Shirvan National Park ( az, Şirvan Milli Parkı) — is a national park of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. It was established on July 5, 2003 within the territory of

Salyan Rayon Salyan District ( az, Salyan rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the east of the country and belongs to the Shirvan-Salyan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Bilasuvar, Sabirabad, Hajigabul, Ba ...

administrative districts. Its surface area is . The Shirvan National Park was established on the base of the

Shirvan State Reserve Shirvan State Reserve was established on the area of of a part of Bendovan State Game reserve in 1969 for the purpose of protecting and increasing the number of water birds. The area of the reserve was expanded to in 1982. Ecology The reserves ...

founded in 1969 and neighbouring areas. The reserve‘s activity is focused on the protection and reproduction of the Goitered Gazelle (Gazella sulgutturosa), waterfowl birds and typical plant biotypes of the Shirvan Lowland. The area is 25800 hectares, of which 3500 hectares are water reservoirs. The territory of the park used to be at the bottom of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

and at present it is an accumulative plain, which is 20–25 m below sea level with a slight increase in the relief westwards. In terms of climate the park lies in an area of moderate warm semi-desert and arid steppe. Summers are hot and dry and winters are cool and dry.

Etymology

The word 'Shirvan' appears to be derived from ''Shīr'' ( fa, ). The word ''shir'' refers to the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

, which is now extinct in the

Trans-Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

Flora and fauna

Flora

In the park there are several types of

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic character ...

. The desert type is represented by ''Halocnemum'', ''Halostachys'' and ''Salicornia'' formations developed on solonchaks. ''Halocnemum'' vegetation occupies about 40% of the territory of the park. The main species is the ''Halocnemum strobilaceum''. The ''Halostachys phytocenosis'' has a more complicated structure and a richer species composition than ''Halocnemum''. At the tops of the hills ''Halostachys'' grows and the slopes are covered by cereals and motley grass from the ephemeral group. ''Salicornia'' vegetation has developed in a small area of the central part of the park as a result of wet salines and the high level of ground waters. As well as ''Salicornia europaea'', there is also ''S. rankenive'' and ''S. tonkokhstnik''. The semi-desert type of vegetation is represented by formations of sveda and ephemeral wormwood. The latter formation, which occupies 40% of the park area, has the richest species composition. Wormwood dominates, and among ephemera 20-25 species are met, including mast cereals: ''Poa bulbosa'', ''Bromus'', wall barley (''Hordeum leporinum''), etc. Meadow-type vegetation is developed in the park on chals (humid lowerings on the relief). The herbage is two-layered and is formed of Alhagi (first layer) and ''Aeluropus repens'' (second layer). In some places ''Artemisia'' and wall barley (''Hordeum leporinum'') are found.

Fauna

Female goitered gazelle, Shirvan National Park, Azerbaijan

The fauna is poorly studied. Among amphibians there are variable toad (''Bufotes variabilis''), tree frogs (''Hyla'' sp.) and marsh frog (''Pelophylax ridibundus''). Among reptiles there are European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), Caspian turtle (''Mauremys caspica'') and spur-thighed tortoise (''Testudo graeca''), lizard, grass snake (''Natrix natrix'') Levantine viper (''Macrovipera lebetina'') and others. The ornitofauna is poorly studied, but according to the existing data there are bustards (Otides), Francolinus, little bustard (''Otis tetrax''), white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), steppe eagle (''Aquila nipalensis''), peregrine (''Falco peregrinus''), saker falcon (''Falco cherrug'') and ''Pterocletes orientalis''. In winter, there are many migratory birds on the water bodies such as gray goose (''Anser anser''), mallard duck (''Anas platyrhynchus''), pintail (''Anas acuta'') and others. Among rare mammals species there are

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

, Persian gazelle,

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 ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...

jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littora ...

badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united b ...

European hare The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...

, and others.

Greek tortoise The Greek tortoise (''Testudo graeca''), also known commonly as the spur-thighed tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. ''Testudo graeca'' is one of five species of Mediterranean tortoises (genera '' Testudo'' and '' Ag ...

, Persian gazelle, '' Francolinus francolinus'',

bustard Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (, formerly known as Otidae). Bustards ...

little bustard The little bustard (''Tetrax tetrax'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Tetrax''. The genus name is from Ancient Greek and refers to a gamebird mentioned by Aristophanes and others. Distribution It breeds in Southe ...

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Palearctic, Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diur ...

steppe eagle The steppe eagle (''Aquila nipalensis'') is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The steppe eagle's well-feathered legs illustrate it to be a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as the "booted ...

, peregrine,

saker falcon The saker falcon (''Falco cherrug'') is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia ...

are listed in the Red Book. In the past, this area was once within the

Asiatic lion The Asiatic lion is a population of ''Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat ...

's range in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, and the

Caspian tiger The Caspian tiger was a ''Panthera tigris tigris'' population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan, and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the Midd ...

used to visit it from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The main protected objects are the natural semi-desert complexes of the south-eastern Shirvan, with the world's biggest population of Persian gazelles and the water-wading ecosystem, which is a place of nesting, a migration route and wintering area for many valuable bird species (western part of the Shor-Gel Lake).

Goitered gazelle conservation

Shirvan National Park has played an important role in recovery of Goitered gazelle

reintroduction Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustainin ...

s in

and

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 ...

. Gazelles from Shirvan National Park have been reintroduced to several areas including

Vashlovani National Park Vashlovani National Park ( ka, ვაშლოვანის ეროვნული პარკი) is a national park located in the eastern part of Georgia, and was established in 1935 to preserve its unique shallow forests. In April 2003 ...

Qobustan, Absheron Qobustan is a village in the municipality of Pirəkəşkül-Qobustan in the Absheron District of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republ ...

, Ajinohur steppe,

Ag-Gel National Park Ag-Gel National Park ( az, Ağ göl Milli Parkı) — is a National Parks of Azerbaijan, national park of Azerbaijan. It was established in an area in Ağcabədi Rayon and Beyləqan Rayon administrative districts on July 5, 2003, on the basis of ...

References

External links

Shirvan National Park Official Website - Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan

National Parks: Shirvan National Park - Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan
{{authority control IUCN Category II National parks of Azerbaijan Protected areas established in 2003 2003 establishments in Azerbaijan