The Western Caucasus is a western region of the Caucasus in Southern Russia, extending from the Black Sea to

Mount Elbrus Mount Elbrus ( rus, links=no, Эльбрус, r=Elbrus, p=ɪlʲˈbrus; kbd, Ӏуащхьэмахуэ, 'uaşhəmaxuə; krc, Минги тау, Mingi Taw) is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe. It is situated in the we ...

World Heritage Site

European bison on stamp Russia West Caucasus 2006

The Western Caucasus includes a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the extreme western edge of the Caucasus Mountains. As stated by the UNESCO specialists, it is the only large mountain area in Europe that has not experienced significant human impact. Its habitats are exceptionally varied for such a small area, ranging from lowlands to glaciers. The site is situated 50 km to the north from the Russian resort of

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

Biosphere Reserve

The Western Caucasus also contains the

Caucasus Nature Reserve Caucasus Nature Reserve (russian: Кавказский государственный природный биосферный заповедник имени Х. Г. Шапошникова) (also Caucasus, or Kavkasky) is a Russia, Russian 'zapoved ...

( Russian Кавказский государственный природный биосферный заповедник), nature reserve (

IUCN management category IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is par ...

Ia ) set up by the Soviet government in Krasnodar Krai,

Adygea The Republic of Adygea (; russian: Республика Адыгея, Respublika Adygeya, p=ɐdɨˈɡʲejə; ady, Адыгэ Республик, ''Adıgə Respublik''), also known as the Adyghe Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated ...

and Karachay–Cherkessia in 1924 to preserve some 85 m-high specimens of the Nordmann Fir (''Abies nordmanniana''), thought to be the tallest trees in Europe, and a unique forest formed by

English Yew ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe (including Britain and Ireland), northwest Africa, northern Iran, and southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain ...

(''Taxus baccata'') and

European Box ''Buxus sempervirens'', the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Buxus'', native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco ...

(''Buxus sempervirens'') within the city of

. About a third of its high mountain species of plants are recognized as endemic. The area also includes the

Sochi National Park Sochi National Park (russian: Сочинский национальный парк, also Sochinsky National Park) is Russia's oldest national park, established on May 5, 1983. It is located in the Western Caucasus, near the city of Sochi, in Souther ...

(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 ''Panthera pardus tulliana'' is a leopard subspecies native to the Iranian Plateau and surrounding areas encompassing Turkey, the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan. Since 2016, i ...

reintroduction centre was created in

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

Lisbon Zoo Lisbon Zoo (Jardim Zoologico de Lisboa) is a zoological garden in Lisbon, Portugal. It was founded in 1884. The zoo was originally located in the park of São Sebastião da Pedreira. The zoo moved once in 1894 and once again in 1905 to it curr ...

in Portugal. In July 2013, the pair had a 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.

Gallery

File:RitsaMounts.jpg, Lake Ritsa. File:Массив Ачешбок, Адыгея, Acheshbok, Adygea, Caucasus.jpg, Acheshbok massif. File:Мистический каньон реки Ходзь в тумане, юг парка Тхач, Западный Кавказ.jpg, Khodz river headwaters. File:Рассвет в долине реки Ходзь, туман, Западный Кавказ.jpg, Early dawn in Khodz river canyon. File:Bolshoy Tkhach, Куэсты Тхач в облаках, вид с горы Асбестная, Западный Кавказ.jpg, Tkhach mountain in clouds. File:Acheshbok, Куэсты Ачешбок в облаках, вид с подножья горы Асбестная, Западный Кавказ.jpg, Acheshbok mountain in clouds. File:Acheshbok, Южные отроги горы Ачешбок на закате, драматичные погодные условия, горы Западного Кавказа.jpg, Southern slopes of Acheshbok.

References

External links

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Western Caucasus
a
Natural Heritage Protection FundCaucasian Reserve Website
{{World Heritage Sites in Russia, state=uncollapsed + Mountain ranges of Russia Mountains of Krasnodar Krai Sochi Landforms of the Caucasus Forests of Russia Biosphere reserves of Russia World Heritage Sites in Russia Southern Russia