Бешаи Палангон (Beshai Palangon) Reserve is in
Tajikistan close to the
Afghan border where the
Vakhsh River and the
Panj River join to form the
Amu Darya. The reserve stretches over 40 km from the southwest to the northeast.
Description
The 460 km
2 reserve is described by the
WWF as the most important nature reserve in Central Asia, because of its large size and ecological diversity. In addition it is very important for rare species of
tugay, or riparian forest, ecosystems.
The highest elevations reach about 1,200 m above sea level.
[S. Manzoor Alam,Atiya Habeeb Kidwai: ''Regional Imperatives In Utilization And Management Of Resources : India And the USSR.'' Naurang Rai Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, India, 1987] The climate is continental and dry, the different habitats of Tigrovaya Balka comprise semideserts, savanna-like grasslands with
pistachio
The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food.
''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...
trees and
tugay vegetation with
poplars,
Russian silverberry and high grasses.
Fauna
The area was one of the last strongholds of the
Caspian tiger, whose tracks were seen in the reserve for the last time in 1953.
[Geptner, V.G., Sludskii, A. A., (1972) ''Mlekopitaiuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza.'' Vysšaia Škola, Moskva. (In Russian; English translation: Heptner, V.G.; Sludskii, A.A.; Bannikov, A.G.; (1992]
''Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2: Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats).''
Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington DC). Pp. 95–202 As of today, Tigrovaya Balka is still home to the original main prey of the tiger, the rare
Bactrian deer
The Bactrian deer (''Cervus hanglu bactrianus''), also called the Bukhara deer, Bokhara deer, or Bactrian wapiti, is a lowland subspecies of Central Asian red deer native to Central Asia. It is similar in ecology to the related Yarkand deer (''C ...
. Other larger species of the reserve include
striped hyenas,
golden jackals,
swamp 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, littoral a ...
s,
wild boars,
goitered gazelles,
porcupine
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...
s, the introduced
nutrias,
,
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 ...
es and in hills also
urials.
Birds
The reserve has been identified 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 ...
as an
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) because it supports significant numbers of the populations of various bird species, either as residents, or as
overwintering, breeding or
passage migrants. These include
red-crested pochards,
pygmy cormorants,
saker falcons,
common coots,
common cranes,
pale-backed pigeons,
pallid scops-owls,
Egyptian nightjars,
white-winged woodpeckers,
brown-necked ravens,
great tits,
desert larks,
streaked scrub-warbler
The streaked scrub warbler (''Scotocerca inquieta''), also known simply as the scrub warbler, is a small passerine bird. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Scotocerca''. It is found in northern Africa and south-western Asia. It is a bi ...
s,
Sykes's warblers,
Asian desert warbler
The Asian desert warbler (''Curruca nana'') is a typical warbler which breeds in the deserts of central and western Asia and the extreme east of Europe (Volga Delta area east to western Inner Mongolia in China), and migrating to similar habitats ...
s,
saxaul sparrows and
desert finches.
[{{cite web , url= http://www.birdlife.org , title= Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, accessdate=11 April 2013 , work= Important Bird Areas factsheet , publisher= BirdLife International , year= 2013]
External links
Tigrovaya Balka auf whc.UNESCO.orgOffizielle Seite des Reservates (Tadschikisch)
References
Nature reserves in Tajikistan
Khatlon Region
Important Bird Areas of Tajikistan
1953 establishments in the Soviet Union