In February 2015, one of the oldest specially protected natural areas Far East, the largest Sikhote-Alin Reserve in Primorsky Krai.
The reserve is located in the very center of Primorsky Krai, more than 600 kilometers from Vladivostok. Since 2001, the territory of the reserve has been included in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List.
The Abrek tract is the habitat of the Amur goral. Photo: Sikhote-Alinsky biosphere reserve / Svetlana Bondarchuk
The unique nature of the reserve, the territory of which extends along both slopes of the Sikhote-Alin ridge and includes the marine area, is characterized by the highest biological diversity.
In addition to a huge number of species of flora and fauna, the reserve is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, which every year attracts more and more tourists, including foreign ones.
Throughout its existence, the main task Sikhote-Alin Reserve was the preservation of the rarest cat of the planet - Amur tiger. It was from here in the post-war years, when total strength Since there were no more than 50 tigers, it began to spread throughout the region. The reserve has a rich and interesting history, many eminent scientists worked here.
Svetlana Sutyrina
For the first time, a description of the nature of the Middle Sikhote-Alin was made by a Russian explorer of the Far East, traveler and writer Vladimir Klavdievich Arseniev at the beginning of the 20th century. According to the results of a number of expeditions in 1906 - 1910. The mountainous region of Sikhote-Alin was explored, which was previously considered a "blank spot" on the geographical map. Arseniev noted the uniqueness, diversity and mosaic nature of the Sikhote-Alin mountain forests, which he defined as the "Great Forest".
The Sikhote-Alin Reserve is, first of all, stunning views. Photo: Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve / Svetlana Bondarchuk
AT Soviet Russia they returned to the idea of creating a reserve in the early 30s. XX century, after special expeditions were carried out to organize sable reserves. One of these expeditions was led by a hunter Konstantin Abramov, he, jointly Yuri Salmin led the reconnaissance of the planned Sikhote-Alin Reserve. And then became the first director of this environmental organization.
Lynx. Photo: Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve / Svetlana Sutyrina
The reserve is located in the central part of the Sikhote-Alin ridge, on the territory of three administrative districts of Primorsky Krai: Terneysky, Krasnoarmeisky and Dalnegorsky.
In total, 1076 species of vascular plants, 280 species of bryophytes, 434 species of lichens, 670 species of algae, 740 species of fungi, 72 species of mammals (of which 11 are marine), more than 350 species of birds, 8 species of reptiles, 5 species of amphibians, 32 species of fish, 334 species of marine invertebrates and about 4,000 species of terrestrial invertebrates
Red deer on the Kaplanovsky salt licks. Photo: Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve / Svetlana Bondarchuk
Having assessed the magnitude of protected nature, in 1979, at the UNESCO forum, the reserve was given the status of a biosphere reserve, thereby including it in the global monitoring network as a standard of primeval landscape.
In 2001, the territory of the reserve was included in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List as "A site that includes the most important or significant natural habitat for the conservation of biological diversity in it, including endangered species of exceptional world value in terms of science and protection." Total in the list 26 Russian facilities, of which 12 are natural, including Sikhote-Alin.
Ducks - tangerines. Photo: Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve / Svetlana Bondarchuk
The main task of the reserve is to protect intact ecosystems of the Sikhote-Alin ridge at the junction natural areas, as well as rare species of the fauna of Primorye - primarily the Amur tiger and goral.
Young Amur goral. Photo: Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve / Svetlana Bondarchuk
Here there are such species of animals as: brown and Himalayan bear, sable, harza, Siberian weasel, Amur tiger, wild boar, musk deer, Far Eastern forest cat, Amur goral, spotted deer, scaly merganser, mandarin duck, osprey, wild grouse, fish owl, crested eagle , white-tailed and Steller's sea eagles and many others.
Spotted deer. Photo: Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve / Svetlana Sutyrina
On the territory of the reserve and the adjacent territory there are monuments of different archaeological cultures. The settlement of the Terney enclave of the Ustinov culture (Mesolithic) (8-7 millennium BC) belongs to the oldest of them. The settlement is located in the middle reaches of the river. Taiga. The second oldest settlement "Blagodatnoye" is located on a terrace 600 meters from the seashore and belongs to the Lida culture (the era of paleometal) (the end of the second and the beginning of the first millennium BC). In the river basin Dzhigitovka are located settlements: Kunaleyskoe, Krasnoe ozero and Podnebesnoye, belonging to the medieval monuments of the Mohe, Bohai and Jurchen cultures (the first and the beginning of the second millennium AD), as well as fortresses and settlements of the Middle Ages and settlements of the 19th-20th centuries.
Lake Blagodatnoe against the backdrop of Mount Camel. Photo: Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve / Svetlana Bondarchuk
In the last days of May, a very important event for the Sikhote-Alin Reserve took place - Heraldic Council under the President Russian Federation reviewed and approved the draft of the new emblem of the reserve.
Now instead of little known to the public rare plant of the Jez primrose, whose image has served as the sign of the reserve for more than 20 years, the Amur tiger will flaunt on the emblem of this environmental organization.
Amur tiger. Photo: Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve / Svetlana Sutyrina
Region of Russia: Primorsky Krai
Constituent objects: Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve named after K.G. Abramov and Goraliy Regional Reserve
Location: eastern and central watershed part of the Sikhote-Alin ridge
Natural conditions: The climate has a pronounced monsoon character, manifested in a sharply opposite change in wind direction in winter and summer
Height above sea level: 54-1722 m (98-1895 m)
Square: 0.395 million ha
Status: inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2001
The south of the Far East within Russia is one of the largest and least altered by man centers of conservation of communities of ancient coniferous-deciduous and broad-leaved forests. Due to the location of the region on the great path of plant and animal settlement along the Pacific coast of Asia from the tropics to temperate latitudes, there is a very complex and colorful picture of interpenetration, mixing of heterogeneous elements of flora and fauna, especially "southerners" and "northerners".
A lot of rare and endangered species are represented in this territory, a significant part of which is preserved only within its boundaries. The flora of higher plants here includes about 1200 species, more than 370 species of birds are known within the limits of the Central Sikhote-Alin, and 71 species of mammals.
The mountainous country of Sikhote-Alin is the last large integral territory in the world inhabited by the Amur tiger. Many other rare and endangered species endemic to the region need protection - the Amur goral, the white-breasted bear, the Japanese and black cranes, the black stork, the scaly merganser, the fish owl; ginseng, Fori rhododendron and many others.
Picturesque landforms, full-flowing rivers, combined with an exceptional variety of flora and fauna, the presence of exotic plants and animals reminiscent of the tropics, give the nature of Sikhote-Alin completely unique features. There are many objects of aesthetic and recreational significance here: rock massifs that picturesquely stand out among the taiga, waterfalls, lakes and rapids (Kemsky rapids, Big Amga waterfall, Shandui mountain lakes and others), bizarre stone remnants, reefs, sandy bays of the coast of the Sea of Japan .
The mountain range near the coast of the Sea of Japan remained undeveloped by people for a long time, until an event occurred that turned the views of the entire planet to the Sikhote-Alin ridge.
About 9 thousand years ago, volcanoes raged on the site of the mountains, erupting lava with a hiss slipped into the present Sea of Japan, as a result of earthquakes, displacements of the earth's crust occurred, forming a characteristic folded relief form.
"Ridge of Great Western Rivers"
The chain of peaks stretches from the south of Primorye to the north Khabarovsk Territory over 1200 km, reaching a width of 250 km. The height of most mountains exceeds the mark of 1500 m, the highest point of the Sikhote-Alin is Tordoki-Yani (2090 m), which has crossed the two thousandth line, as well as Mount Ko - 2003 m above the sea.
The eastern slopes are steep and steeper than the western ones, which slope more gently inland. Therefore, the rivers, for which the ridge acts as a watershed, run down to the Sea of Japan and the Tatar Strait rapidly and along a short path - Samarga, Koppi, Tumnin, and the Anyui, Bikin, Khor water streams, clinging westward to the Ussuri and Amur, are slower and longer . It is probably no coincidence that the mountains have such a name: Sikhote-Alin, translated from Manchu, means “the ridge of large western rivers”.
"Great Forest" intermountain
This definition was given to the flora and fauna of the Sikhote-Alin by the famous Russian geographer and traveler V. Arseniev, who visited these places with several expeditions at the beginning of the last century. The scientist admired the diversity of species, their uniqueness and the mosaic nature of the forests inhabiting the mountain slopes. White fir and Ayan spruce dominate in the northern part of the range, at high altitudes they pass into the tundra. In the foothills, there is a picturesque microbiota - an unusual coniferous shrub, endemic to the Sikhote-Alin, as well as another endemic species - Olginskaya larch. Oak forests are characteristic of the southern regions of Primorye.
The abundance of vines in the forest, especially wild grapes, and lush carpets of grassy vegetation in the valleys of mountain streams more than two human heights are amazing. In this idyll untouched by civilization, small specimens of endangered animals, the Amur tiger and the Far Eastern leopard, have been preserved.
To preserve the unique ecosystem of the mountainous country, several protected areas have been created - national park"Anyuysky", nature reserves Botchinsky, Lazovsky and Sikhote-Alinsky, the latter was recently included in the list of natural sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ancient civilizations on the territory of the ridge
Primitive people have lived in the river valleys since the Neolithic. This is evidenced by the finds of the remains of villages located on ledges 4-6 m high. Scientists called this culture Zaisanovskaya, its main distinguishing feature- most household items, weapons for hunting are made of igneous rock - obsidian: knives, scrapers, arrowheads, etc.
To a later civilization belongs the skeleton of a structure discovered on one of the plateaus of about the 6th - 9th centuries, most likely of the Bohai period. By all indications, the building was used as a palace-residence of one of the rulers of the Bohai kingdom, which existed over a thousand years ago in Manchuria, northern Korea and Primorsky Krai.
The modern development of the Sikhote-Alin ridge began already in Soviet times with the discovery of minerals and the appearance of the first mines, until an event occurred that stirred up the entire scientific world and attracted a lot of curious people to the taiga in search of a “space stone”.
Meteor shower Sikhote-Alin
In February 1947, at about 11 o'clock in the afternoon, a cosmic catastrophe occurred near the village of Beitsukhe in the Primorsky Territory: breaking up into small and not very fragments at the entrance to the layers earth's atmosphere a meteorite fell. An amazing sight was observed by the artist Pyotr Medvedev, who got out on the sketches that day. A reproduction of a painting with a Sikhote-Alin landscape and a falling cosmic body soon spread around the world and became calling card the event that has occurred. In total, it is assumed that from 60 to 100 tons of space iron fell in the taiga, only 27 tons were collected, officially counted and stored in various museums and collections around the world.
However, hunters rushed into the forest to get rich by trading in meteorite pieces, many even opened firms. To this day, there are many who wish to acquire a part from a space alien. The largest block weighed 1745 kg, the rest of the finds were smaller - from 350 to 1000 kg, in total, up to 3500 small and medium fragments were found. Many left after the fall of the depression up to 6 m, and in diameter from 1 to 28 m.
The Sikhote-Alin meteorite is, of course, an interesting phenomenon for science, and its fragments stored in the taiga are subject to protection, and not to greedy taking away from home collections abroad.
Tourist routes to places of interest
A lot of laudatory words have been written about the beauty of the natural landscapes of Sikhote-Alin, but, perhaps, none of them can replace what they saw with their own eyes - the bright colors of valley meadows, taiga entwined with lianas, waterfalls with intriguing names, such as Black Shaman and Star of Primorye, remnants and hills - Cloudy, Yakut-mountain, Camel, Bald and Dragon Park. Trekking to many of them is organized by travel agencies in Vladivostok and other cities of Primorye.
It is extremely interesting to travel around the reserve with a hike in the Udege Legend park, the program of which includes visiting a medieval settlement, a crater field near the village of Meteoritny (former Beitsukhe), Bohai fortresses near the village of Terney, as well as Dersu Old Believers, rafting on the Arma River and fishing, a walk along the eco-trail "Laulinsky clamp", viewing the collection of minerals in the museum of the village of Roshchino and others.
The average cost of a tour in Sikhote-Alin is from 22,000 rubles.
Where to stay
In the hotels of Vladivostok, it is quite possible to stay overnight in rooms with an acceptable daily payment - from 1400 to 3500 rubles, for example, in the Zhemchuzhnoy, Equator, Granite, Meridian, Teplo, Relax, Ostrovok and others hotels.
On the route, tourists stop for the night, setting up a tent camp. All travel equipment is usually included in the price of the tour.
How to get there
Russia, Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krai, Vladivostok, settlements of Novopokrovka, Terney
Air tickets from Moscow to Vladivostok will cost a traveler on average from 12,000 rubles, but with a certain amount of luck, you can buy at a discount for 7-8 thousand rubles. The train trip is long and takes up to 7 days, the ticket price is a little more than 9,000 rubles.
For travel by bus to the village of Terney from Vladivostok, you will have to pay 2,600 rubles, although independent travel around the Primorsky Territory is not as popular as in organized groups, when tour operators are responsible for all the transport support.
Translated from the Manchu language, Sikhote-Alin is a country of mountain ranges, fast and clean rivers. This is how you can characterize the territory of the reserve, located in the middle part of this mountainous country, only by adding "... and virgin forests." The reserve was conceived to restore the sable population. However, later, during the study of the territory, it was found that many species of animals and plants that had disappeared in other regions were preserved here.
The uniqueness of these lands lies in the fact that representatives of the Manchurian, southern ecosystems, as well as the Okhotsk, northern ones, meet and exist together on them. The diversity of the flora and fauna of the reserve is strengthened by the fact that it is located both on the eastern and western macroslopes of the Sikhote-Alin, which differ significantly in natural conditions. By 1935, when the reserve was organized, the local forests remained almost unaffected by fires, logging, and uncontrolled hunting, so even today it is possible to study ecosystems on its territory that are very close to those that existed here millennia ago. And the surrounding lands have not yet been changed much by man, and the protected areas have not turned into isolated, sharply different "islands".
WHY IS THE RESERVE MILLION HECTARES?
By the mid-1940s, the area of the Sikhote-Alin Reserve was 1.8 million hectares! It was the largest in our country and one of the largest in the world. To cross it from end to end, it was necessary to walk 250 km. But it was located mainly on the western macroslope and had no access to the sea. In 1951, when many protected areas were liquidated or severely curtailed, the area of the Sikhote-Alinsky also decreased ... 18 times. In the following decades, positive changes took place: the boundaries of the reserve in relation to the previous period expanded by more than 3 times, the protected lands flowed onto the southeastern slope and went to the sea. This narrow "sleeve" directed to the sea includes most of the coast between the bays of Terney and Dzhigit. In addition, a separate area was attached to the reserve - the Abrek tract - an unusually picturesque place on Cape Mosalov, with which the local group of Gorals is associated.
However, today the territory of the reserve is five times smaller than its maximum area in the 1940s. How important is this and why? The fact is that many large mammals require fairly large areas for living, and no other (the most beautiful) conditions can replace this. That is why small reserves for many species become only “strongholds”, from which animals spread to unprotected territories. Only very large protected areas can serve as effective reserves. With the current area, the Sikhote-Alin Reserve can be considered a full-fledged reserve for red deer, musk deer and many other ungulates and predators. However, long-term conservation of the tiger in such an area cannot be guaranteed. 
RIVERS AND SLOPES
The most characteristic feature of the relief of the Sikhote-Alin in general and protected areas in particular is morphostructural asymmetry. What this means is clearly visible from an airplane today. But as early as the beginning of the 20th century, the famous traveler, scientist and writer V.K. Arseniev wrote: “Having climbed the Sikhote-Alin, I saw, as expected, a gentle slope to the west and a steep one to the east.” Because of this, the slopes of the channels are also different, the nature of the rivers in general, the erosive activity of the watercourses manifests itself with different intensity. In the east, the valleys of the upper reaches of the rivers are narrow, the current is fast, 2-3 m / s, there are many rocky rapids and small waterfalls - noisy and foamy cascades. Seething rifts alternate with stretches, where the current slows down to 0.2-0.3 m/s and the water acquires a greenish-blue color. Such, for example, is the Serebryanka River, which crosses the reserve almost in the middle.
Columba is the most big river in the reserve on the western macroslope. Even in its upper reaches, it does not look like a mountain stream. It does not seethe, does not foam, but more often forms extensive stretches with a smooth and calm smoky surface in shallow waters and a dark one in deep ones.
The mountains of the Sikhote-Alin in its protected part, although not too high (most of them lie in the altitude range of 500-800 m above sea level), are very complex and branched. Mountain ranges and spurs, valleys and valleys seem endless and countless. Several peaks rise above the total mass, exceeding the level of 1000 m: Snezhnaya mountain, Terneyskaya and Shanduiskaya hills. The highest point is Mount Glukhomanka, which reached 1598 m. So, the slopes of various steepness occupy about 80% of the area of the reserve.
The rest is river valleys. Especially widely, from several tens of meters to a kilometer or more, the banks part in the middle reaches of the rivers. The slopes here form 5-6 terraces. The same V.K. Arseniev, traveling through the Serebryanka valley, noted: “It is clear from the outcrops that these terraces are alluvial formations and consist of clay, silt and angular stones the size of a horse's head. There was a time when some forces created these terraces. Then suddenly there was peace. The terraces began to overgrow with forest, which is now more than two hundred years old.
What can compete in beauty with these giant green steps? Only landscapes of the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. The same densely green, but steep, 100-150 m high slopes are adjacent to rocky ridges of a ruined appearance, deep clefts and sheer cliffs under 300 m. The central part of the Abrek mountain range, which has risen to 626 m above sea level, stands out in particular. Only in the mouths of the rivers can one see swampy lowlands, bordered
sand shafts.
RARE AND MYSTERIOUS
If the river network of the reserve is very dense, then there are few lakes, but they are very different. In the coastal strip there are lagoon-type reservoirs. These are shallow sea bays, cut off from the sea by sand deposits (at river mouths) or as a result of shoreline uplift. Golubichnoye and Japanese lakes are completely isolated from the sea, and Blagodatnoe is connected to it by a channel during heavy rains.
Framed by oak groves, sparkling with a mirror surface, lurk among the ridges of the Sikhote-Alin six purest mountain Shandui lakes, located at an altitude of 500 m above sea level, in the upper reaches of the Solontsovoy stream. The name of these solonetzic lakes comes from the Shandui paleovolcano, which formed the terrain in ancient times. The largest - Tsarskoe - is fraught with a mystery. You can admire this reservoir of unusual, triangular shape only in autumn. Paradoxically, during the spring flood, the lake disappears, leaving a thin crust of ice at the bottom. The hollow is not filled in summer either. Only in autumn the water returns to its original place. In the nearby Lake Krugloye, the water level remains almost constant during autumn rains and during the period of rapid descent of water from the mountains in spring. The reasons for these different regimes have not yet been definitively established.
MOUNTAIN CONTRASTS
The temperature difference between the waters of the water area and earth's surface gives the climate of the reserve a monsoon character, expressed in a sharp change in wind direction depending on the time of year. In summer, the territory of the reserve is covered with monsoons from the sea, in winter, cold dry miners blow in the opposite direction. Monsoons bring wet air, and in summer months a low dense layer of clouds keeps over the coast. They envelop mountain ranges, fill the intermountain depressions and spill with heavy downpours. In total, 80-85% of the annual precipitation falls during the warm period. At the same time, the eastern slope receives almost twice as much rain as the western one.
But autumn is the best and most beautiful time of the year, generous with clear, sunny days. By the end of November, the ground and mountains are covered with snowdrifts. In winter it is frosty and windy here, but very clear, winter months in Primorye, the sunniest in Russia. However, on the eastern slope, the weather is always milder, because the sea is nearby. In the west it is usually colder and drier. Interestingly, within 100 km, the temperature can differ by 25 ° C!
In spring, on the contrary, the sea, which has cooled down during the winter, cools the air on the coast, there are fogs and drizzling rains. At the same time, the sun is already shining with might and main on the western macroslope.
AMONG THE SEA OF FORESTS
From a bird's eye view, the Sikhote-Alin Reserve is a forest sea stretching for many tens of kilometers, a taiga jungle abounding in rare species of vegetation. The territory of the reserve includes seven natural niches, depending on the height above sea level: coastal zone, coastal oak forests, cedar- broad-leaved, fir-spruce, stone-birch thickets of elfin cedar and mountain tundra.
The seaside, more southern, zone is replete with oak forests. Mongolian oak - here, as in the entire Far East, the most common broad-leaved tree. Outwardly, it does not look at all like the well-known oak of central Russia: five leaves with sharp carved edges are collected in a rosette, in the center of which there is a small acorn.
As we move deeper into the mainland, we find ourselves in a cedar-broad-leaved forest, then conifers conquer the space: Korean cedar, Ayan spruce, white fir. Under the crowns of powerful three-hundred-year-old cedars 25-30 m high, shrubs of rare species found shelter, among which there are medicinal ones: Manchurian aralia, eleutherococcus, Chinese magnolia vine. The undergrowth in early summer is full of outlandish flowers. On sprawling two-meter bushes of Korean abelia, a mass of delicate pale pink small, but very fragrant flowers blooms. Two-row lily raises its magnificent orange-red bouquets to a meter height. Only Palibin's pearl-silver edelweiss can argue with her in beauty. It is no coincidence that many poetic legends are associated with this symbol of mountains. The flower looks really amazing. The inflorescences-baskets themselves are small yellowish shaggy lumps, but they are surrounded by snow-white fluffy leaves that form silvery stars. A whole scattering of these gentle stars is a phenomenon extraordinary beauty. Ferns can surprise no less here. The common ostrich raises its funnels of carved large leaves by one and a half meters, the maidenhair spreads out in wide openwork circles, the sensitive onoklea bends its light green leaves in arches, and next to them, of course, is the cosmopolitan common bracken.
The unique flora of the Sikhote-Alin is rich in relic species. The spiky yew, Manchurian walnut, Amur velvet, Manchurian ash, elms, Japanese and lobed yew, high lure grow here, as they did 23 million years ago.
SIKHOTE-ALIN "FIKUS"
Many rare representatives of flora grow on the territory of the Sikhote-Alin Reserve, including those listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. One of them is Fori's rhododendron. In the early 1960s, geologists working in the central part of the reserve reported seeing ficus growing under the Sikhote-Alin pines. Botanists did not believe it, because it southern plant. Nevertheless, soon on the eastern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin, at the headwaters of the Serebryanka and Dzhigitovka rivers, under the canopy of cedar-spruce forests, they found thickets of a tree-like shrub that really resembled a ficus, 5-6 m high, with red-brown bark and dark green leathery leaves. This was the short-fruited rhododendron (Fori). The biosphere reserve is the only place in Russia where it grows. This evergreen plant is very decorative: beautiful caps of white inflorescences bloom every 2-3 years, during especially hot summers. In winter, its leaves droop and curl into a tube. Last year's fall in August next year.
RESIDENTS OF THE LOST WORLD
An important feature of the reserve is a mixture of animal species that are distant in their geographical origin: representatives of the northern and southern fauna coexist within the same ecosystem. But mixing is not easy. It is not at all easy for specialists to understand the various combinations that exist here. In some places, the ecosystems are precisely fused, in others they are arranged in stripes. In addition, the composition of the fauna depends on the relief and microclimate of each particular place.
On the coast of the Sea of Japan, you can meet spotted seals, or motley seals, and otters, which, under local conditions, have settled down not only in rivers, but also in the sea. In the waters of the Sea of Japan there are cetaceans: killer whale, minke whale, northern swimmer, common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin. Coastal cliffs are inhabited by white-belted swifts, funnel swallows, rock pigeons, Ussuri cormorants, and specially protected white-tailed eagles. The eagle owl also lives near the sea coast.
However, not for all the inhabitants of the coast, the most important condition is the proximity of the sea. For example, for a goral, the ruggedness of the relief, the presence of large rocky massifs, is of paramount importance. But along the Sikhote-Alin rivers, rocky outcrops do not form large massifs, and far from the rivers, rocky slopes are almost completely covered with forest and there is a lot of snow in winter. Therefore, the entire local population of gorals is concentrated on the seashore, where rocky cliffs and very steep slopes with many kilometers of jagged ridges provide a reliable refuge, there are many bright green lawns nearby that provide food, and in winter the sun and wind do not allow high snow cover to form. The most optimal conditions for gorals are on the Abrek massif. The strip of its rocks stretches for 10 km, the highest point is 626 m. Thus, the range of gorals is a narrow ribbon, and their population density is very high - about 225 animals per 10 square meters. km.
The life of the spotted deer and wild boar is connected with oak forests. Red deer and roe deer are attracted by Manchurian-type burnt areas - deciduous low forests with the participation of broad-leaved species. The forested banks of the rivers are suitable for nesting of two species of ducks: mandarin duck and scaly merganser. Moreover, on the western macroslope, the mandarin populates rivers almost everywhere, and on the eastern one, only the lower, calmer, current. The scaly merganser, on the other hand, prefers rivers flowing to the sea. The valley spruce forests and northern cedar forests are inhabited by musk deer, and sable also loves the dark coniferous taiga. There are brown and white-breasted bears in the taiga. The second prefers river valleys. Brown loves mari - sparse larch forests in sphagnum bogs. Elk, white hare, wolverine also live here. Heavily dissected mountain ranges and spurs with rocky ridges and narrow ravines, covered with dense forests, are the habitats of the lynx. The main predator of the reserve - the Amur tiger - in equally attract cedar forests covering mountain ranges and spurs, and valley forests. However, these animals prefer the slopes of southern exposure: there is always less snow, warmer and sunnier, much more likely to meet prey - wild boar or red deer.
And how many more forest birds and small mammals, which form the most unusual combinations in different micro-territories! This is an immense field of activity for scientists.
ANTI-STRESS FOR FOUR-LEGS
Sikhote-Alin is rich in natural solonetzes (formations of rock salt and other minerals in soil or water), which are of great importance for feeding rare animals living there. The deposits known in the Sikhote-Alin are located in the basin of the Columbe River, in the upper reaches of the Solontsovy and Shanduisky springs. Surprisingly, the vegetation, usually sensitive to soil salinity, feels no worse here than in other places. Salt and other minerals act on the surface of the soil under the influence of weathering and erosion of rocks. Animals gnaw and lick crystal formations. Another type of solonetz is formed in the beds of small, calmly flowing water sources saturated with salts and minerals. Moose, red deer, roe deer, spotted deer and even hares flock here in spring and autumn to feed along barely visible taiga paths. The water of salt licks includes sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium salts in its composition and therefore has a bluish tint. Mineral substances increase stress resistance of animals, improve metabolism, digestion.
Category: nature
The southern part of the Far East within the borders of the Russian Federation is a place of preservation of the most virgin and one of the largest zones, where amazing coniferous-deciduous forests grow. Due to the location of these protected areas on the path of settlement of flora and fauna, passing along the Asian coast Pacific Ocean from tropical to temperate latitudes, here is a plexus of diverse representatives of the southern and northern flora and fauna. The reserve is considered to be the last habitat of many rare species of plants and animals. There are over a thousand species of various plants, bird colonies number more than 350 species, while the number of mammals exceeds 70 species.
Separately, it should be said that the Central Sikhote-Alin is the last refuge for the endangered Amur tiger. Others also live here. rare species animals: white-breasted bear, black stork, black and Japanese crane, Amur goral, scaly merganser and many others.
Picturesque landscapes dotted with full-flowing rivers, combined with an outstanding variety of flora and fauna, the presence of exotic species of animals and plants, make the nature of Sikhote-Alin unique and unrepeatable. There are also many recreational objects here, such as: massifs of rocks surrounded by taiga, calm lakes, noisy waterfalls and river rapids, outlandish stone remnants, sandy bays on the coast of the Sea of Japan, reefs and other aesthetic elements of the local nature.
In 2001, the territory of the Central Sikhote-Alin was included in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List.
