Ritsa Strict Nature Reserve ( Georgian: რიწის დაცული ტერიტორია) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in the

Gudauta District Gudauta District is a district of Abkhazia, Georgia (country), Georgia's breakaway republic. It corresponds to the eponymous Administrative divisions of Georgia (country), Georgian district. Its capital is Gudauta, the town by the same name. The po ...

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

, in the country of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The reserve's main goal is to protect

Lake Ritsa __NOTOC__ Lake Ritsa ( ka, რიწა, tr; ) is a lake in the north-western part of Abkhazia, in the Caucasus Mountains. It is surrounded by mixed mountain forests and subalpine meadows. The road from the Black Sea coast was built in 1936. Th ...

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

History

The

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, 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 Abkhazia conflict is a territorial dispute over Abkhazia, a region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea in the South Caucasus, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The conflict involves Georgia, the Russian Federation a ...

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 The Government of the Republic of Abkhazia governs the International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partially recognised Republic of Abkhazia. Executive branch The Republic of Abkhazia is headed by the President of Abkhazia, Pres ...

, which created Ritsinsky Relic National Park in 1996.

Geography

Ritsa Strict Nature Reserve is located in the mountainous part of

in the southern part of the

Greater Caucasus range The Greater Caucasus, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains. It stretches for about from west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of th ...

, extending from the Ghegha River to the Pshchitsa River. The reserve's altitude ranges from above sea level (

Mount Agepsta Mount Agepsta (, , ''Agh'aphstha'') is a mountain in the Gagra Range of the Caucasus Mountains system located in Abkhazia, Georgia. The summit is above sea level in elevation. Ecology The slopes of Mount Agepsta, up to an elevation of , are fo ...

), 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 Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally descr ...

. There are several

waterfall A waterfall is any 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 seve ...

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 precipit ...

, 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 Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe, as well as Northwest Africa, and parts of Southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe'' ...

.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 only 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 foun ...

species, such as ''

Lilium kesselringianum ''Lilium kesselringianum'' is a large herbaceous member of the lily family. It is native to 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 on forest edges, ...

'', ''

Primula farinosa ''Primula farinosa'', the bird's-eye primrose, is a small perennial plant in the family Primulaceae, native to Northern Europe and further south at high altitudes in the mountains of southern Europe. It is also widespread in northern and central ...

'',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. Names and taxonomy It is also known by the names "zebuder," "zac" and ...

, the

rupicapra ''Rupicapra'' is a genus of two species of goat-antelope called chamois. They belong to the bovine family of hoofed mammals, the Bovidae. Taxonomy Two extant species are accepted. Description Both male and female have hook-shaped horns th ...

, 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 , cognate to Old Norse ''ra'', Old Saxon ''reho'', Middle Dutch and Dutch ''ree'', Old High ...

, 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 Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

, 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 (Spain, Portugal and Andorra) and southwestern France. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Oryctolagus''. The European rab ...

. 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 bird of pr ...

griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It is also known as the griffon vulture, although this term is sometimes used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confuse ...

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

common blackbird The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird. It breeds in Europ ...

great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a small 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 No ...

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 a ...

, Caucasian grouse,

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 long. This bird breeds in the Caucasus and the higher mountains of Turkey an ...

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

, and

common chaffinch The Eurasian chaffinch, 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 fema ...

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 parsley frog (''Pelodytes caucasicus'') is a species of frog in the family Pelodytidae. It is found in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, and possibly Armenia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, river ...

, the Caucasian toad, and the endemic

southern banded newt The southern banded newt (''Ommatotriton vittatus'') is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found in Armenia (Lori Province of northern Armenia), Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey Turkey, officially the R ...

Notes

References

{{authority control National parks of Georgia (country) Protected areas established in 1930 Geography of Abkhazia Territorial disputes of Georgia (country)

History

Geography

Flora

Fauna

See also

Notes

References