The Bastak State Nature Reserve is located in the southern part of the Russian Far East. On its territory there are a large number of rare species of plants and animals, many of which are listed in the Red Book.
A bit of history
The Bastak State Nature Reserve began operating in the Soviet years, namely in 1981. Then, on the territory of the modern Jewish Autonomous Region, which was part of the Khabarovsk Territory, the Bastak Botanical Reserve was organized.
The organization of the reserve began in 1993. Despite the fact that a lot of work has been done, it was still quite a long time before the independent functioning of the object. As an independent environmental organization with its own staff, Bastak began working only in 1998. It should be noted that in 2006 the idea of creating a cluster site on the territory of the Smidovichi region was initiated.
Landscape
The Bastak Nature Reserve, photos of various inhabitants of which you can find in this article, is a territory consisting of three main landscape zones:
- boreal;
- Far Eastern subtaiga;
- subboreal.
A relatively small area also stands out, where the foci represent the landscape of the mountain tundra.
Flora
Most of the Bastak reserve is covered with deciduous and coniferous forests, and in some places mixed forests. Trees such as fir, spruce, cedar, as well as larch, aspen and birch are common. The flora of the reserve is quite rich, so listing all the species represented in it will be difficult. Of the rare, unusual shrubs and trees, the following species can be distinguished: Manchu ash and walnut, Amur velvet, Mongolian oak and others. About thirty species of plants are listed in the Red Book.
Fauna
The wildlife, represented in the reserve, is no less interesting. Among its inhabitants, a huge number of animals on the verge of extinction, as well as many endemic species that are not found anywhere else in Russia.
The reserve is home to a large number of different species of birds. Many of them are found in other territories of the Russian Federation, but some species are rare. The total species diversity of birds includes more than one hundred and fifty representatives. There are grouse, woodpeckers, nightingales, tits, cranes, pheasants, etc. Of the predators are ospreys, hawks, as well as representatives of the owl family.
In addition to birds, many species of mammals live in the Bastak Nature Reserve, among which are raccoon dogs, otters, hares, roe deer and bush ones. Rare Ussuri tigers also live here, which are left in the whole world (in the wild) no more than several thousand individuals. Preserving this species is one of the priorities of the reserve.
Also on the territory of the complex amphibians and reptiles live, which include the Far Eastern toad, the live-bearing lizard and many others. In total, more than 30 species of animals listed in the Red Book of the Jewish Autonomous Region live in natural conditions in the reserve, and 4 of them are included in the Red Book of Russia.
Interesting Facts
Many people who at least once saw the image of the official logo of the reserve were wondering which bird is depicted on the emblem of the Bastak reserve. We give a complete answer to this question.
The emblem of the reserve has a round shape. Inside it is a logo framed by an inscription with the name of the organization. The silhouette of a flying bird flaunts on it, namely a crane. This representative of birds was not chosen by chance, because several very valuable species of this family (worm, Japanese, etc.) live on the territory of Bastak.
Many are also interested in what kind of Chinese reserve the Bastak Reserve cooperates with. To date, the organization most closely interacts with Honghe, China's national nature conservation area, located in Heilongjiang Province. The key interest for cooperation is the preservation of the Amur River, which is important for both Russia and China.
The employees of the two institutions are engaged in joint research activities, hold conferences, seminars, write monographs in English. This partnership takes place on mutually beneficial conditions, as the employees of both organizations understand that together it is much easier to carry out work to preserve the Far Eastern nature. Indeed, this is precisely the fundamental task for both Bastak and its Chinese partner.
