The flora of the Askania Nova Nature Reserve. Askania Nova. Reserve

As a sheep-breeding colony of the Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen.

Biosphere Reserve Askania-Nova named after. F. E. Falz-Feina
Ukrainian Biosphere Reserve Askania-Nova im. F. E. Falz-Feina
IUCN Category - Ib (Wildlife Area)
basic information
Square	33,307.6 ha
Date of foundation	1874
Managing organization	National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine
Location
46°27′07″ n. w. 33°52′51″ E. d. HGIOL
A country
Nearest city	Armyansk and Kakhovka
Audio, photo and video on Wikimedia Commons

Description

The area of ​​the reserve is 33,307.6 hectares, of which 11,054 hectares are “absolutely reserved” steppe zone, that is, virgin territory that has never been touched by a plow. The Askanian steppe belongs to the fescue-feather grass type; it is the only virgin territory of this type in Europe. Feather grass is the most common plant in Askania-Nova, accounting for 75% of all vegetation. The dense grasses are home to at least 1,155 species of arthropods, 7 species of amphibians and reptiles, 18 species of mammals, different times More than 270 species of birds fly through each year, of which 107 species remain for nesting. In addition, 478 species of higher plants grow here. 13 species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine higher plants, 3 types of mushrooms and 4 lichens.

On the territory of Askania-Nova there is the Bolshoy Chapelsky Pod - a unique relief depression measuring 4 by 6 km, periodically filling melt water. He is listed in international list Ramsar Convention on the Protection of Wetlands.

Hydrophytes grow in the deepest part of the hearth, including the rarest species in Ukraine - Damasonium alisma Mill. (1768)- Starcarp alsaceus. This site recorded the highest diversity of flowering plants in the reserve - 368 species, including 53 endemic ones. 8 species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

On the territory of the Great Chapel Pod, wild ungulates from different continents are kept in conditions close to natural. Bison, saigas, European fallow deer, Przewalski's horse, Turkmen kulans, donkeys, red deer, sika deer, mouflons, and Bactrian camels live here all year round. In summer, watusi, eland, kaffir buffalo, wildebeest, nilgai, zebra and gayal are released here. In autumn, a large number of migratory birds gather in the center of the pod: different species of ducks, flocks of cranes, greylag geese, and waders.

Story

In 1841, the landowner named the area “Askania-Nova” after his family estate, Askania.

After the death of the Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, Askania-Nova was sold to the Falz-Fein family in 1856. Friedrich Falz-Fein founded a nature reserve on its territory. His deputy was Kliment Evdokimovich Siyanko, who was later awarded the title of Hero of Labor. In 1910, a zoo station was organized here, and in 1916, a department of the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy for sheep breeding was opened. A museum and scientific library were also created there. On April 25, 1914, the estate of Friedrich Falz-Fein was visited by Nicholas II, who at that time lived in Livadia. The result of this trip for F. E. Falz-Fein was the elevation of him and all his brothers to hereditary nobility, so much did the king like the establishment of the zoo in Askania-Nova.

The Askania Zoo was the first in the world to receive purebred Przewalski's horses (12 young horses were brought here in 1889-1904) and was the first to begin breeding them in captivity. The business was so successful that in the late 1970s, at the request of the Mongolian government, a small herd was sent from here to its ancestral home, the Gobi Desert, to restore this rare species of ungulates to nature.

The reserve was devastated and burned to the ground during the Nazi occupation of the USSR. The animals were taken to Germany, the rest were shot from small arms, including the most valuable specimens. The remaining animals were crushed by tanks right in the enclosures; the survivors managed to escape into the steppe. The reserve's museum, a collection of stuffed animals, a collection of insects were looted, a scientific library numbering 25 thousand volumes was burned, a rare herbarium was destroyed, which included up to 1 thousand species of plants. The botanical garden was completely destroyed and trampled. Mass executions were carried out on the territory of the reserve Soviet citizens and prisoners of war of the Red Army [ ] .

In 2008, Askania-Nova became the winner of the “Seven natural wonders Ukraine" [ ] .

In 2009, this biosphere reserve represented Ukraine in the World Competition “Seven New Wonders of Nature” (New 7 Wonders of Nature).

Famous scientists who worked in the reserve

In culture

• As a child, Askania-Nova was visited by Friedrich Falz-Fein’s nephew, Nikolai Nabokov, a future composer and cultural figure, cousin on the father of the Russian and American writer Vladimir Nabokov. Nikolai Nabokov described the Russian period of his life in his memoirs “ Baggage. Memoirs of a Russian cosmopolitan (undefined) (unavailable link). Archived March 24, 2014."New York, 1975. - Russian edition: St. Petersburg: “Zvezda”, 2003. - ISBN 5-94214-059-6.
• The film “An amazing story, similar to a fairy tale” was filmed in the Askania-Nova nature reserve.
• In Kira Muratova’s film “Hobbies”, the English population has been preserved in Askania-Nova.
• Bulletin of Zoology. Przewalski's horse (Equus Przewalskii Pol., 1881) problems of conservation and return to nature. - K., 1999, No. 11. - 240 p.
• News from the Biosphere Reserve “Askania-Nova” named after. F. E. Falz-Feina: Problems of environmental monitoring and conservation of biohazards. - Askania-Nova, 1998. - 148 p.
• News from the Biosphere Reserve “Askania-Nova” named after. F. E. Falz-Feina: Protection and preservation of rare species. - Askania-Nova, 2000. - 190 p.
• Gavrilenko V. S. Biosphere Reserve “Askania-Nova” im. F.Ye. Falz-Fein // In the book: Nature reserves and national parks of Ukraine. - K., 1999 - P. 14-20.
• Gavrilenko V. S., Drogobych N. E., Polishchuk I. K. Biota of the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve named after. F. E. Falz-Feina // Reservatia naturela “Codrii”, Simpozioului jubilar. - Lozova, 1996. - P. 129-132.
• Drogobych N. E. Askania Chronicle (1917-1996) // In the book: V. Falz-Fein “Askania-Nova”. - K.: Agrarian science. - 1997. - P. 340-347.
• Drohobych N. E. Friedrich Eduardovich Falz-Fein as public figure Tavria // Faltsfein’s readings ‘99. - Kherson, 1999. - P. 54-58.
• Polishchuk I.K. Rare species of reptiles and mammals of the Askania-Nova Nature Reserve. To the 100th anniversary of the reserved steppe. - Askania-Nova., 1998. - 15 p.
• Polishchuk I.K., Vedenkov E.P. Acclimatization steppe marmot in the Askania-Nova Nature Reserve // ​​Holarctic marmots as a factor of biodiversity. Abstracts of the III International Conf. on marmots (Russia, Cheboksary, August 25-30, 1997). - M.: ABF Publishing House, 1997. - P. 79-80.
• Semenov N.N., Reut Yu.A. Fauna of birds and mammals of the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve // ​​Scientific and Technical Bulletin. UNIZH "Askania-Nova". - Kherson, 1989, issue 1. - pp. 43-47.
• Proceedings of the Research Institute of Hybridization and Acclimatization of Animals Askania-Nova named after Acad. M. F. Ivanova, vol. 1-3, M., 1935-49.
• // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: in 66 volumes (65 volumes and 1 additional) / ch. ed. O. Yu. Schmidt. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1926-1947.

The Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve combines the natural steppes of the Kherson region and man-made parklands, home to more than a thousand indigenous animals and fauna from all corners of our planet. The flora of the reserve is no less colorful - in addition to local species, you can see plants from almost all over the world.

The history of Askania dates back to 1828, when German colonists decided to develop the steppes of Tavria. Until 1834, this place was called New Ketten, and in 1856 the Falz-Fein family acquired these lands and gave them the name Askania-Nova. Baron Friedrich Falz-Fein declared more than 600 hectares of the steppe as protected areas in order to preserve it in its original form for future generations. Prominent landowner, master sheep farmer and estate naturalist Askania-Nova The Taurida province already in those days created a stunning oasis in the arid steppes of Tavria - a zoo and dendrological park with artificial irrigation systems. Thanks to Falz-Fein, Ukraine received the base of a modern biosphere reserve, which has no analogues anywhere in Europe.
It all started with Friedrich’s youthful hobby - breeding birds in aviaries, which his father gave him for passing exams well. 15 years after graduating from the university, Falz-Fein Jr. founded a unique acclimatic park. After some time, he allocated a plot of virgin steppe of 500 acres and made it a reserve for all time. The reserve adjoined a forest park, behind which there were fenced-off areas of virgin steppe, where antelopes, bison, zebras, and ostriches, brought from all over the world, lived.
People considered these “non-commercial” acts of Friedrich Falz-Fein an eccentricity, but the world scientific community nicknamed him “Ascanian Darwin” and “the first ecologist.” His activities were actually impressive in their scale: having visited dozens of zoos and botanical gardens around the world, Friedrich mastered the most modern methods animal breeding, invited advanced scientific breeders to work together. Quite quickly, his zoo becomes the third private menagerie in Europe after London and Amsterdam: at the end of the 19th century, it included 208 species of birds and 52 species of ungulates - inhabitants open spaces Eurasia, Africa, America and Australia. Friedrich collected this collection over the course of 42 years, annually adding to its composition until 1916.

In 1919, Askania-Nova was declared a people's park, and then a state steppe reserve. In February 1921 it was declared a State Steppe Reserve; A steppe institute was created here, and active work was carried out to preserve endangered animal species.

Research Institute “Askania-Nova”

It was not without problems: the territory of the reserve was affected by the military actions of the Civil and Second World Wars, and after the latter it experienced an even greater threat - attempts by all sorts of departments to use the reserved lands for pastures or to plow them up. Nevertheless, the reserve survived and continued the work of F.E. Falz-Fein. Today, the oldest heir of the family is the nephew of the founder of the reserve - Baron Eduard Aleksandrovich Falz-Fein (b. 1912). Since 1936, he has been a subject of the Principality of Liechtenstein, where he still lives in the Askania-Nova villa, morally and financially supporting the reserve and restoring historical justice to his great relative.

The Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve is unique - it includes virgin feather grass-fescue steppe, zoological and dendrological parks. Its area is 33,307.6 hectares, 11,054 of which are the only section of steppe in Europe that has never been touched by a plow

The virgin steppes of the Kherson region (Big Chaplinsky Pod) are a plain, in the vastness of which one sometimes comes across peculiar depressions - the so-called “pods”. These areas retain moisture much better than the rest of the steppe, because in winter snow accumulates in them, and water also flows here. rainwater. The steppe climate is very arid, it rains extremely rarely, and only a few times a century “wet” years occur, and then the steppe expanses are covered with grass reaching the height of a man! But the rest of the time, the basis of the local flora is made up of drought-resistant grasses - feather grass and fescue.

Upon initial acquaintance, the vegetation of the steppe seems monotonous, but in fact here you can find more than 600 species of plants, including many rare representatives flora - for example, Schrenk's tulip, Scythian tulip and steppe almond.

The fauna of the protected steppe has retained its native fauna, with the exception of large species of mammals and birds. Open steppe pastures contain more than 1,000 ungulates of 30 species: zebras, Indian and African antelopes, South American camels, deer, llamas, Scottish ponies, Przewalski horses, American bison, saigas are the oldest ungulates, contemporaries of mammoths. Great amount small animals - mice, hamsters, jerboas. Predators include ferrets, foxes, weasels and stoats.

Also famous are the ancient stone statues - “women”, creations of Scythian sculptors, the purpose of which still remains unknown.

Askania-Nova, stone women

Bison and Eland antelope:

Kaffir buffaloes and red deer:

Blue Wildebeest:

Tarpans (Przewalski's horses) and zebras:

Watussi and their amazing horns:

Zoological Park Askania-Nova
The Askani Zoological Park began in the 70s of the 19th century. Active work on the creation of the zoo by F.E. Falz-Fein began in 1886. Preference was given to the inhabitants of open savannas, semi-deserts, and steppes. This tradition has been preserved in the zoo to this day. Now the collection of the Askania-Nova Zoo includes 34 species of mammals and 76 species of birds, which are kept in enclosures or on free pastures in large groups.

Zoological Park Gate

The zoo is divided into 2 parts - an aviary and a section of ungulates. The first birds greet visitors right at the entrance to the zoo - beautiful motley peacocks walk freely along the paths, fly into the enclosures of other birds and are absolutely not afraid of people.

The closed enclosures of the poultry house contain pheasants - royal, silver and even the famous Chinese golden one, downy hens and parrots.

Silver chicken and king pheasants:

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Budgerigars and lovebirds:

In spacious open-air enclosures with small artificial ponds, funny mandarin ducks, pochards and mallards swim, herons and cranes walk about; separate enclosures are allocated for African ostriches, rheas, emus and cassowaries.

The expanses of the artificial lake are home to large water birds - swans (mute, whooper and Australian black), a variety of geese, geese and even " fire birds" - flamingo. A little further away there are enclosures for birds of prey - eagles, vultures and kites.

In the ungulate section, oryxes and zebras, fallow deer and deer live in enclosures and spacious steppe pastures, as well as antelopes - eland, saiga, sitatung and the sacred Indian antelope Garna. Steep cliffs are built in the enclosures for mountain goats and sheep. South American llamas live next to bison, gaur, watussi and kaffir buffalo.

camels, Askania-Nova

Saiga is the same age as mammoths:

Gray Ukrainian cattle (ox):

It is interesting that the permanent place of residence of all ungulates is spacious paddocks in the open steppe; The animals in the zoo's enclosures change every few days.

The Askania-Nova State Dendrological Park was founded by F.E. Falz-Fein in 1887, its plantings reflect the achievements of park construction late XIX century and modern times.

It is unique in that it is the only artificially irrigated park in the steppe south of Ukraine, where there is no natural woody vegetation: narrow irrigation ditches lead to each tree and bush - in the dry climate of the Kherson steppe, plants could not survive without constant watering.

The first water tower of the irrigation system of the Askania-Nova arboretum was made in the form medieval castle. Currently located near her main entrance, which also imitates the architecture of the Middle Ages.

The area of ​​the Askania-Nova arboretum is about 200 hectares. It is laid out according to a strict plan, combining the styles of natural English and regular French parks, and is a forest park with artificial ponds and canals.

Landscapes have been created here that are as close as possible to natural forests, as well as many picturesque corners. The center of the park composition is a picturesque pond with an island in the middle and water lilies covering the mirror surface of the water, and a grotto rising on the shore of the pond.

About 1000 plant species grow in the park different forms- trees, shrubs and vines - with different continents of our planet, including the familiar oaks, hornbeams, maples and ash trees, junipers and fir trees, acacias and sophora, as well as about 30 species of various coniferous plants. There are exotic representatives of the world of flora here - for example, ginkgo biloba (whose homeland is China) and tulip tree ( North America).

There is also a spreading hundred-year-old hornbeam - one of the few trees that has survived from the founding of the park.

Original article on LifeGlobe.net

Well-known national reserve Ukraine is the only corner of the fescue-feather grass steppe in Europe that has never been touched by a plow. A zoo has been created here, where birds and animals from almost all countries of the world are collected. Wild animals are kept in freedom or semi-captivity. Most The territory is occupied by a picturesque botanical park with numerous artificial lakes and ponds, in which trees and shrubs grow in all climatic zones of the earth.

A unique island of nature on the land of ancient Tavria! The Askania Nova reserve differs from other reserves in that on its territory, in addition to local, aboriginal, steppe species wild fauna, many rare animals brought not only from Europe and Asia, but from Africa, Australia and America have taken root well. Here, in the vast enclosures of the zoo with an area of ​​30 square meters. km, zebras and antelopes, bison and buffalos, deer and wild horses are kept in semi-free conditions - in total more than 1000 animals of 40 and hybrid forms. These “guests” of the Askanian steppe have long felt at home in spacious enclosures.

The reserve's unique zoo contains a unique collection of animals. Zebras, South American camels, Indian and African antelopes, deer, ostriches. Llamas, Scottish ponies, wild horses - tarpans (Przivalsky's horse), American bison, Kaffir buffaloes graze in the steppe; Saigas are the oldest ungulates, the same age as mammoths. There are many small animals: mice, hamsters, and there are also jerboas. Predators include ferrets, foxes, weasels, and stoats.

Reserved steppe

Askania-Nova is called a steppe oasis, a green island, and the pearl of the Sivash region. And not without reason. From Zaporozhye to Sivash along the meridian and from Melitopol to Kherson along the parallels, a monotonous treeless plain stretches. In its center, the Askanian reserved fescue-feather grass steppe and eighty-year-old parks truly look like an oasis among the endless arable lands of southern Ukrainian collective and state farms.

On the low hills, far from each other, the silhouettes of stone sculptures called “women” darken. These are the road signs that have survived to this day. ancient people- Polovtsy. Steppe eagles sometimes perch on the statues, whose nests with eaglets covered with white down can be found right on the ground in June. Larks sing incessantly in the sky, and from time to time you can hear the whistling of a gopher... In the old days, along the entire left bank of the lower Dnieper, virgin steppe stretched all the way to the Sea of ​​Azov and Sivash. The area through which the Chumatsky “roads” stretched was uninhabited. And now there is plowing and paved roads everywhere. Only at a crossroads, closer to its allocation for protection, was the beginning of the conservation work in Askania-Nova.

Finally, the entire territory of the large Chapel Pod with an area of ​​2.4 thousand hectares is virgin land. From the north it adjoins the village of Askania-Nova and is allocated mainly for grazing ungulates of the Askania “oological park”. These three, one might say, patches of virgin soil that survived the plowing, making up an area of ​​about 10 thousand hectares together, are the Askanian steppe reserve. If we consider that such steppes no longer exist on earth and the virgin lands preserved in Askania-Nova are a living museum of the past of one of the regions of our planet, then the enormous scientific and cultural value of this reserve becomes obvious. The predominant vegetation of the virgin steppes is turf grasses, among which the most abundantly growing fescue, feathery feather grass, feather grass, tyrsa, steppe sedge, caperia, etc. In years with significant humidity, when temporary flooding is observed spring waters, there is a strong development of foxtail, sedges, and in some places umbrella sage, butterwort, etc. In dry years, milkweed and wheatgrass predominate in the hearth, and the worst weed of the fields, bittergrass, appears.

Due to cold springs, steppe vegetation develops slowly and dries out quickly already in mid-summer. In the warm and humid autumn, the virgin carpet is often enlivened again by green shoots. The steppe is beautiful in all seasons! In spring it is covered with tulips, irises and many bright and variegated primroses, generously scattered over the bright green carpet of germinating cereals. And by the end of May it is completely agitated by panicles of tyrsa, fescue and feathery feather grass.

Steppe fauna

In autumn, the steppe is red and gray, like the back of a brown hare that has faded for winter. Hares were found here in abundance, but they were exterminated in last decades mercilessly. As a result, there are few hares left. Previously, the southern Ukrainian steppe was densely populated by little bustard, demoiselle crane, and bustard, but they too have become very rare. Only on flights do you sometimes see them? large flocks.

The establishment of a nature reserve helps restore the number of valuable animals and birds characteristic of this region.

In these steppes, boibaks were also completely exterminated. Only the mounds near the former homes of these rodents, the so-called marmots, testify to this with silent reproach. Steppe eagles still like to nest on these hills. These birds feed mainly on ground squirrels and are therefore protected as beneficial. IN Lately we have to protect them as rare, large and beautiful feathered predators. The eaglets taken from the nests are successfully raised in the Askania Zoo. It is even possible to obtain offspring from these birds in captivity. Demoiselle cranes and bustards are permanently kept at the zoo. However, they never bred offspring there. In the steppe, they are numerous only during migration and are only occasionally found here for nesting. Of the birds of prey in the zoo, small falcons and kestrels, which are very useful in agriculture, usually nest in the zoo, as well as steppe and field harriers.

Kites, white-tailed eagle and others fly in. Five species of larks, quail, gray partridge and more than ten species of other birds nest in the steppe. About 200 species of birds are found on spring and autumn migrations.

Many of them arrive here in huge flocks and sometimes stay for a long time. The bird world is especially rich and diverse during the years of natural flooding of the Chapel Pod. This is observed approximately every 10 years, when a friendly spring comes after a snowy winter. In this regard, the huge bowl, several kilometers in diameter and several meters deep, is filled with spring waters and, thanks to the significant density of the bottom soils, remains waterlogged and swampy for almost two years. Then a lot of waterfowl and wading birds gather in the pod. In normal years, they are found only in the floodplain of the Dnieper and Sivashi. The flood is a stopover for many migrating ducks, geese, waders, gulls, terns, herons and other water-loving birds.

But after a year or two, the water in the hearth dries out completely and for several years it becomes not a particularly rich pasture for ungulates. In normal dry years, the vegetation here is dominated by wheatgrass and cornflower, and in wet years - foxtail, sedge, parasol, watercress and others. Some measures have long been taken to regulate bottom floods by installing absorption wells and special depressions or dams. IN soon a permanent reservoir with an area of ​​up to 200 hectares with forested islands will be created in the Chapel Pod. The reservoir will be supplied with water through the Chapel branch of the Krasno-Znamensky irrigation canal. Special reclamation devices will ensure water discharge during flood years.

Currently, the steppe is inhabited by: fox, polecat, weasel, small rodents - voles and larger ones - gophers and jerboas, as well as hedgehogs, snakes, rather poisonous steppe vipers, yellow-bellied snakes, lizards and many different insects.

Wolves have been exterminated everywhere. The last wolf was killed near Askania-Nova in 1954. The raccoon dog, acclimatized in the south of Ukraine, rarely visits, sticking to the floodplains of the Dnieper and Sivash, where it finds more food.

Previously found in the southern steppe of Ukraine, the ancestor of gray Ukrainian cattle, the aurochs, was partially exterminated and partially forced into forest areas. Here it was soon completely destroyed. The same fate befell the wild horse - Tarpana. Large herds of it were found in the steppes of left-bank Ukraine at the beginning of the 19th century, and in the 70s, in the Askania-Nova area (Agaimansky district), the last mare of this species was killed. In the middle of the 16th century, in the steppes of Ukraine, a wild European bull was still encountered - the bison, which then, like the aurochs, was almost completely exterminated. The red deer has also been pushed into the area of ​​the Crimean Mountains. And these beauties roamed here in herds until the beginning of the 18th century. TO early XIX century, the saiga antelope was completely exterminated in Ukraine. Attempts to restore the disappeared boibak, undertaken in Askania-Nova in the 30-40s of the 20th century, were unsuccessful, although in 1946 more than 100 of these animals lived in the steppe, multiplying from a small number of imported animals. But at present there are none left. Under conditions of more reliable protection of the reserve, it is possible to repeat experiments on the re-acclimatization of the bobak, which is what is being done at present. For more than 70 years, they tried to breed saiga in the Askania Zoo in penned conditions on an area of ​​​​about 100 hectares of virgin steppe. However, this came to nothing.

At the Askani Zoo

In Askania-Nova there are currently herds of purebred and hybrid bison numbering more than three dozen. There are also up to a dozen species of other bulls, including the Tibetan yak, gayal, banteng, Asian and African buffalo. With the exception of buffaloes, they are all interbred in various combinations. Thanks to this, 15 hybrid forms have been bred here, which are of great scientific and economic interest. And only buffaloes did not produce a single hybrid, not only with other bulls, but also when Asian and African species mated with each other.

Hybrids of large cattle with zebu, gayal, yak, bison and African Watussi cattle. This latter was first brought to the USSR in 1958 only in Askania-Nova. Here, numerous purebred and hybrid offspring with very economically interesting qualities were obtained from him. A herd of these animals grazes in the open steppe. African, or Kaffir, buffaloes were also brought into our country for the first time in 1962, only in Askania-Nova, where they already gave birth to offspring.

In Askania-Nova, a special, stable crossbred form of red deer, well adapted to steppe living conditions, was bred, now called the Askanian steppe deer.

Free grazing of a large herd of deer in the open Askanian steppe ensures high fertility of animals, their good growth and development. Thanks to this, in the post-war years, in a number of reserves and hunting farms in Ukraine and Moldova, centers of free reindeer acclimatization were established due to the livestock accumulated in Askania-Nova. Thus, only 19 of these deer were brought to the virgin steppe island of Biryuchiy on the Sea of ​​Azov from Askania-Nova. They have already multiplied to 800 individuals. Their numbers are now increasing, so that this island itself has now become a supplier of deer. Ascanian steppe deer have also taken root and multiplied in Moldova. In the Askani herd of these deer, their number is constantly maintained within 100 animals. Sika deer and European fallow deer are also successfully bred here, and the free grazing of deer outside fences, developed in Askania-Nova, is now accepted in the reindeer herding state farms of the Far East and Altai.

Thus, in the virgin steppes of Askania-Nova, which were empty until the end of the last century, herds of wild Przewalski horses, bison and other bulls now graze. Herds of Askanian red and other deer were created here specifically for these steppe lands.

These animals do not need insulated winter quarters and can winter, as they say, under open air, using specially constructed canopies in bad weather and transported for them to winter time feeding in the form of hay and concentrates. In the summer, they live in the steppe all the time and need only watering places, which are built for them not far from the pastures.

The pens and enclosures of the Askani Zoo are also filled with various smaller ungulates. These are wild sheep and goats. Among them are the European mouflon and its Asian relative urial, the African maned sheep, the Central Asian marking goats and the Siberian ibex. There are also Central American and European wild boars.

In 1964, a young male bighorn sheep arrived for the first time in Askania-Nova from the mountainous Kamchatka. Currently, he has already reached the age of three and is being used in hybridization experiments with domestic sheep. It can be assumed that such hybridization will contribute to the advancement of sheep breeding to the Far North.

One-humped and two-humped Asian camels interbreed freely and produce fertile hybrids in Askania-Nova. There are two species of South American camels kept here: the long-domesticated llama-glama and the wild form - the guanaco. Hybrids of these species, obtained in large numbers in Askania-Nova, are also fertile. The most interesting among the Ascanian ungulates are antelopes.

Very stable reproduction took place in Askania Nova among such medium-sized African antelopes as the white-fronted hartebeest, beiza and wildebeest, or the small but exceptionally beautiful Indian garna antelope. Especially great success had in reproduction the largest, so-called bull-shaped, Indian and African antelopes: nilgai, striped wildebeest and eland. For example, from 15 Indian nilgai antelopes brought to Askania-Nova in 1893-1961, a local offspring of 265 individuals was obtained. Such fertility (nilgai often give birth to twins) and good survival rate ensure a constant increase in the Askani herd of nilgai and the transfer of these antelopes to domestic and foreign zoos. Blue wildebeest also survives well and reproduces in Askania-Nova. Thus, from just 7 animals brought here, offspring in a number of generations numbering more than 200 individuals were obtained. However, the crown of all work on the acclimatization of ungulates in Askania-Nova was the results of experiments on the domestication of the eland antelope. The African bull eland lives in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of Zambia, Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, as well as in the countries of South Africa, South West Africa and Angola. Due to the protection of territories that are part of the so-called national parks of Africa, where the hunting of animals is strictly controlled, the number of these antelopes is maintained. In addition, attempts are already being made in Africa to create special fenced areas for canna breeding. Eland was brought to Askania-Nova in 1892. Here in 1896 the first offspring was obtained. More than 400 cannyata were born from these antelopes. Currently, Askania-Nova maintains a herd of about 50 eland.

Eland is a herd animal with a surprisingly even, calm and affectionate disposition. This allows these antelopes to be grazed in the open Askanian steppe with the same ease as domestic cows. The fertility of Askanian elands is almost the same as that of domestic cows. Each female gives birth to a cub every year. The eland is a large and powerful animal, more similar to a bull than to most other antelopes. The weight of male eland in Askania-Nova reaches 700 kg, females - 500 kg. Eland meat is exceptionally tasty and nutritious; the skin is a good raw material for making durable leather. Not so long ago, milking of these antelopes began for the first time in Askania-Nova. One female produces up to 600 liters of milk per year. It is tasty (with a slight almond flavor) and nutritious, containing 12% fat and twice as much protein as cow's milk. Moreover, in last years It has been established that canna milk has healing properties. They sometimes manage to cure gastrointestinal and skin diseases. The world's first productive eland antelope farm is being created in Askania-Nova.

Ungulate mammals began to be brought to Askania-Nova in 1887. Over the course of 80 years, more than 800 animals - 70 species - were imported. The breeding of ungulates began in 1891. To date, about 4 thousand heads have been produced of both purebred and hybrid offspring. There were 900 heads of young animals in pre-revolutionary times, 1,100 before the Great Patriotic War, and about 2,000 now.

This made it possible to transfer more than 1,000 ungulates to zoos in our country and a number of foreign countries and to establish 20 centers of free acclimatization of game species in Ukraine, Moldova and other republics. The sale of animals from Askania-Nova began in 1894, and until 1917 only 90 individuals were transferred, before the Great Patriotic War - 311 and in the post-war years - about 700. Of the 20 centers of free acclimatization of deer and fallow deer established by Askania-Nova, only three were created in pre-war years, and the rest - since 1948. For this purpose, 142 sika deer, 35 red deer and 45 fallow deer were exported from Askania-Nova.

In recent years, the number of wild ungulates in Askania-Nova has been maintained at 600 individuals, more than 50 species. With the expansion of the paddock area and the construction of wintering facilities for heat-loving animals, their population will be doubled and significantly increased over the next five years. species composition. The total number of wild ungulates in Askania-Nova reached a maximum of 244 individuals in 1915, and in 1941 it was 318 animals. During the war, 60% of the population was lost, so that by the beginning of 1944, only 134 ungulates, 19 species, remained in Askania-Nova.

The greatest value is, of course, the herds of wild horses and zebras, bison, antelope, and deer that multiply at the expense of local offspring. These animals, adapting to local conditions, change some of their characteristics over a number of generations. In other words, they acclimatize in Askania-Nova and therefore also serve as a most valuable object for studying the patterns of influence of environmental conditions on the body. The practical value of such animal breeding as in culturally, and in economics is obvious.

Sightseers and tourists in Askania-Nova will see herds of wild animals brought from various latitudes, continents and landscape-geographical zones in the wild: huge bison, slender deer, striped motley zebras, exotic antelopes, llamas and others.

Ornithopark

Birds specially imported to Askania-Nova are also of considerable interest. And there were more than 200 species of such birds. Many of them were kept in captivity, in enclosures or in parks and ponds, with their wings clipped. Some species of introduced birds gradually became part of the local bird population, living in complete freedom.

Of greatest interest are those birds brought to Askania-Nova that bred here and left offspring. There are now 96 species belonging to 13 orders. However, only 22 species of birds belonging to six orders nested in Askania-Nova regularly for a long time, bringing significant offspring annually. In the clearings of the parks, especially in the morning or towards the end of the day, you can see motley males and speckled female pheasants. By crossing a number of subspecies of the common pheasant, including the Caucasian, Semirechensky, Ussuri and others, a local cross-bred form was bred in Askania-Nova, distinguished by new, comparatively persistent signs. In parks, in the adjacent steppe and in fields, pheasants find enough food, eating many insects, snails, worms, as well as seeds, shoots, fruits and berries. And only with complete snow cover birds gather in parks. Here they spend the night in trees and use special feeding in the form of grain waste, which is regularly poured out in permanent places with shelters such as huts. In total, Askania-Nova contained about 40 species of land birds.

The imported birds that regularly nest in Askania-Nova include the coot and 12 species of waterfowl. These include two species of swans - whooper and mute, four species of geese - grey, white-fronted, mountain and bean goose, Canada goose and five species of ducks - ogre, mallard, Carolina, mandarin and musky. They constitute the main core of birds inhabiting Askanian ponds and artificial swamps.

During nesting, especially at the beginning of the season, in the spring, male whoopers are very pugnacious. In winter they are quieter. Mute swans are more graceful and graceful than whooper swans. But you won’t hear the notorious “swan song” from them. The whoopers trumpet, and the mutes only wheeze. Mute swans have been bred in Askania-Nova since 1893. They always form a characteristic detail of the Askanian landscape with a pond. In total, there are 18 species of geese and geese in Askania-Nova. Most of the imported geese begin to breed here. However, according to various reasons they don't reach large quantity and only some species, such as the gray goose, noticeably progress in their numbers.

The Askani ornithopark contained 34 species of ducks. The number of mallards on Askani ponds has been maintained at 500 individuals throughout the post-war period. Approximately the same number of these birds are hatched here every year and almost the same number, if not caught, fly away forever or, as ornithologists say, “abmigrate.” Apparently, the Askani ponds are populated with mallards “to capacity” and they will move to new lands - in the region of virgin lands: Western Siberia and northern Kazakhstan. Thus, the hunting grounds are enriched due to the Askanian ornithopark.

The mallard, like the sardine, nests here mainly in duck houses, occupying more than a hundred such nesting boxes every year. But in Askania-Nova there is also a population of mallards, nesting, as usual, in nature, on hummocks, reed heaps and, finally, just on the ground. Many such nests can be found at the end of March, in April, in May and even until mid-June in the swampy dam and in the humid territory adjacent to the Chapel Pod ornithopark.

By winter, all mallards, like other ducks, as well as swan geese, gather in the central deep-water pond of the zoo. Here, regularly, twice a day, they are fed barley shit, which is poured into troughs placed along the banks. Large flocks of birds gather near these troughs.

The Muscovy duck is kept in the zoo as a pet duck. It has already been domesticated in many places. This large birds, males weigh about 3.5 kg, and females weigh about 2 kg, which are easy to breed and profitable to fatten. Experiments on hybridization of Muscovy ducks with domestic ducks conducted in Askania-Nova showed that it is more profitable to fatten hybrids. They grow quickly and in terms of live weight are noticeably superior to their peers among the original forms. True, these hybrids are sterile, so they have to be bred anew each time, and the fattened ones are killed for meat. In addition, about 20 different duck hybrids were obtained in Askania-Nova, including the well-known prolific crosses of mallards and domestic ducks. They are used as decoys to attract mallard drakes during spring hunting.

Botanical Garden

In addition to the virgin steppe and the zoological park with its rich and diverse fauna, the most valuable integral part Askania-Nova is a botanical garden. It is separated from the zoo only by an alley street. From the south, the garden adjoins the nearest area of ​​protected virgin steppe. A zone of gradual transition from steppe to forest-steppe, planted with drought-resistant shrubs and groups of trees, has been created here. The total area of ​​the botanical park with transition and protective zones reaches 68 hectares. It is laid out in the plan of individual curtains and massifs, interspersed with clearings. In the center of the park is a small picturesque pond. Labyrinths of shady alleys. Fountains. A grotto and artificial slides, as well as constantly babbling irrigation streams flowing in various directions from a vine-covered water tower built in the style of medieval castles. All this makes a very favorable impression, which is further enhanced by the sharp contrast with the surrounding steppe.

The plantings are dominated by common ash, white acacia, smooth elm, western hackberry, western thuja, pedunculate oak, juniper... Herbaceous vegetation in the parks, in contrast to the surrounding steppes, is characterized by the presence of such meadow and forest species, like awnless brome, meadow bluegrass, hedgehog grass, hare barley, lemon balm, dead nettle, celandine, china. They grow luxuriantly in the meadows of parks. And on the soil of forest clumps and massifs fertilized with leaves, lilies of the valley, violets, red-nose flowers, periwinkles, snowdrops, scillas grow... In the place of today's parks, about 80 years ago, only the lush feather grass-fescue steppe was disturbed. The park was populated by songbirds mainly at the beginning of the 20th century. The grown tree and shrub plantations were already sufficiently irrigated and watered. Common nesting birds include: cuckoo, oriole, greenfinch, linnet, black-headed bunting, tits, shrikes, flycatchers, warblers, nightingales and other beautiful songbirds.

And in the spring, almost the whole of May, Askania-Nova is buried in lilacs, in snow-white jasmine, acacia... Under the canopy of oak forests and conifers, lilies of the valley open in the damp twilight, and the edges are covered with periwinkle and violets. In the parks, the hubbub and chirping of birds never ceases, day or night. During the day you can hear cooing, at night - nightingale trills. A bare, almost treeless plain stretches for hundreds of kilometers. In the Askanian parks you can even hear the mating of black grouse, which, of course, was brought here. The draft of woodcocks is a common phenomenon here. A raven nests in the botanical park, and at times a steppe eagle. During migration and wintering, many birds of prey are found, including hawks, buzzards, harriers, falcons and even a white-tailed eagle. Woodpeckers, pikas, various tits, thrushes, waxwings winter in the parks...

All these are free-living wild birds or, as experts say, the local avifauna of the transformed land - a forest island in the Sivash steppe. In total, there are 259 species of birds in the wild in Askanpi-Nova, belonging to 22 orders, including 85 nesting species, 70 wintering species, and the rest on spring and autumn migrations.

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The Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve combines the natural steppes of the Kherson region and man-made parklands, home to more than a thousand indigenous animals and fauna from all corners of our planet. The flora of the reserve is no less colorful - in addition to local species, you can see plants from almost all over the world.

The history of Askania dates back to 1828, when German colonists decided to develop the steppes of Tavria. Until 1834, this place was called New Ketten, and in 1856 the Falz-Fein family acquired these lands and gave them the name Askania-Nova. Baron Friedrich Falz-Fein declared more than 600 hectares of the steppe as protected areas in order to preserve it in its original form for future generations. Prominent landowner, master sheep farmer and estate naturalist Askania-Nova The Taurida province already in those days created a stunning oasis in the arid steppes of Tavria - a zoo and dendrological park with artificial irrigation systems. Thanks to Falz-Fein, Ukraine received the base of a modern biosphere reserve, which has no analogues anywhere in Europe.
It all started with Friedrich’s youthful hobby - breeding birds in aviaries, which his father gave him for passing exams well. 15 years after graduating from the university, Falz-Fein Jr. founded a unique acclimatic park. After some time, he allocated a plot of virgin steppe of 500 acres and made it a reserve for all time. The reserve adjoined a forest park, behind which there were fenced-off areas of virgin steppe, where antelopes, bison, zebras, and ostriches, brought from all over the world, lived.
People considered these “non-commercial” acts of Friedrich Falz-Fein an eccentricity, but the world scientific community nicknamed him “Ascanian Darwin” and “the first ecologist.” His activities were truly impressive in their scale: having visited dozens of zoos and botanical gardens around the world, Friedrich mastered the most modern methods of breeding animals and invited advanced scientific breeders to work together. Quite quickly, his zoo becomes the third private menagerie in Europe after London and Amsterdam: at the end of the 19th century, it included 208 species of birds and 52 species of ungulates - inhabitants of the open spaces of Eurasia, Africa, America and Australia. Friedrich collected this collection over the course of 42 years, annually adding to its composition until 1916.

In 1919, Askania-Nova was declared a people's park, and then a state steppe reserve. In February 1921 it was declared a State Steppe Reserve; A steppe institute was created here, and active work was carried out to preserve endangered animal species.

Research Institute “Askania-Nova”

It was not without problems: the territory of the reserve was affected by the military actions of the Civil and Second World Wars, and after the latter it experienced an even greater threat - attempts by all sorts of departments to use the reserved lands for pastures or to plow them up. Nevertheless, the reserve survived and continued the work of F.E. Falz-Fein. Today, the oldest heir of the family is the nephew of the founder of the reserve - Baron Eduard Aleksandrovich Falz-Fein (b. 1912). Since 1936, he has been a subject of the Principality of Liechtenstein, where he still lives in the Askania-Nova villa, morally and financially supporting the reserve and restoring historical justice to his great relative.

The Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve is unique - it includes virgin feather grass-fescue steppe, zoological and dendrological parks. Its area is 33,307.6 hectares, 11,054 of which are the only section of steppe in Europe that has never been touched by a plow

The virgin steppes of the Kherson region (Big Chaplinsky Pod) are a plain, in the vastness of which one sometimes comes across peculiar depressions - the so-called “pods”. These areas retain moisture much better than the rest of the steppe, because in winter snow accumulates in them, and rainwater also flows here. The steppe climate is very arid, it rains extremely rarely, and only a few times a century “wet” years occur, and then the steppe expanses are covered with grass reaching the height of a man! But the rest of the time, the basis of the local flora is made up of drought-resistant grasses - feather grass and fescue.

Upon initial acquaintance, the vegetation of the steppe seems monotonous, but in fact, more than 600 species of plants can be found here, including many rare representatives of the flora - for example, Schrenk's tulip, Scythian tulip and steppe almond.

The fauna of the protected steppe has retained its native fauna, with the exception of large species of mammals and birds. The open steppe pastures contain more than 1,000 ungulates of 30 species: zebras, Indian and African antelopes, South American camels, deer, llamas, Scottish ponies, Przewalski's horses, American bison, saigas - the oldest ungulates, contemporaries of mammoths. A huge number of small animals - mice, hamsters, jerboas. Predators include ferrets, foxes, weasels and stoats.

Also famous are the ancient stone statues - “women”, creations of Scythian sculptors, the purpose of which still remains unknown.

Askania-Nova, stone women

Bison and Eland antelope:

Kaffir buffalo and red deer:

Blue Wildebeest:

Tarpans (Przewalski's horses) and zebras:

Watussi and their amazing horns:

Zoological Park Askania-Nova
The Askani Zoological Park began in the 70s of the 19th century. Active work on the creation of the zoo by F.E. Falz-Fein began in 1886. Preference was given to the inhabitants of open savannas, semi-deserts, and steppes. This tradition has been preserved in the zoo to this day. Now the collection of the Askania-Nova Zoo includes 34 species of mammals and 76 species of birds, which are kept in enclosures or on free pastures in large groups.

Zoological Park Gate

The zoo is divided into 2 parts - an aviary and a section of ungulates. The first birds greet visitors right at the entrance to the zoo - beautiful motley peacocks walk freely along the paths, fly into the enclosures of other birds and are absolutely not afraid of people.

The closed enclosures of the poultry house contain pheasants - royal, silver and even the famous Chinese golden one, downy hens and parrots.

Silver chicken and king pheasants:

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Budgerigars and lovebirds:

In spacious open-air enclosures with small artificial ponds, funny mandarin ducks, pochards and mallards swim, herons and cranes walk about; separate enclosures are allocated for African ostriches, rheas, emus and cassowaries.

The expanses of the artificial lake are home to large water birds - swans (mute, whooper and Australian black), a variety of geese, geese and even “fire birds” - flamingos. A little further away there are enclosures for birds of prey - eagles, vultures and kites.

The Askania-Nova State Dendrological Park was founded by F.E. Falz-Fein in 1887; its plantings reflect the achievements of park construction at the end of the 19th century and today.

It is unique in that it is the only artificially irrigated park in the steppe south of Ukraine, where there is no natural woody vegetation: narrow irrigation ditches lead to each tree and bush - in the dry climate of the Kherson steppe, plants could not survive without constant watering.

The first water tower of the irrigation system of the Askania-Nova arboretum was designed in the form of a medieval castle. Currently, the main entrance is located near it, which also imitates the architecture of the Middle Ages.

The area of ​​the Askania-Nova arboretum is about 200 hectares. It is laid out according to a strict plan, combining the styles of natural English and regular French parks, and is a forest park with artificial ponds and canals.

Landscapes have been created here that are as close as possible to natural forests, as well as many picturesque corners. The center of the park composition is a picturesque pond with an island in the middle and water lilies covering the mirror surface of the water, and a grotto rising on the shore of the pond.

The park is home to about 1000 species of plants of different shapes - trees, shrubs and vines - from different continents of our planet, including the familiar oaks, hornbeams, maples and ash trees, junipers and fir trees, acacias and sophora, as well as about 30 species of various conifers plants. There are exotic representatives of the flora world here - for example, ginkgo biloba (whose homeland is China) and tulip tree (North America).

There is also a spreading hundred-year-old hornbeam - one of the few trees that has survived from the founding of the park.

Askania Nova is a biosphere reserve. There are also nature reserves. Both are created and work as forms of conservation of certain areas of nature. The difference between them is legal regime, so biospheres are created on the basis of natural reserves and are institutions international level. The decision to assign the status of a biosphere reserve, a kind of quality mark, is made by UNESCO.
The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program, which began to create biosphere reserves, was introduced in 1973.
The World Network of Biosphere Reserves today includes more than five hundred reserves in 105 countries. (See their list)


Ukraine in this list is represented by Askania-Nova and 3 more reserves: Black Sea, Carpathian, Danube. Askania-Nova was included in this list in 1985.
The reserve complex occupies an area of ​​33397.6 hectares. Includes lands of feather grass-fescue steppe and an arboretum.

Askania-Nova. History of formation

In 1826, Duke Ferdinand Friedrich von Anhalt-Köthen, in response to his request, by Decree of the Russian Tsar, was allocated fifty acres of land in southern Russia (now Ukraine). New Askania received its name from the county of Askania in Europe, where the count’s parents lived. The Duke organized a colony here to develop sheep breeding. After his death, the lands of Askania Nova and the estate came into the possession of Baron Friedrich von Falz-Fein.
History milestones:
in 1874 - established;
in 1887 - a botanical garden;
Tsar Nicholas II visited here in 1914;
in 1921, Askania-Nova was declared a nature reserve;
in 1956 the reserve was transferred to the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine;
in 1985, Askania-Nova was included in the international network of biosphere reserves.

Dendrological park

The creation of an arboretum in the Tauride steppe was completed by 1893. About 10 thousand green spaces of different climatic zones (trees and shrubs) were planted here. An irrigation system was created. In 1899, at an exhibition in Paris, the arboretum was awarded a gold medal as a building of landscape architecture.

The unplowed steppe is the main value of the reserve. In the reference area of ​​the arid Azov steppe, 452 species of flowering plants are found. The park has a well-thought-out irrigation system with a network of ponds, and even in the driest summers, the greenery of the park remains blooming.

Man-made ponds and canals have been inhabited by wild birds. Askania-Nova is visited annually by hundreds of thousands of tourists. The tour of the arboretum lasts an hour and a half, and then tourists will visit zoo, which is located across the street from the arboretum.

Watch a short video report about the tour of the arboretum. It will not replace a real visit to this unique oasis, so I wish you to visit this wonderful corner of our earth.