machine. Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi, 4 May 2010
  4. ^ "First Persian leopard cubs in 50 years born in Russian breeding center". United Press International. July 19, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2013.

Further reading

  • Алтухов Михаил Данилович, Литвинская Светлана Анатольевна. Охрана растительного мира на Северо-Западном Кавказе. Krasnodar: Краснодарское книжное издательство, 1989.
  • Кавказский заповедник. In Заповедники СССР. Заповедники Кавказа. Moscow: Мысль, 1990. P. 69-100.

External links