Kavkazsky

The Kavkazsky zapovednik was established in 1924 on the north-western slope of the Caucasus, between the republics of Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia and Krasnodar krai, and protects some 2,800 km² of mountain country. It is one of the most isolated protected areas in Russia: much of its territory can be reached only by helicopter, and there is only one established tourist route.

Its altitudinal gradient is enormous, from the beech and fir forests of the lower slopes to the subalpine and alpine meadows, the glacial cirques and the snow-covered summits. The flora is exceptionally rich for Europe, with a high degree of Caucasian endemism, and the fauna includes the Caucasian chamois, the tur, the Caucasian grouse and the brown bear.

The reserve is celebrated for the European bison. The Caucasian subspecies died out in the 1920s, shortly after the zapovednik was created, and from the 1940s onwards a reintroduction programme was undertaken here using animals of the lowland subspecies and hybrids, which has restored a free-living population in the massif. It is one of the oldest and most sustained wildlife recovery projects in Russia. Since 1979 the territory has formed part of the network of biosphere reserves under the MAB programme, and since 1998 it has been inscribed on the World Heritage List as the core of the natural property Western Caucasus.