, photo=File:Saiga visiting an artesian reservoir at the Stepnoi Nature Sanctuary.jpg, photo_width=300, map=Russia, relief=yes, location= Astrakhan Oblast, nearest_city=

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of ...

, coordinates=, websit
Official Reserve Webpage, in Russian
Stepnoi State Nature Sanctuary (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: государственный природный заказник "Степной") (also Stepnoy Nature Reserve) is a protected area located in Liman district of Astrakhan Oblast,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. The sanctuary was declared in 2000 to ensure maintenance of unique natural complex of

Stipa ''Stipa'' is a genus of around 300 large perennial hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, which also contains many species fo ...

steppe providing habitat for

saiga antelope The saiga antelope (, ''Saiga tatarica''), or saiga, is a critically endangered antelope which during antiquity inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe spanning the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the northwest and Caucasus in ...

(''Saiga tatarica tatarica'') and a number of other endangered species of animals and plants. The sanctuary covers an area of 109.4 thousands of hectares. The monitoring program started in 2004 showed that the sanctuary is an important territory for the survival of the critically endangered saiga antelope. Saigas inhabit the sanctuary and the nearby regions of Kalmykia throughout the year. Stepnoi sanctuary provides well-protected territory for both rut and calving of saigas. Several artesian wells within the sanctuary serve as waterholes and

mineral lick A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that farm ...

s for saiga. The role of these wells lacking human disturbance becomes especially important during the calving period when pregnant females and females with newborn calves are not able to move long distances. These waterholes are regularly visited by saiga antelopes from spring to late autumn. Stepnoi sanctuary also provides important habitat for many endangered and locally rare bird species such as

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 ...

(''Aquila nipalensis''),

eastern imperial eagle The eastern imperial eagle (''Aquila heliaca'') is a large bird of prey that breeds in southeastern Europe and extensively through West and Central Asia. Most populations are migratory and winter in northeastern Africa, the Middle East and South ...

(''Aquila heliaca''),

demoiselle crane The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and North Eastern China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Bird ...

(''Grus virgo''),

black-winged pratincole The black-winged pratincole (''Glareola nordmanni'') is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ''glarea'', "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species nam ...

(''Glareola nordmanni''),

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 South ...

(''Tetrax tetrax''), etc _.

References

{{reflist Nature reserves in Russia 2000 establishments in Russia Geography of Astrakhan Oblast

See also

References