Goals:

  • to acquaint children with the Red Book of North Ossetia-Alania, animals and plants that are included in it;

Tasks:

  • Educational: expand and deepen knowledge about plants and animals found in our area.
  • Developing: to develop in students an understanding of the importance of the role of animals and plants in human life.
  • Educational: fostering a sense of responsibility of students for their behavior in the natural world, caring for animals and plants.

The "Red Book of North Ossetia" was published in 1981. It was incomplete, as it included only mammals, birds and vascular plants. The second edition of the Red Book was in 2002. It includes: 9 species of lichens, 16 species of fungi, 105 species of vascular plants, 1 species of cyclostomes, 3 species of fish, 3 species of amphibians, more than 30 species of birds, 45 species of insects, 9 species of reptiles , 15 species of mammals.

In 1999, the Red Book was published in North Ossetia, established by Decree of the Government of the Republic No. 34 of February 14, 1997, which approved the list of rare and endangered species of plants, animals and fungi. It included 12 species of fungi, 6 species of lichens, 4 species of gymnosperms and 101 species of angiosperms, 15 species of mammals, 51 species of birds, 11 species of amphibians, 4 species of cyclostomes and fish, 46 species of insects.

The Red Book of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania contains a large list of species that have become rare and disappearing on the territory of the republic; its pages are not painted with signal colors, but if they were, on the black pages, unfortunately, 9 species of animals that have disappeared from the territory should have been recorded . What are these animals? (Children's answers - steppe eagle birds, belladonna, bustard, little bustard, avdotka, animals - bat long-winged, Caucasian mink, Persian leopard or leopard (it is destroyed in almost the entire territory of the Caucasus).

For the time being, only one species can be introduced into the green pages - bison, the number of which is being restored. These are very beautiful, large (up to 1 ton in weight) calm herbivores. Once upon a time there were a lot of them in the mountains of Ossetia, but people completely exterminated them. They began to breed again and now their number is 70 heads. They live in the State Nature Reserve, located in the Alagir district.


Description

Currently, the problem of conservation of many plant species due to their extinction is very relevant. Hypothesis: in the republic a large number of endangered plant species. Purpose: to find out what rare plants grow in our area. Object of study: a collection of rare and endangered plant species Subject of study: rare plants of our region


yellow-bellied snake. The number is declining - "Yellow Page". Harmless to humans and very beautiful inhabitant steppe belt.

Its uniqueness lies in the ability to move quickly (up to 4 km per hour) over any terrain: rocky, ravine, overgrown with shrubs. It also dexterously moves through the trees and in the water. Able to jump high. He likes to settle along the steep banks of the steppe rivers. Its main food is rodents, birds and lizards, rarely eats amphibians, snakes, large insects.

The main reason for the decrease in numbers is the undershirting of the steppes. Often dies when meeting with people.


Machaon. The number is declining - "Yellow Page". It occurs in small groups in the steppe and alpine belts. An unusually beautiful and bright diurnal butterfly, whose wingspan reaches 7 cm. It pollinates flowering clover and other meadow plants. Gives two generations a year: in spring and summer. Caterpillars are yellow-green, with black and orange spots, live on various types umbrella plants and feed on them. The causes of death are degradation of pastures and capture by collectors-entomologists.


Caucasian river otter. Disappearing view - "Red Page". It's not large predatory animal living in the river Terek on the territory of the Mozdok region of the republic. The otter has a wonderful shiny and completely waterproof skin.

The main food of the otter is fish, but it is not an enemy, but a friend of the fisherman, as it cleans the reservoirs of weakened and sick fish, acting as a nurse. A decrease in the number of otters in a river is usually accompanied by a decrease in fish stocks in it. Among the reasons for the decrease in the number of otters in our republic are hunting, pollution of water bodies, lack of food.


Caucasian grouse. The number is declining - "Yellow Page". Like all grouse, the Caucasian grouse is a master of beautiful mating games, which are called currents. Starting from May, elegant red-browed males can show off for hours in front of modest gray females, proving their superiority over other males.

The Caucasian black grouse inhabits all the high mountain ranges of North Ossetia-Alania, nests at an altitude of 2000-2200 m above sea level, prefers to live on steep mountain slopes near upper bound the woods. It feeds on berries and shoots of blueberries, lingonberries, clover leaves, and in spring - birch buds. Nests are built on the ground, they are often trampled down by cattle or ruined by shepherd dogs and people.


Black vulture. Disappearing view - "Red Page". Occasionally observed RNO-A over Lesistoy, Pasture basins. Very large (weight up to 12 kg., wingspan up to 3 meters), beautiful with dense plumage, scavenger bird. The main food is fallen cattle, therefore vultures are called predators, not sowing death, but waiting for its arrival. They eat all the corpses of animals that get in their way, which they can easily see even from a height of 3-4 cm.


Bison. The number is recovering - "Green Pages" These are very beautiful, large (up to 1 ton in weight) calm herbivores. Once upon a time there were a lot of them in the mountains of Ossetia, but people completely exterminated them. They began to breed again and now their number is 70 heads. They live in the State Nature Reserve, located in the Alagir district.


Roe. Small deer. Males have small double-branching horns. The coloration is dark red in summer, gray-brown in winter, with a white spot in the tail area; the tail is very small. In the western part of the Palaearctic, the European roe deer (lat. Capreolus Capreolus), further east lives Siberian roe deer(lat. Capreolus pygargus), characterized by larger dimensions (height at the shoulders of more than 80 cm) and large, widely spaced, strongly tuberculate horns. The roe deer is a valuable hunting (commercial in Siberia) animal. Lives in deciduous and mixed forests and in open areas along the bushes, typical for the forest-steppe, in the mountains it rises to a strip of eternal snow.


The eagle owl is one of the largest owls in the world. The sizes of males vary geographically from 50 cm and 1100 g to 65 cm and 2800 g, females are larger: 60-75 cm and 1700-4200 g. Wingspan - from 160 to 188 cm. two back. This helps the eagle owls to grab prey easily. Sometimes, for comfortable sitting on a branch or perch, the third finger of the bird may turn forward. The intensity of the dark plumage pattern is different, a thin transverse ripple on the belly and black wide longitudinal streaks on the chest and neck are characteristic. In nature, eagle owls live up to 20 years or more, in captivity - up to 60. Eagle owl is one of the most common representatives of owls in Russia. It is second in size only to the fish owl. The eagle owl is easily identified by its size, dark beak, paws pubescent to the claws and feather ears tilted outward. It differs from the fish owl by more saturated pigmentation of plumage and iridescent eyes, feathered paws and silent flight.

The eagle owl is characterized by deep and measured flapping of wide wings. As a rule, this bird flies leisurely over the ground, looking for prey, alternating flapping flight with short gliding. Eagle owls living in mountains and gorges can use ascending air currents and soar for a long time, describing circles in height, but such a flight is not characteristic of it. If necessary, the eagle owl is able to fly at a speed sufficient to easily overtake the crow. He also has the ability to develop full speed almost instantly, from the first stroke. Sitting down to rest on a tree or the ground, keeps the body upright.




Yew berry. Its number is declining - "Yellow Page". Surprisingly beautiful and valuable relic (very ancient) coniferous plant, can live up to 3000 years. Some trees growing in the Caucasus are about 1500 years old. It differs from other conifers in that the seeds do not ripen in cones, but in special bright red formations resembling berries, hence its name - "berry". It has a very dense reddish wood that does not rot for centuries. For this it is called the "non-pus-tree." High-quality yew wood from antiquity to the present is used by people in construction, the manufacture of furniture and household items, is one of the reasons for the reduction of its reserves in North Ossetia-Alania. Yew grows as single trees or small groves on the Wooded, Pasture and northern slopes of the Rocky Range.


Intermediate hoof. Rare view - "White Page". A very interesting relic plant with evergreen leaves resembling a horse's hoof print in shape. It grows in shady forests, rarely found in lighted places. blooms in early spring red-brown flowers. Remarkable in that it has the taste and smell of black pepper. It is poisonous, but also a medicinal plant, traditional healers used it to treat heart diseases. In North Ossetia-Alania, wild hoof is known only in places: on the Forest Range near the city of Vladikavkaz, and in the vicinity of the village of Bekan (at the foot of the southern slope of the Zmeysky Mountains).


Snowdrop narrow-leaved. Its number is declining - "Yellow Page". Found only in the North Caucasus.

It grows in deciduous forests, among shrubs and along the edges in the mountains and foothills of the republic (in the Zmeysky mountains, on the Woody, Pasture, Rocky and Side Ridges). Very beautiful early spring plant with a delicate aroma. It begins to bloom in February - March, when the snow has not yet melted, and when warm winter– already in January. Disappears due to mass gathering flowering plants, mainly for sale. To save the plants, such collection must be completely stopped. It can be grown as an ornamental garden plant.

In the Red Book of North Ossetia-Alania there are 3 more types of snowdrop: Caucasian, Lagodekhi and broad-leaved.


Ossetian bell. The number is declining - "Yellow Page". This very beautiful fragile plant with pale purple flowers can only be found in the Central and Eastern Caucasus. It has an amazing ability to settle on sheer limestone cliffs, sometimes found in mountain meadows. Distributed in the republic on the Rocky Range, less often on the Pasture Range, from the river. Urukh to the upper reaches of the river. Kambileevka at an altitude of 700 to 2400 m above sea level. Another 6 species of bluebell are included in the Red Book of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania: Ardon, Dolomite, and others. Their numbers are restored with great difficulty, and therefore the preservation of these wonders of our flora is especially important.


birch radde - small tree with pinkish-white bark. Earrings single, protruding.

Distributed in the Main Caucasian ridge and in Dagestan, preserved as a relic of the Tertiary period.

It occupies the belt of subalpine crooked forests up to 2000 m above sea level.

Forms pure communities or occurs as an admixture with other tree species.

Populations are severely affected by logging. It is protected in Dagestan (Gunib grove) and in North Ossetia.


Rowan Greek, despite its name, is widespread from Iraq, the Caucasus and Lebanon to the southeast Western Europe and south to North Africa. In the forests, it rises to the mountains to the upper border of the forest, entering the subalpine zone (up to 2500 m). Introduced into culture in the first half of the 19th century, but little known in Russia. Its red fruits are used in the confectionery industry.

Rowan Greek is good both in single plantings and in groups. This low tree can be used in small gardens. The leaves on the underside are densely white-felt, in the upper and middle parts with outlined lobes, leathery, obtuse at the apex, rounded or wedge-shaped narrowed towards the base, having 20–35 sharp teeth on each side.

Ardon bell. Narrow-local endemic of the river basin. Ardov in the eastern part of the Central Caucasus. Obligate petrophyte, grows on rocks composed of argillaceous and crystalline schists, limestones, sandstones and granites, mainly of eastern (southeastern) and western (southwestern) exposures, located in the forest and lower part of the subalpine belts at an altitude of 800 to 2900 m above ur. seas; optimal conditions for the growth of the species - height 1300-2400 m above sea level. seas.

perennial herbaceous plant with a thick, branched, many-headed rhizome. The aerial part is almost bare or completely devoid of pubescence. Stems 10-20 cm high, thin, one-flowered. The bases of the stems are densely covered with the remnants of petioles of dead leaves. Basal leaves are narrowly linear, with a spaced-serrated edge, the base is drawn into a narrow filiform petiole. The stem leaves are very narrow. Blooms in May-June. Flowers with a dark blue narrow-bell-shaped corolla 1.5-2 cm long, about half divided into lobes. Calyx with narrowly linear, pointed, almost subulate teeth. The column does not extend beyond the rim. The fruit is a hemispherical-conical box with oblong pale brown seeds. The Ardon bell propagates by seeds and vegetatively.


Eastern spruce. Tree 32-47 (55) m tall, with a dense branched conical crown. The bark is scaly, brown, dark gray in mature plants.

Young shoots are yellow-gray or red, more mature shoots are light gray or gray.

Buds 2-6 mm long, ovoid, reddish-brown, non-resinous, with triangular scales, the tops of which are slightly recurved.

Needles less than 10 (usually 5-9) mm long, 0.8-1.1 mm wide, tetrahedral, blunt on top, slightly flattened, rough, brightly shiny, on the upper side with one or two stomatal lines on each side, and below - with two to five stomatal lines; the needles are more or less flat.

Cones are cylindrical, 6-11 cm long and 2 cm thick, young red, then light brown. Seed scales are obovate, with an almost rounded entire upper margin, streaked along the back, with a bright sheen. Seeds 2-5 mm long, black, with a longer yellowish-brown wing.


Dolomitic bellflower is found in subalpine meadows with a dolomitic base of the Rocky and Lateral Ranges of the North Caucasus.

Leaves with long petioles, with grayish-tomentose pubescence. The flowers on long peduncles are white and very large.

Only about ten sites are known to be inhabited by this rare plant. Protected in the North Ossetian Reserve.


Saxifrage columnar. All known locations are located on the Rocky Range - from Gizeldon in North Ossetia to the river. Malki in Kabardino-Balkaria. Recently discovered in Checheno-Ingushetia - the middle course of the river. Armkhi, southern slopes of the town of Stolovaya (Nazranovsky district) and the upper reaches of the river. Fortanga in the vicinity of the ruins of the villages. Khai (Achkhoi-Martan district).

It occurs only on rocks in the subalpine zone. It needs sufficient moisture and is confined to limestones. A valuable species for science, in addition, it is very beautiful and original, it is of great interest for ornamental horticulture.

The organization of reserves in the places of its growth and full protection are necessary. Control over the state of populations should be organized with the participation of the North Ossetian and Kabardino-Balkar reserves. There is experience of cultivation in culture.


The following main species of wild animals live on the territory of the republic: deer, bison, tour, wild boar, roe deer, bear, hare, marten, fox, jackal, wolf, chamois

Biological resources of the land of the republic:

Plants.

The flora of the republic is diverse and is of great economic importance. Vegetation is represented by the main types characteristic of the Greater Caucasus and Ciscaucasia: steppe, forest-steppe, forest, upland xerophyte, subalpine, alpine, nitrazonal.

The flora consists of 4030 species, incl. algae - 300, lichens - 250, mosses - 122, vascular introducers - 471, vascular native species - 2437, fungi - 362 species, cultivated plants- 88. Such families as Asteraceae, Ranunculaceae, Meatnikovae, Lamiaceae predominate - typical for Northern Eurasia: there are aroid, vervain, euphorbia families characteristic of the tropics. Of the largest genera, primacy belongs to sedges, astragalus, and saxifrage. There are families represented by 1-2 species: yew, ephedra, dogwood.

About 100 species of wild relatives of cultivated plants have been registered. Among them, 20 are endemic, 15 of which are very rare. With the reduction of the areas of wild-growing fruits, nuts, berries, fodder, melliferous herbs and others, these rare species are also being destroyed. There are plants that are unique to the area. Rare plant species are included in the Red Books of Russia and North Ossetia-Alania.

In assortment medicinal plants dominated by herbs, of which there are more than 130 species. Trees and shrubs in traditional and traditional medicine more than 50 species are used, which, in addition to native species, also include introduced species (mulberry, quince, sumac, etc.). There is a great opportunity in the republic for the procurement of environmentally friendly medicinal raw materials.

On a relatively small territory of the republic, animals characteristic of almost all regions live. Russian Federation: from steppe species in the north to alpine species in the south. The habitat of 298 species of soil animals (terrestrial) was registered, among them more than 70 species were identified, classified as rare, requiring inclusion in the Red Book of North Ossetia-Alania.

Ecosystems are most saturated with rare animal species: mountain, steppe and floodplain. The mountains as a whole have retained their natural appearance, floodplain ecosystems have been significantly changed, natural landscapes have been preserved in fragments, while the steppe ones have been practically destroyed, transformed into agrocenoses.

In the forest zone, the felling of the main forest-forming species - oriental beech and uprooting of the preforest zone continues, which contributes to a decrease in the number of many species of wild animals. The plowing of the forest-meadow zone, burning stubble, burning and unauthorized, uncontrolled grazing in the forest led to the degradation of habitats and the destruction of the food base of the main species of wild animals.

Animals.

The main form of economic development of wild animals in the republic is hunting economy, specialized in the protection, reproduction and rational extraction of objects of the hunting fauna. total area hunting grounds and specially protected natural areas is 596.5 thousand hectares, of which 404.4 thousand hectares are assigned to game users and 192.1 thousand hectares are occupied by specially protected natural areas.

The following main species of wild animals live on the territory of the republic: deer, bison, tour, wild boar, roe deer, bear, hare, marten, fox, jackal, wolf, chamois.

Water biological resources of the republic:

20 species of fish live in the natural fishery reservoirs of the republic: barbel, murzak barbel, blow, carp (carp), brook trout, rainbow trout, chub, grass carp, silver carp, crucian carp, perch, roach, bleak, verkhovka, bystryanka, catfish, pike, gudgeon, tench, lamprey. The main species that form the ichthyofauna are trout, barbel, and podust. In addition, up to the dam of the Terek-Kuma hydroelectric complex, such especially valuable species fish like kushum, Caspian salmon, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon. However, in last years spawning approach sturgeon species fish is difficult due to predatory fishing on the territory of the Republic of Ichkeria and especially near the Kargaly dam.

Fish resources of natural reservoirs have no commercial value, but are the basis of sports and recreational fishing.

Stocking plans are carried out by the Ardon fish factory through the cultivation of rainbow trout.

Since 1994 in the river. The Terek annually in March-April began to rise a new species for the reservoirs of Ossetia - kutum. Kutum is a semi-anadromous fish of the southern and southwestern basin of the Caspian Sea, belongs to the carp family and is of commercial importance in the Caspian Sea, it needs special protection. Spawns in spring collectors of the Mozdok region.

Floods cause great damage to fish stocks, because. fish, especially juveniles, are washed into the lower reaches of the Terek River. Rising to the upper reaches of habitats and spawning is impossible, because this is prevented by the dam of the Tersko-Kuma hydroelectric complex, the Maisky (KBR) and Elkhotovsky inter-republican main canals, which have large elevation differences from the upstream to the downstream. In addition, only the dam of the Elkhotovsky MMK has a fish passage, the construction of which was completed in 1997. Other dams do not have fish passages.

Vegetation and animal world North Ossetia and the Genaldon Gorge, as well as the entire mountainous part, are distinguished by great diversity and richness of species. The flora and fauna in the mountains are usually placed in vertical zones, but their placement also depends on the illumination of the mountain slopes by the sun. Karmadon, located south of the Rocky Range and receiving almost half as much rainfall as the northern slopes of this range, lies in the zone of mountain woodlands and mountain meadows.

Created using Yandex.Maps tools

Light forest covers the right-bank (eastern) slopes of the Genaldon Gorge, since these slopes are less illuminated by the sun and therefore retain more moisture. In separate patches, light forests are located along the beams cutting through the left-bank slopes of the gorge.

The light forest consists mainly of willows and mountain birches. Bird cherry, mountain ash, hawthorn, wild rose, juniper are occasionally mixed with them, and thickets of raspberries and currants are common in the undergrowth.

Under the trees and shrubs there is a dense and high grassy cover with a large admixture of Caucasian blueberries and lingonberries.

The left-bank (western) terraces and slopes of the mountains of the Genaldon Gorge are covered with lush mixed-grass meadows with a predominance of variegated fescue, white-bearded, silky mantle, alpine clover, ciliated bird-crown, etc.

Starting in May, the mountain meadows of Karmadon are covered with an emerald grassy canopy, against which flower carpets and lawns are full of bright colors.

Flora and fauna of North Ossetia - watch a video about the beauty of this region:

The eye of the observer is pleasantly caressed by pale blue forget-me-nots, dark blue gentians, pink and white anemones, light lilac scabioses, dark purple primroses, and buttercups turn yellow in wet hollows. By the end of summer, the meadows are replenished with new colors of flowers. Pale-yellow poppies, pink daisies, white grains and multi-colored bells are blooming.

On the southern slopes of the Arau-khskh and Chizhjity-khokh mountains, which are always dried up by the sun's rays, the herbage is lower and less frequent. Mountain steppes with dry-loving plants are common here. Among them are bearded feather grass, motley bonfire, thin-legged slender, sage, sainfoin, timothy grass, wormwood, thyme, etc.

On the slopes and screes grow saxifrage, bluebells, alpine valerian, cuffs. The ridges of the mountains surrounding Karmadon are covered with high-mountain meadows, which, as they approach the zone of eternal snows and glaciers of the Side Range, turn into high-mountain tundra with stunted bushes of creeping willows and birches. Here you can also see thickets of the Caucasian rhododendron - a creeping shrub with dense leathery leaves, blooming in June with white-cream flowers with a delicate smell.

The mountain meadows of Karmadon and its environs are used as summer pastures and hayfields. On the impregnable rocks towering over the Upper Karmadon, inhabited by mountain goats-turs, widespread in the mountains of the Caucasus. Tours are very cautious and shy animals. During the day they hide among the rocks and cliffs, and in the evening they descend to the mountain meadows, where they feed until the morning dawn.

Tours usually go in herds of 20-40 animals. As we have already said, they often visit the sources of the Upper Karmadon to feast on salt water. Mountain ular turkeys usually keep in the same zone. These are large birds with a gray protective coloration. In summer they are found in the upper part of the mountains, and in winter they descend to the light forest zone.

Beautiful and slender chamois live on steep slopes overgrown with woodlands. These are brave and hardy animals easily overcoming steep cliffs and deep abysses. In winter, chamois go to the sunny slopes of the mountains, and in summer they prefer shady birch copses.

Among the rocks overgrown with birch, lives. Unlike its northern counterpart, it does not hibernate in winter. In summer, one can observe on the right-bank slopes of Genaldon, where they feast on ripe raspberries, blueberries and currants.

In wooded ravines they arrange their burrows that feed on vegetation and small animals. Everywhere in the meadows and among the stone rubble you can meet foxes and hares.

Predators such as wolves enter the Karmadon zone from the forest region in search of prey. The latter appear in the summer, following the herds of sheep rising to the mountain pastures. A large number of birds nest in the mountain meadows of Karmadon. Many of them live here all year round. These, first of all, include the Caucasian black grouse, which lives in thickets of rhododendron. Partridges and mountain hens can be found on the edges of woodlands. On the cliffs nests very rare and beautiful bird- Caucasian schur, distinguished by ruby-red plumage. Among the boulders and rock fragments in the floodplain, redstarts nest. In winter, they, like other birds of the alpine zone, descend down the gorge and huddle in thickets of bushes.

On the mountain meadows of Karmadon, white-throated thrushes, mountain buntings and horned larks settle in whole colonies, and on steep rocks you can see a wall-climber - an ash-gray bird with bright red-crimson wings and a long curved beak. Wild pigeons settle in the crevices of the rocks and in the ancient towers. Yellow-billed alpine jackdaws and red-billed choughs fly over the meadows with a sharp, unpleasant cry. The abundance of birds attracts predators to the Karmadon region. The golden eagle and the bearded eagle build their nests on impregnable rocks. Often, in search of prey, a hawk-legged buzzard flies here, which follows migratory birds from the north. In the rivers and streams of Karmadon there is a very delicious fish- trout.

In order to preserve the rich and original Karmadona, the entire upper part of the Genaldon Gorge has been declared state reserve, where hunting for birds and animals is prohibited, as well as the destruction of vegetation cover. In connection with the construction of the resort, coniferous and deciduous forests are being planted on treeless coastal terraces and mountain slopes on an area of ​​109 hectares.

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The fauna of North Ossetia-Alania is rich and varied. One species of cyclostomes, 27 species of fish, 20 species of reptiles, 275 species of birds, 84 species of mammals have been noted here. characteristic feature fauna is high degree endemism.

Alpine fauna is represented by: tours (endemics of the Caucasus), chamois, mountain pipits, red-capped finch. Horned lark, mountain tap dance, snow finch, alpine conjurer, chough, alpine jackdaw, Caucasian snowcock (endemic of the Caucasus). In more favorable conditions of subalpine meadows, where green fodder is plentiful in summer, there are many rodents: common voles, Gudaur snow voles, bush voles, European hare, as well as endemic species of Promethean vole and Caucasian mouse. Of the ungulates, in addition to tours and chamois, deer and wild boars come from the forest zone. Foxes and stone martens are common.

The endemic Caucasian black grouse is found in thickets of rhododendron and blueberry. Characteristic are the white-throated thrush, common lentil and gray warbler. The bearded vulture, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, listed in the Red Book of North Ossetia-Alania and Russia, have become rare. The griffon vulture is more common.

In the mountain-forest zone, there are two types of martens - forest and stone, dormouse dormouse, forest dormouse, Brown bear, wild boar, roe deer, deer, badger, wolf, hare, wood mouse. In 1964 - 1968 bison were brought to North Ossetia on the territory of the republican reserve "Tseysky".

The avifauna is represented by a large motley and green woodpecker, green warbler, chaffinch, wren, forest convoluter, wood dove, stock dove, jay, cuckoo, etc. Goshawk, goshawk and sparrowhawk are also forest dwellers. Xerophytic landscapes are inhabited by rodents (communal voles, wood mice, hare), predators (stone marten, fox, weasel), birds (lark, partridge, rock pigeon, nuthatch, bee-eater, etc.). The abundance of rodents attracts here birds of prey- harriers, buzzards, black kite.

The fauna of the steppes has largely lost its original appearance due to plowing. Widespread common voles, house mice, hares, hare. An ordinary hedgehog, a small gopher, big jerboa, etc. The abundance of rodents and lagomorphs creates a food base for predators: foxes, jackals, corsacs. Bustards, little bustards, demoiselle cranes have ceased to nest, the steppe eagles of the pheasant habitat have disappeared.

European mink, raccoon dog, Altai squirrel, nutria were introduced in the republic. However, the acclimatization of some of them turned out to be unsuccessful and even harmful.

Significant impact on state of the art fauna of the republic renders economic activity person. The reduction in the area of ​​forests, the plowing of the steppes, the drainage of swamps, caused significant changes in the distribution of animals.

In 1999, the Red Book was published in North Ossetia, established by Decree of the Government of the Republic No. 34 of February 14, 1997, which approved the list of rare and endangered species of plants, animals and fungi. It included 12 species of fungi, 6 species of lichens, 4 species of gymnosperms and 101 species of angiosperms, 15 species of mammals, 51 species of birds, 11 species of amphibians, 4 species of cyclostomes and 46 species of insects.

Majestic, snow-covered mountain peaks, deep gorges surrounded by sheer cliffs, fast-moving rivers and stunning waterfalls - all this natural resources North Ossetia.

The nature of Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia, is also unique in itself. Near this city from ancient times there are famous place- Tseyskoe gorge. At the entrance to the gorge you will be met by a rock interesting shape, resembling a bearded Ossetian hunter in a hood, who seems to be riding out of the mountain on a horse. According to one of the legends, a tour with golden horns appeared in the gorge, but no one succeeded in hunting for it. Then one of the hunters swore that he would shoot this tour, and present the horns as a gift to St. George (the patron saint of all Ossetians). However, having taken possession of the golden horns, the hunter could not resist the temptation and kept them for himself. For which he was turned to stone. During the melting of the glaciers, it seems that the rider is crying, asking for forgiveness from St. George.

And in the Digorsky Gorge you can hear the songs of mountain shepherds against the background of the noise of a swift river. Valleys and gorges, mountain ranges and intermountain basins have a strong influence on the microclimate, which led to the formation of completely different territories. In general, the Digorskoye Gorge can be divided into two parts: mid-mountain and high-mountain. The most remarkable place in the gorge is Lake Tsada. This relict reservoir in the southern part of the Rocky Range was formed due to an ancient landslide and has not yet been studied much.

The Republic of North Ossetia (RSO), aka Alania, is famous for its mountain landscapes. Mountains occupy a considerable part of the territory (almost half), and glaciers sparkle with whiteness on the mountain peaks. Taimazi glaciers and waterfalls formed from the melting of these glaciers stand out among the nature of North Ossetia Alanya. These places are rightfully considered the most beautiful among the nature of Upper Digoria. From the very beginning of summer, the entire slope with waterfalls is buried in rhododendron flowers, and forest glades and alpine meadows amaze with their variegated diversity.

The flora of North Ossetia is very diverse, only among the flowering ones there are more than two thousand species. And there are even more spores: mosses and ferns, algae and horsetails, and, of course, mushrooms. Not so long ago, in North Ossetia, they discovered and completely rare species plants, such as bear nut, oriental spruce, Caucasian fir, beautiful Vavilovia, holly, ivy, wonderful eremus and others.

The fauna of the region is no less rich. Animals of North Ossetia live mainly in forests. These are forest and stone martens, wild boars and wolves, badgers and jackals, vultures, hawks and golden eagles, alpine jackdaws. There are also bears and wild cats.

All this natural diversity has been preserved not only because of the inaccessibility of the mountains of North Ossetia, but also due to the attitude of the local population to the nature around them. Children from an early age are instilled with respect for the natural heritage.