Ritsa Strict Nature Reserve (

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

: რიწის დაცული ტერიტორია) is a protected area in the

Gudauta District Gudauta District is a district of Abkhazia, Georgia’s breakaway republic. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian district. Its capital is Gudauta, the town by the same name. The population of the district was 34,869 at the time of the 2003 cen ...

of Abkhazia, in the country of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The reserve's main goal is to protect

Lake Ritsa __NOTOC__ Lake Ritsa ( ab, Риҵа, ka, რიწა, tr) is a lake in the north-western part of the Georgia, in the Caucasus Mountains. It surrounded by mixed mountain forests and subalpine meadows. The road from the Black Sea coast was buil ...

and conserve the ecosystems and species located in the surrounding mountain regions.

History

The

USSR 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 nationa ...

, where Georgia was a constituent republic, established the Ritsinsky Reserve in 1930. The reserve's territory expanded when Georgia regained independence in 1991, and the new Ritsa Strict Nature Reserve was formed. Following the commencement of the

Abkhaz–Georgian conflict The Abkhaz–Georgian conflict involves ethnic conflict between Georgians and the Abkhaz people in Abkhazia, a ''de facto'' independent, partially recognized republic. In a broader sense, one can view the Georgian–Abkhaz conflict as part ...

and subsequent war,Modern State of Populations of Rare Endem Lilium Kesselringianum Miscz. in Ritsinsky Relic National Park (Republic of Abkhazia)
/ref>Ritsinsky Relic National Park
/ref> the territory of Ritsa was taken over and is now governed by the Government of Abkhazia, which created Ritsinsky Relic National Park in 1996.

Geography

Ritsa Strict Nature Reserve is located in the mountainous part of Abkhazia in the southern part of the Greater Caucasus range, extending from the Ghegha River to the Pshchitsa River. The reserve's altitude ranges from above sea level ( Mount Agepsta), creating a rich spectrum of ecological conditions for the growth of many different plants and animals. The reserve's largest lake is

. Other lakes in the reserve include Lake Smaller Ritsa and Blue Lake. There are several

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

s in this region, the most famous being the Gegsky falls, which were featured as the "Reichenbach Falls" in the 1980 Soviet movie ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson''.

Flora

The protected area of Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests includes numerous evergreen boxwood (''

Buxus colchica ''Buxus colchica'' (syn. ''B. hyrcana'') is a species of ''Buxus'' native to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Turkey. It is threatened by habitat loss and defoliation by the caterpillars of an introduced moth species, '' Cydalima perspectalis''. ...

'') groves as well as specimens of the

Nordmann fir ''Abies nordmanniana'', the Nordmann fir or Caucasian fir, is a fir indigenous to the mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia and the Russian Caucasus. It occurs at altitudes of 900–2,200 m on mountains with precipi ...

, which can reach heights of over 70 metres. This area is also home to specimens of

European 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 ...

.Arnold Gegechkor
Patterns of distribution and survival of European Yew (Taxus baccata L.) in an alpine treeline ecotone in the Greater Caucasus (Georgia)
Annals of Agrarian Science Volume 16, Issue 2, June 2018., Pages 170–176 A variety of rare

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species, such as ''

Lilium kesselringianum ''Lilium kesselringianum'' is a large herbaceous member of the lily family. It is native to North Caucasus, North and South Caucasus as well as northern Turkey. It grows from sea level along the Black Sea up into the mountains to subalpine level ...

'', '' Primula farinosa'',To Biology of a Rare Species of Primula Farinosa L. in Ritsinsky Relic National Park (Abkhazia Republic)
/ref> as well as widespread species such as the bell-flower, occur in the region.

Fauna

The region's most common mammals include the

Caspian red deer The Caspian red deer (''Cervus elaphus maral''), is one of the easternmost subspecies of red deer that is native to areas between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea such as Crimea, Asia Minor, the Caucasus Mountains region bordering Europe and Asia, ...

, the

west Caucasian tur The West Caucasian tur (''Capra caucasica'') is a mountain-dwelling goat-antelope native to the western half of the Caucasus Mountains range, in Georgia and European Russia. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the wild population ...

, the rupicapra, the

capreolus ''Capreolus'' is a genus of deer, the roe deer. Etymology English ''roe'' is from Old English ''ra'' or ''rá'', from ''raha'', from Proto-Germanic ''*raikhaz'', cognate to Old Norse ''ra'', Old Saxon ''reho'', Middle Dutch and Dutch ''ree'' ...

, the

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

, the Caucasian wildcat, the

stone marten The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is li ...

, and the

European rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has b ...

. More than 273 bird species can be found here, of which 71 are considered rare. About 100 species of birds nest in the reserve and others fly over the park via the eastern Black Sea Flyway. The

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It may also be known as the Griffon vulture, though it may be used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with Rü ...

cinereous vulture The cinereous vulture (''Aegypius monachus'') is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of , ...

, common blackbird,

great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of North Af ...

Caucasian snowcock The Caucasian snowcock (''Tetraogallus caucasicus'') is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. It is native to the Caucasus Mountains, particularly the Western Caucasus, where it breeds at ...

Caucasian grouse The Caucasian grouse or Caucasian black grouse (''Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi'') is a large bird in the grouse family. It is closely related to the black grouse (''L. tetrix''). Description As with many gamebirds, the cock (male) is larger than the he ...

red-fronted Serin The red-fronted serin or fire-fronted serin (''Serinus pusillus'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It prefers high mountain regions and is 11–12 cm long. This bird breeds in the Caucasus and the higher mountai ...

Goldcrest The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific ...

, and

common chaffinch The common chaffinch or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in ...

are among the many species that can be found in the region. There are also rare species of amphibians: the Caucasian parsley frog, the

Caucasian toad The Caucasian toad (''Bufo verrucosissimus'') is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lebanon, Iran, Russia, and Turkey. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland ...

, and the endemic southern banded newt.

Notes

References