Askania-Nova ( uk, Асканія-Нова) is a Ukrainian

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

located in

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast ( uk, Херсо́нська о́бласть, translit=Khersónsʹka óblastʹ, ), also known as Khersonshchyna ( uk, Херсо́нщина, ), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine, currently claimed and partly occupied ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, within the dry Taurida

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

near

Oleshky Sands Oleshky Sands ( ua, Олешківські піски, Oleshkivsʹki pisky) is a desert in Ukraine. It is situated inland from the Ukrainian coast of the Black Sea and consists of sand dunes or ''kuchuhury'' (locally), which reach a height up t ...

and active member of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. It is also a

research institute A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...

of the Ukrainian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The reserve consists of a zoological park, a botanical (dendrological) garden, and an open territory of virgin steppes.

History

The nature reserve was established in 1898 by Friedrich-Jacob Eduardovych Falz-Fein (1863–1920) around the German colony of Askania-Nova, which only in 1890 became an organized settlement, Khutir. In March 1919, Askania-Nova was confiscated from the Falz-Fein family by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

as part of the state nationalization programme. The last owner refused to evacuate to Germany. She was Sofia-Louise Bohdanivna (Gottlieb) Knauff (1835–1919), the mother of Friedrich Falz-Fein. Her refusal resulted in her

summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes include ...

by two Red Army guardsmen who shot her for failing to surrender her estate in Khorly (today a port in

). On April 1, 1919, Askania-Nova was declared a People's Sanctuary Park by a decree of the

Council of People's Commissars The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...

of the Ukrainian SSR; while on February 8, 1921, it was reorganized into a State Steppe Reserve of the Ukrainian SSR. The main purposes of the reserve was to preserve and study the environment of the virgin steppe as well as possibly to acclimatize and study a larger number of animal and plant types. Askania-Nova became a scientific-steppe station, a zoo-technical station with breeding farms, a

phyto Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...

-technical station, and included various other scientific institutions. Notably, the zoo and botanical garden were greatly expanded. Part of the reserve included portions of steppe reserve, an acclimatization zoo, and an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

. From 1932 to 1956, the reserve was transformed into the All-Union scientific-research institute for the hybridization and acclimatization of animals of M. Ivanov. It consisted of 12 departments (including the botanical garden, steppe reserve steppe, and zoo), nine laboratories, conducting experimental farming, and four breeding centres for agricultural animals. The institute became the centre of scientific-researching works in the field of breed creation and the major hub for breeding farms. During both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the reserve was devastated. In 1983, Askania-Nova was reorganized into a biosphere reserve and the following year it was designated as the Soviet member of the

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sustainable dev ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. After the fall of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, in 1993,

confirmed the status of the biosphere reserve Askania-Nova. In 2008, Askania was named one of Seven Wonders of Ukraine.

The biosphere reserve

The reserve consists of the acclimatization zoo, arboretum (2.1 km², or 518.9 acre), and virgin

sanctuary (110 km², or 42.5 sq mi), the last such area in Europe) and has total area of 825 km² (318.5 sq mi). The Askania-Nova wetland Great Chapli Depression is registered on the International list of

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

and has an area of 4x6 km. Part of the sanctuary include a small town and six villages with total population of 10,000 people (1997). There is no direct railroad station in the area and the sanctuary can be reached by bus.

Flora and fauna

More than 200 species of foliaceous and coniferous plants were brought from different parts of the world and planted in the dendrologic garden during 1885 – 1902. About 600 higher plants (both perennial and annual), 16 species of which were entered to the Red Data Book of Ukraine, have been preserved in their primary natural form. The reserve also hosts ostriches, bison, antelopes, wild horses, llamas, zebras and many bird species. It is known for a herd of

Przewalski's horse Przewalski's horse (, , (Пржевальский ), ) (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of Ce ...

s, the largest group kept in captivity, living on area around 30 km² (11.5 sq mi). The

Turkmenian kulan The Turkmenian kulan (''Equus hemionus kulan''), also called Transcaspian wild ass, Turkmenistani onager or simply the ', is a subspecies of onager (Asiatic wild ass) native to Central Asia. It was declared Endangered in 2016. The species's popu ...

(''Equus hemionus kulan'') has been reintroduced. The biosphere reserve has been designated a

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports populations of red-breasted and

greater white-fronted geese The greater white-fronted goose (''Anser albifrons'') is a species of goose related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose (''A. erythropus''). It is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill, in fact ''albifrons ...

ruddy shelduck The ruddy shelduck (''Tadorna ferruginea''), known in India as the Brahminy duck, is a member of the family Anatidae. It is a distinctive waterfowl, in length with a wingspan of . It has orange-brown body plumage with a paler head, while the ...

s, demoiselle and common cranes,

black-winged pratincole The black-winged pratincole (''Glareola nordmanni'') is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ''glarea'', "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name ...

s, and pallid harriers.

Climate

Access

The sanctuary is located in a relatively remote area. Its territory completely overlaps the Askania Nova municipality which beside its main town includes five small rural settlements:List of settlements of Askania-Nova municipality
Illinka (569), Komysh (313), Molochne (762), Novyi Etap (72), Pytomnyk (859); and a separate rural municipality of Markeyevo (783) consisting a former village of the same name. Towards the sanctuary and the town of Askania-Nova leads a "spur" of the regional route which branches out from the main route near the village of Chkalove (Novotroitske Raion). The main route of runs from

Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...

to Henichesk and intersects European routes and .

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