Wildlife needs protection. Our country has its own reserves and protected areas. In such a unique place as the Crimean peninsula, a nature reserve has existed for a long time. The Crimean peninsula is rich in flora and fauna, minerals, mineral springs - it's impossible to list everything. In addition, this is a large historical area that attracts poachers and black diggers.
Creation of a nature reserve
Surrounded almost on all sides by the sea, connected to the mainland only by a relatively narrow isthmus, Crimea is a desirable vacation spot for thousands and thousands of tourists, who also pose a threat to the unique nature with relic plants. In order to protect the unique gifts of nature in 1923, the first nature reserve was created by decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. The Crimean Imperial Hunting Reserve (year of establishment - 1913) with small areas on Mount Bolshaya Chuchel was expanded to16,000 ha and up to 23,000 in the same year.
Not only shot, but also cultivated
It should be noted that in the royal sanctuary, animals were mainly shown to guests brought here, including foreign ones. By the personal order of the tsar, a beautiful road was laid to the reserve, which still exists today under the name Romanovskoye Highway.
Here, a specially created royal chasseur service looked after deer and aurochs, Pyrenean goats, mouflons and bison brought from Corsica. The sanctuary and the reserve are not synonymous words, they differ from each other in that in the first one there are separate species, most often the rarest or endangered plants and animals, under protection.
Soviet times
When the entire territory and everything that exists on it is under the care of the state, it is a natural reserve. The Crimean guarded area immediately acquired a weather station, a laboratory and a museum. Active research work began to be carried out here.
But the war did not spare anything: protected forests burned down on a plot of 1500 hectares, bison, most of the roe deer and deer were completely exterminated, the museum and laboratory were destroyed. But immediately after the liberation of the Crimea from the invaders, in 1944, the Krymsky nature reserve began to recover and its territory expanded to 30,300 hectares. In 1949, its branch "Lebyazhy Islands" was founded. It consists of the northwestern partpeninsulas and 6 islands, on which there are a lot of birds - up to 265 species. Of these, 25 species constantly live on the islands, including swans. During the reign of N. S. Khrushchev and L. I. Brezhnev, the reserved land was turned into government hunting grounds, visited not only by domestic political bosses, but also by foreign ones. The status of the reserve was restored in 1991.
Geographic data
What is this territory now and what is its size? The total area of 44,175 hectares is divided into two parts. The branch "Lebyazhy Islands" occupies 9612 hectares in the northwestern part of the steppe zone of the peninsula and a share of the water area of the Karkinitsky Bay, part of the Black Sea, located between the coast of the peninsula and the mainland. The remaining 34,563 hectares are the mountain forest and the main part of the reserve. It includes sections of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains, the slopes of the Inner Mountain and the basins between them. On the reserved part there are Y alta yayla and Gurzuf yayla, Babugae-yayla and Chatyr-Dag-yayla. Crimean yayly (summer pastures) are hilly plateaus with peaks. On Chatyr-Dag-yayl are the highest mountains - Roman-Kosh (1545 m) and Bolshaya Chuchel (1387). In this part there are more than 300 mountain springs, the rivers Alma, Kacha and a dozen others.
Animals and flora of the reserve
It is necessary to stipulate the fact that there is more than one nature reserve in the Crimea. There are similar structures on Capes Opuk and Martyan, there are Y alta, Kazantip, Karadag nature reserves, there are "Astaninskie plavni" and wildlife sanctuaries of the Crimea. On the peninsula, in addition to the above objects, there are 30 naturalparks and 73 reserved natural monuments. The flora and fauna is so rich that it deserves a separate article. It can only be noted that 1200 species of plants grow here, 29 of which are listed in the Red Book of Europe. The fauna is represented by 200 species (160 birds, 37 mammals) of vertebrates, 30 of which are also in the Red Book. Invertebrates - 8000 species. The distribution of flora and fauna depends on the altitudinal zones. Half of the species of the entire flora and fauna of Crimea is concentrated here.
The size is impressive
The boundaries of the Crimean nature reserve, or rather its mountain-forest part without the "Swan Islands", located in the north-west of the peninsula, can be seen on the attached map. It can be seen that it is the largest in the Crimea.
Besides, he is the oldest. Naturally, after the return of Crimea to the Russian Federation, the boundaries of all reserves will change: they will face more ambitious tasks.
A long-awaited and worthy memory
The anniversary of the Great Victory in Crimea was met with dignity. Among the many events held in honor of the 70th anniversary, I would like to note one thing - the opening of a monument in the Crimean Natural Reserve. The Museum of Partisan Glory has become the first object of cultural and historical heritage built over the last year that the peninsula spent as part of the Russian Federation. The museum is located at an altitude of 1300 meters above sea level, on the territory of the Red Stone cordon. He is a tribute to the memory of the partisans, whose number was quitesignificant. 500 of them gave their lives for the liberation of Crimea.
Part given to tourists
The reserve occupies part of the mountains between Y alta and Alushta. Here is the famous "Arbor of the Winds", from which you can see Ayu-Dag, Gurzuf and Partenid. The Cosmo-Damianovsky Monastery is located here, from which Savlukh-Su originates - one of the famous healing springs of the reserve. There is a fairly large trout farm here. For a number of reasons, independent visits to the reserve by tourists are prohibited, entry is only with passes, by appointment and accompanied by a guide.
The Crimean Nature Reserve is experiencing a new life. Alushta, which is a kind of capital of the forest part of the reserve, occupies a special place in it - here is the management of the reserve, a museum of nature and an arboretum. 1600 exhibits of the museum tell about the flora and fauna of the reserve, about the history of its creation.
Famous routes
Two eco-educational routes for organized visits start from Alushta. The Crimean nature reserve provides excursions only from this resort town. The first route takes 2 hours. A visit to the Kosmo-Damianovsky Monastery and a trout farm is expected. The monastery is about 160 years old. It is located 22 km from Alushta at an altitude of 750 meters above sea level. This is a functioning male monastery, the main courtyard of which is in the urban-type settlement of Partenit. The trout farm was built in 1958. Touristsoffer to visit the open-air science laboratory.
Reserved Crimea
Route No. 2 with a length of 60 km is called "Crimea reserved". Within 5 hours, tourists will get acquainted and admire the unique beauty of this part of Crimea. The tour starts in Alushta and ends at the Pear cordon, the road to which is quite difficult, because it is a serpentine. Part of it is the famous road built in 1913, laid by the order of Nicholas II, the so-called Romanovskoye Highway, surrounded by stunning wildlife. There are many observation platforms along the route, where stops are provided. In addition to the two objects of the first route, visits to the Chuchelsky pass are included, from which the road leads to beech forests and the source of the largest local river, Kacha. The next stop is the culmination of the route, the Arbor of the Winds, located at an altitude of 1424 m above sea level. Among the many sights below you can see "Artek". This is followed by the Nikitsky Pass and the final stop - the Red Stone cordon.
Reviews
It is impossible to describe in words the delights of the routes offered to choose from, they must be seen. We can say that the Crimean Nature Reserve has the most enthusiastic reviews. Even if some shortcomings are mentioned, all the same, the remark ends with exclamations of admiration for nature, the beauty of unique views, air, an amazing combination of sea and mountains.
