Inhabitants of the steppe fauna in the Crimea. Insects and animals of the Crimea. Animals in Crimea
A characteristic feature of the Crimean fauna is its island character. Due to its isolation, the peninsula does not have many biological species characteristic of a temperate climate, but there are some of their own, specific ones.
The fauna of the peninsula is composed of three elements: steppes, foothills and mountains, and, finally, the southern coast. Accordingly, the fauna of all the constituent parts of the Crimea is different: the steppe Crimea belongs to the steppe zone of the European-Siberian subregion, and the mountainous one belongs to the Mediterranean. But since the Crimean steppe passes into the region of the foothills, rising gradually, it is impossible to establish a clear boundary between them and sharply dissect their animal world. Only the fauna of the southern coast differs significantly from the fauna of the northern slope of the mountains.
mammals
The fauna of the Crimean steppes is similar to the fauna of the Ukrainian mainland steppes. It does not have a single representative of large mammals.
The latter was killed in 1922 at the northern foot of Chatyr-Dag. And today the largest predatory animal of the peninsula is the fox. Two of its species are known: ordinary steppe and mountain Crimean. The fur of the latter is brighter and fluffier, but it is inferior in size to the steppe.
In total, there are seven species of predatory animals in Crimea. At the end of the last century, it took root here.
The rest of the predators from the weasel family: weasel,
and stone marten.
There are many rodents in the steppe Crimea. They are found, hamsters, gophers and. The steppe and foothills also abound with other species, among which various voles are numerous, from the order of insectivores one can often find a shrew.
In the central part of the mountainous Crimea, at the foot of Babugan, the lands of the Crimean State Reserve and Hunting Economy are located. This is the largest protected area on the peninsula (33,397 ha). The area of the protected hunting economy is divided into two approximately equal parts: protected forests and forest hunting grounds. The farm is closed to tourists and sightseers.
Deer, badgers and other mammals live in the protected forests - 39 species in total. Here they are successfully acclimatized from Corsica, from Altai and from the Far East.
The pride of reserved forests -. This is the largest and most beautiful animal of the Crimean mountains. The number of animals is maintained at a certain level: deer - 1300 - 1500, roe deer - 300, wild boars - 300 - 400, mouflons - 150 - 200 heads.
Thanks to the effective protection of the livestock of these animals in the late 70s - early 80s of the XX century. increased significantly, and in terms of saturation with ungulates per unit area, the Crimean reserve hunting economy turned out to be the most overpopulated in Europe. The resulting sharp discrepancy between the number of ungulates and the plant food base began to adversely affect the renewal of the young forest.
Naturally, there was a need to periodically carry out a planned reduction in the number of reindeer herds through trapping and resettlement. The Crimean deer has already replenished the fauna of many regions of Ukraine.
Birds
There are about 300 species of birds in the Crimea.
In the steppe regions, it is quite rare, but it is found. This large but cautious bird, yellow-brown with black stripes above and white below and along the edges of the wings, has the ability to run fast, but it does not fly well. The bustard differs from other birds in the absence of the coccygeal gland, which secretes a lubricant that birds use to cover their feathers with their beak to protect them from getting wet. Autumn rain and subsequent frosts shackle these birds with an ice crust, making them absolutely helpless.
Birds of prey can also be found in the steppe. These are, first of all, the steppe eagle, steppe kestrel, red-footed falcon and steppe harrier.
The foothills are inhabited by shrikes, garden bunting, nightjar, scops owl, starling endemic for the Crimea and goldfinch. Three types of nightingales are found here: western, eastern and Persian. The first two species nest on both sides of the mountains, and the Persian nightingale is occasionally found on the northern slopes.
The mountain forests are inhabited by the Crimean and long-tailed tit, woodpecker, redstart, robin, warbler, jay. Above there are mountain buntings. There is no significant difference in the composition of the bird fauna of the mountain peaks and the forests themselves. Moreover, many steppe birds are found on the yayla: wheatear, field lark, bald bald and others.
The largest bird in Europe nests here - (two adults can freely accommodate in its nest). This bird can be found in the forests of the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains (on the Chernaya and Basman mountains, in the Yaman-Dere gorge near Babugan-yayla and in other places).
At 3.5 km from the coast, in the Kerkinitsky Bay, there is a reserve of international importance - the Swan Islands (Sary-Bulat). The group stretches along the coast for 8 km and consists of six islands (the largest of them is 3 km long and up to 350 m wide). Shallow water, an abundance of plant and animal food in the water and on land, combined with a protected regime, attract a lot of birds, mainly waterfowl, to the Lebyazhy Islands. 25 species of birds nest here.
The main decoration of the islands is the mute swan. Fishing for it continued here at the end of the 19th century, which led to a sharp reduction in the number of these birds. Measures for the protection of the Lebyazhy Islands have yielded results: since 1955, the number of this species has increased 10 times, and today there are up to 6 thousand snow-white birds here.
Every year in June, large flocks of mute swans come here to molt. At this time, birds cannot fly, and the protected islands become their home. Floating flocks of swans - a beautiful, unforgettable sight! This graceful, snow-white bird is distinguished by a beautifully curved neck and a bright red beak. Mute swans go south for wintering; they nest in the lower reaches of the Danube, Dniester, Dnieper, in the floodplains of the Kuban, in the Volga delta.
In late autumn, northern whooper swans gather on the islands for wintering (they have a straighter neck and a yellow beak). So almost all year round in this reserve you can meet feathered beauties. Whoopers do not nest here either.
Of the other birds on the Swan Islands, various species of ducks, waders, white and gray herons, gulls, and cormorants live. The most numerous livestock is the gull-gull, which is of great benefit to agriculture: it destroys a lot of rodents. The colony of gulls has up to 30 thousand individuals. During the summer season, the gulls of the Swan Islands kill almost 2 million ground squirrels and up to 8 million mice.
In the water area of Sivash, where there are more than 60 islands, a lot of nesting and migratory birds live and stop to rest. Gulls-gulls, gray ducks and shelducks are especially numerous. On the island of China, there is the largest nesting nesting site for terns on the Sivash. Walking around the island can be difficult: at a distance of 1 - 2 meters from each other there are nests of gulls, shelducks and gray ducks have made their dwellings in the weeds nearby.
Crimea is the only place in the CIS where mass nesting has been noted. His appearance is rather gloomy. The plumage is black, dense, the beak is long, yellow, steeply curved downwards, there is a small crest on the head. The sounds made by him are like a hoarse, unpleasant cackle. For a long nose, a cormorant is also called a “long-nosed”, and for predatory habits and “funeral” plumage - a sea raven. It feeds on weedy fish and crustaceans. It is interesting that a wild bird native to the Crimea in China, Japan and Hungary is a bird-producer. Before going out to sea, fishermen take several tamed cormorants into the boat. They put rings around their necks that prevent them from swallowing fish and lower them overboard. When enough fish have accumulated in the cormorant's throat pouch, they drag it into the boat and, holding it upside down, shake out the caught fish.
Inhabitants of rivers and seas
Crimean mountain rivers, such as Salgir, Kacha, Belbek, Kara-Su, and others, are, in essence, streams that are very stormy during heavy rains and become shallow and dry up in summer. Naturally, under these conditions, in the Crimean rivers, both the northern and southern slopes, there are no fish resources. And yet, about 15 species of fish are found in the Crimean rivers.
Trout lives in the sources of the Kara-Su. In addition, local barbel, Crimean chub specimens are found in the Crimean waters.
Rare animals include: swordfish, tuna, monk seal, anglerfish, lobster, blue crab, starfish, hammerhead shark and blue shark.
In the Black and Azov Seas, three species of the dolphin family are known:, and Azovka. The largest dolphin of the Black Sea is the bottlenose dolphin, its average weight is 150 kg, length is from 2.3 to 3 m, it feeds on bottom and bottom fish (flounder, scorpionfish). It can eat up to 30 kg of fish per day. The weight of the white barrel is half that of bottlenose dolphins. The smallest dolphin is Azovka, or porpoise: weight - up to 30 kg, length - up to one and a half meters.
Invertebrates
Of the invertebrates, mollusks are especially characteristic of the Crimea. 69 species of mollusks live here, 29 of which are found only in the Crimea. This large percentage of endemic species of mollusks is a characteristic feature of the Crimean fauna.
An endemic terrestrial mollusk lives near Balaklava and St. George's Monastery - the Krinitsky snail, related to the common garden snail.
Of the arthropods, one can note the freshwater crab living under stones in some rivers of the Crimea. In general, crabs are inhabitants of the seas. This crab is an exception. Freshwater crab is found sporadically in the fresh waters of Western Europe and the Caucasus. This is an animal of the southern countries, and its presence in the Crimea characterizes the general appearance of the Crimean fauna.
From the same class of arthropods, characteristic representatives of the centipede order are found in the Crimea. This is a centipede and a centipede flycatcher. Scolopendra is long, about 10 cm; a centipede of black-greenish color with a bronze tint, with reddish-yellow strong legs and head. Like most centipedes, it lives under rocks. Scolopendra is dangerous for its poisonous (but not fatal) bites, which cause severe inflammation. It is distributed in the Crimea in the foothills and on the southern coast.
The centipede flycatcher is found in the same areas as the centipede. This is a fearful and not only harmless, but even useful nocturnal insect that exterminates house flies. Among centipedes (there are 42 species in the Crimea) there are many endemics.
From the Arachnoidea order, which is in the same class of arthropods, in the Crimea there are: a salpuga, or phalanx, tarantula spiders and a karakurt spider.
Salpuga is a poisonous arachnid, rather large animal, gray-yellowish in color, with long legs. In Crimea, it is found in the foothills and on the southern coast. It is also less common along the shores of the northern part of the peninsula.
The tarantula is characteristic of the steppe fauna. This is a large spider with legs painted ring-shaped in gray and black. The female is twice as large as the male and eats him after mating.
Karakurt is a small black spider with red dots, it is found mainly in the wormwood steppes adjacent to the sea, where it arranges a cobweb hut between the grasses. It often lives under rocks. In houses it comes across as an exception. This animal is nocturnal. The female is poisonous during the mating season, which occurs in mid-summer.
The Crimean scorpion is not particularly dangerous, and it is found relatively infrequently in the rocks of the South Shore. Its closest relatives live in the southern countries. For the Crimea, this species of scorpion is endemic.
The insect fauna of the Crimea is rich both in the number of species and in the abundance of individuals. Insects of the Crimea are forms that are characteristic only for the Crimea or, mainly, for the Mediterranean countries.
In the gardens of the Crimea, a large blue-violet beetle, belonging to the family of ground beetles, is often found. This beetle belongs to the Crimean endemic species and is listed in the Red Book. In the forests near Chatyr-Dag, under fallen leaves, one can often find another ground beetle, also purple, but smaller. This is the so-called Dezhan ground beetle - a species characteristic only of the mountain forests of Crimea.
cave world
The physical world of caves as such, i.e. their darkness, uniform and almost constant temperature, degree of humidity, etc., leaves an indelible imprint on the animals living in the caves, creates a very definite and sharp biological environment. Darkness, for example, affects the color of the surface of the animal's body, discoloring it, and the organs of vision, leading to their reduction and even complete disappearance, and compensating for visual defects by the hypertrophic development of the organs of touch. The relatively constant temperature of the caves affects the nature of the so-called periodic phenomena in the life of cave animals. In a word, each physical factor characteristic of caves has its effect on the appearance and biology of cave animals. Currently, among the inhabitants of the Crimean caves, we know 17 species of protozoa, 5 species of worms, 1 species of molluscs, 70 species of arthropods and 5 species of vertebrates, and a total of 98 species.
Of vertebrates - several species
Despite the relatively small area of the territory, the Crimean peninsula is diverse. Steppes coexist with wet forests and mountains. Such are favorable for the prosperity of the fauna. Many endemics live in the Crimea, and cosmopolitan animals have also perfectly acclimatized.
Features of the Crimean fauna
In the north of the peninsula are endless. Crimean mountains stretch from north to east. The southern territories lie in the subtropical zone, a mild climate prevails here. The east is represented by small capes and bays. To the west is a flat coastline. Numerous rivers are calm, in the summer heat some of them dry up completely. The species composition of animals is poorer than in neighboring mainland lands. Also in the Crimea there are many endemic species. This is due to the isolation of the peninsula.
The Crimean Mountains and the Black Sea coast belong to the Mediterranean zoogeographical region and are distinguished by the absence of many common forest species, and the presence of Balkan, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and endemic species. The mountain-forest fauna is especially rich on the northern slopes of Yayla, in the forests of the Crimean Nature Reserve, which is home to the Crimean deer (endemic subspecies), Crimean chamois, pine marten, fox, stone marten, mole, and other species.
The composition includes hawks, owls, jays, petroiki, mountain buntings, blackbirds, coinage and several Mediterranean species. There are also several species. Some animals such as mouflon, squirrel, etc. - acclimatized in the protected area of Crimea. The endemic Crimean gecko, Crimean lizard and rock lizard live on the southern coast. Characteristic representatives are the cicada, the praying mantis, the centipede, the Crimean scorpion and the Crimean black beetle. Many types of Mediterranean are also common. Among insects, representatives of the order Diptera dominate. The original flora and fauna of Crimea is best preserved in the protected areas of the peninsula.
Below are photos and a brief description of some representatives of the animal world of Crimea.
mountain fox
A representative of the Canine family lives in,. On the territory of the peninsula, the fox is distributed evenly. The body of the fox reaches 90 cm in length, and the tail - 50 cm. The mass ranges from 2 to 14 kg. They settle in secluded places: rock crevices, windfalls, tree hollows, burrows of other animals. The diet of animals includes birds and fruits of trees. The activity of foxes directly depends on the food supply. The offspring appears in early May, and closer to autumn, the young are already independently obtaining food. Currently fox hunting is allowed, which has negative consequences. Due to the decline in the population of these, the number of rodents is growing.
Black Sea garfish
The fish lives in the warm waters of the Black and Azov Seas. She has a thin body and an elongated jaw. The color is greenish in color, there is a dark stripe on the back. An adult individual weighs about 500 g on average. The body length varies from 50 to 75 cm. The garfish feeds on sprat, anchovy and shrimp. He pursues his prey in jerks, developing high speed. These fish are not sedentary and are constantly on the move. The taste of the garfish resembles saury, but many are scared off by the greenish color of its bones. Despite this, the fish is not poisonous.
white marten
Predatory mammal that prefers to settle in broad-leaved forests, caves, crevices and ravines. Often marten can be found in forest parks and abandoned houses. The body length is 40-59 cm, and the weight is 1-2 kg. The marten feeds on small rodents, grass, tree bark, mushrooms and mosses. Animals often destroy bird nests. The marten lives in hollows, jumps well from tree to tree and leads. Puppies are born in April, and a few months later they go hunting with their mother. The natural enemies are the wolf, fox, lynx, owl and eagle.
Teleut squirrel
Initially, a small rodent lived in the forests of Altai, but in the thirties of the last century it was brought to the Crimea. Here the squirrel perfectly acclimatized. The Teleutka differs from other subspecies of the common squirrel in its large size: the body length without a tail is 28 cm, the weight often exceeds 300 g. For habitat prefers mixed forests and parks. The squirrel can travel 3 m at a time by jumping from tree to tree. Hollows serve as a refuge for animals, which they insulate with the help of dry foliage, moss, and grass. In urban conditions, squirrels settle in birdhouses. The diet is quite varied and includes: nuts, pine tree seeds, mushrooms, berries and fruits. In the warm season, squirrels heavily stock up on food for the winter. Natural enemies are foxes, martens, owls, owls and hawks.
steppe viper
The snake is listed in the Red Book as a vulnerable species. The reptile lives in the plain and mountain steppes, along the banks of reservoirs, in alpine meadows and in clay ravines. The body is 50 cm long, females are larger than males. The sharp muzzle of the snake stretches forward. The steppe viper has a brown skin color, a zigzag pattern runs along the back. In search of food, the reptile often climbs onto the branches of trees and shrubs, in addition to this, the viper swims well. The food source is insects, lizards, chicks, rodents and frogs. Viper venom poses a danger to children and people with health problems. The snake never attacks first, so all biting incidents occur due to human negligence. The natural enemies of the steppe viper are badgers, ferrets, hedgehogs, storks, owls and eagles.
Crimean deer
These animals are endemic to the peninsula. In size, they differ little from other types of deer. The height of the male at the withers is 1.3-1.6 m, weight reaches 260 kg. The horns of young males resemble matches; in adults, processes grow. Deer prefer light forests alternating with meadows and overgrown burnt areas. They eat food of plant origin: foliage, buds, young shoots of trees. In summer, animals add mushrooms, berries and moss to the diet. Cereal crops play an important role in the life of these. With the onset of winter, deer migrate towards the southern coast. Large animals have practically no natural enemies.
griffon vulture
A bird of prey that belongs to the hawk family, living on the southern coast of the peninsula. The body length of the vulture is 110 cm, and the wingspan is 250 cm. The head of adults is covered with white fluff, the rest of the plumage is colored brown. Birds build their nests in hard-to-reach rock crevices. The female lays a single egg at the end of winter. Both partners participate in incubation. The chick flies out of the nest at the age of three months. Vultures are scavengers, the basis of their diet is the corpses of animals. They do not consume skin and tendons, but primarily feed on liver. The bird does not attack living animals and can starve for a long time. After searching for food, the vultures return to the nest to rest. Crows are natural enemies and can destroy eggs and chicks. Vultures are considered a rare species; about 130 pairs nest on the peninsula. To date, the birds are under the protection of two nature reserves in the Crimea.
Animals of Crimea - inhabitants of the forests - who are they? Mammals (or animals) have become the real masters of the animal world. They have a constant body temperature, many of them are protected by wool. Females carry their young inside their body, and this is more reliable for the embryo than development in a laid egg, even under a strong shell. And, finally, in full accordance with the name of the class, mammals feed their children with milk, the composition of which has been worked out by nature itself over millions of years - this is the ideal food for a newborn.
What animals lived in the Crimea in ancient times?
For a long history of development, the animal world of the Crimean peninsula has seriously changed. In the Tertiary period (about 20 million years ago) on the territory of modern Crimea, which had a slightly different appearance, there was a hot tropical climate. Elephants, mastodons, extinct ancestors of camels, the three-toed hipparion horse, Stenon's horse were found in the steppes. Surely there were many small animals and birds, but time has ground the remains of their bones. Only heavy ostrich skeletons have been found. In the sea (even remotely similar to the Black Sea), the ancestors of modern whales were found.
Approximately 1 million years ago, the Tertiary period gave way to the Quaternary. In the Crimea sharply colder. Mammoths appeared. On the plateau of the Crimean Mountains, in deep karst wells, bones, and even whole skeletons of giant and reindeer, wild horses, saiga, bison, cave lion, cave hyena, cave bear, woolly rhinoceros that fell there are still found ...
Who lives in the Crimean forest?
Today there are 58 species of land mammals in Crimea. Let's start with the more primitive and small ones, ending with the "king" of the Crimean forest - the Crimean red deer.
bats there are 18 species in Crimea, we call them bats. The shoulders, forearms, along with the elongated fingers of the forelimbs, the sides of the body, the hind limbs and the stomach of bats are covered with leathery membranes that serve as wings. Bats hunt in the evening and at night, when daytime birds sleep. Having very poor eyesight and good hearing, bats navigate with the help of an echolocation apparatus (in horseshoes, a horseshoe-shaped growth near the nose serves as part of it). Animals constantly send ultrasonic waves into space and, picking up response signals, distinguish objects around them.
Eight species of bats winter in the Crimea, while the rest, like migratory birds, fly south. Flies especially well long-winged common, even with a silhouette in flight resembling a swallow.
Teleuk squirrel brought in 1940 to the Crimea from the Altai Territory. Here they multiplied and settled in all forests and parks. The food of the squirrel is varied: mushrooms, berries, grass seeds, insects; a squirrel is not averse to climbing into a bird's nest, stealing an egg, or wringing the neck of a weak chick. Nevertheless, she prefers hazelnuts, acorns, beech nuts, seeds of pines (common and Crimean), and on the South Coast she loves pineoli very much - edible nuts of the Italian pine.
Sometimes she happens to drop a two-hundred-gram cone from a high pine. It’s good if people don’t walk along the paths of the park at this time! The fur on squirrel skins has become very thin in the warm Crimea, has lost its Altai beauty and strength, so this funny animal has no commercial value for us.
When crossing the road hare (hare), a caring driver usually slows down, inviting everyone who has time to look at the long-eared sprinter.
A hare is similar to a domestic rabbit, but its body structure is better adapted to life in open spaces, to a fast run with unexpected, confusing jumps. Newborn hares are sighted; they are covered with delicate fur and are able to move from the first day of life.
Belodushka in the Crimea they call the stone marten with white fur on the throat and on the chest. Elegant, graceful, she, as they say, caresses the eye. At the same time, the beautiful white woman is a brave, cruel, bloodthirsty, voracious and incredibly mobile predator, who, however, is not alien to vegetarian food. In summer and autumn, the marten feeds on blackthorn, hawthorn, pears and grapes. The white-tailed one does not climb trees, but the pine marten even catches up with the squirrel! And if it climbs into a home chicken coop (usually in the middle of the night), then in a few minutes it will strangle the entire bird family, restless with horror.
It's amazing that such an animal can be tamed. At one of the cordons of Karadag, a forester's family kept a white-haired woman. Fed from a pacifier, she grew up on the laps of the hostess and her children and caressed the guests like a kitten! Without touching domestic animals, the white-haired woman does an excellent job of cleaning the yard from the invincible rat packs common among chicken coops and pigsties. Where are the lazy, jaded cats!
Badger, perhaps the most noble representative of the bloodthirsty family of marten, which includes such indomitable taiga predators as mink, otter, sable, ermine, wolverine, and from the Crimean ones - ferret, weasel and marten. "Family" energy and courage are manifested in the omnivorous badger not in bloody robberies, but in painstaking useful work. He digs holes for himself several floors, to match the caves; the total length of the underground "halls" and "galleries" can reach twenty meters. Each otnork has its own purpose, and the floor is always lined with fragrant herbs for disinfection. Burrow cleaning is carried out daily; badgers completely change their bedding twice a year. This indefatigable builder constantly expands, deepens, and improves the hole, and this well-groomed dwelling, surrounded by the holes of neighbors, eventually becomes part of a large badger town.
For food, the badger collects mushrooms, nuts, acorns, wild berries, root crops, feasts on snails, mice, ground squirrels. For honey, he climbs into the nests of wild bees. The robber is stung, but he endures, because he loves sweets very much.
Crimean mountain fox settles in the mountains, among the rocks, in karst caves and grottoes. She is smart, cunning, impudent, agile, unscrupulous and often occupies the holes of other animals.
The main fox food is of animal origin, in proportion to the growth of the predator and the size of her teeth. Usually these are mice, gophers, hamsters, hedgehogs, bird eggs, and if you're lucky, then the birds themselves, hares and wild rabbits. When there are no dogs nearby, the fox overcomes fear and violates the sacred border of human habitation. But, unlike other delicacy lovers and contrary to folk tales, he does not rob much in chicken coops. And already without pleasure at all, just from hunger, it eats insects, frogs, lizards, carrion.
A rare animal can be compared in bloodthirstiness with a tiny, cute and very funny, at first glance, caress. It can be tamed if raised in a house, and the weasel will sleep on a pillow near the head of the owner, make friends with a cat and a dog, bring fun to the family with its playfulness and tireless curiosity.
The house where the tamed weasel lives will be absolutely clean from rodents and insects. It is a pity that in captivity this animal rarely lives up to five years. And here is what A. Bram says about the behavior of weasels in the forest:
A small animal, only eight inches long, but his courage and audacity are exorbitant. Seeing a person, he does not even think of running away, on the contrary, standing on his hind legs, he looks around with some defiant look. More than once it happened that the weasel even attacked the person herself, and it took great effort to get rid of her sharp teeth.
And yet not affection, but a wild boar- the only truly dangerous animal of the Crimean forest. Seeing or sensing a person, he prudently leaves, but does not forget insults and does not know fear.
The boar is an omnivore. Its main food is roots, acorns, mushrooms, all kinds of fruits and nuts. In addition, there are insects, their larvae, rodents, bird eggs, and even when it is completely hungry, the boar does not disdain carrion. Climbing into gardens, especially potato ones, wild pigs dig them up more conscientiously than any owner - not a single root crop will remain in the ground!
In November-December, single adult males join the herds of wild pigs with young. Violent battles break out between the billhooks. The front part of the boar's body is protected by a "trap" - a layer of fat and connective tissue, so strong that not every bullet pierces this natural shell! The stomach, however, is not protected, so for a weak opponent the duel can end in death. But the winner collects a small "harem" - and in early spring becomes the father of the family.
The female feeds, warms the piglets, and if necessary, hides the babies, covering them with leaves. At this time, it is extremely dangerous. If you find a hidden piglet in the forest and try to pick it up, the pig will come running immediately, and then - look for a higher tree!
The largest, most conspicuous of the inhabitants of the Crimean forests - Crimean red deer. There are males weighing up to 260 kilograms and up to 140 centimeters high at the withers. The deer is light-footed, slender, with a proud head posture and wide branched antlers. It is to this noble article that he owes his name. The age of the Crimean deer is 60-70 years. Every year in February-March, the old deer antlers fall off, and new ones grow in their place, at first very tender, covered with skin and permeated with blood vessels. These are antlers. Since ancient times, people have also hunted deer for the sake of the valuable medicine extracted from these antlers - pantocrine.
Horns are the deer's weapon. In the Crimea, the noble beast has no enemies (except hunters), so the horns serve only for tournament fights during the September mating season. At this time, usually before sunrise, the forest resounds with the inviting roar of males. Rivals fight under the gaze of two or four females, which should go to the winner.
The number of deer in the Crimean forests was constantly changing, and at the beginning of the 20th century they were almost completely exterminated. Since 1923, with the formation of a reserved hunting economy, hunting has decreased, and already in 1941 more than two thousand deer were bred in the forests of Crimea. during the war, they became four times less, and in 1990 the number again increased to several thousand. Today, as huntsmen say, the number of deer is “regulated” by itself, by licensed and poaching shootings.
Once artiodactyls - deer and roe deer- lived both in forests and in the steppe part of the peninsula. People pushed them into the mountain forest areas. Now most of all roe deer live on the slopes of the Main mountain range.
Meeting in the forest with this gentle, graceful animal is not such a rarity. Seeing a person, the animal freezes, and realizing that it has been discovered, it is carried away deep into the forest, shining with a “mirror” (white fur around the tail). "Mirrors" are necessary so that the young do not lose sight of the fleeing herd.
Belonging to the same family, roe deer look like deer, like smaller brothers. Both those and others feed on herbaceous plants, tree growth, buds, leaves and bark. Like deer, roe deer males wear branched antlers, hold mating tournaments in August-September, and then lose their weapons so that in the spring, in preparation for the next season, they begin to grow a new one. Foresters (and hunters too) affectionately call roe deer goats. And here is what A. Bram writes about the roe deer:
She effortlessly jumps over high fences and bushes, swims and climbs just as well; perfectly hears, smells and sees; she is cunning and careful. She grows handy quickly, but in adulthood she always remains a stubborn, capricious creature, especially males, who behave like the most capricious goats ...
Crimean animals on video
The small size of the peninsula and its isolation from the mainland led to some poverty of the Crimean fauna. This is manifested not so much in the small number of species, but in the small number of individuals of each species.
Some species are endemic (for example, the Crimean ground beetle), others are found in very limited areas (for example, the Crimean gecko lizard, which belongs to rare and endangered species, lives only on the South Coast no higher than 300 m above sea level between Sevastopol and Alushta). There are animal relics - witnesses of ancient eras (leopard snake, crested newt).
Crimean red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, wild boar, foxes, stone marten, badger live in the forests of the mountainous Crimea. Birds of mountain forests: jays, woodpeckers, blackbirds, owls, woodcocks in a small number, as well as black-headed vulture and griffon vulture (no more than 20-30 individuals left the latter).
The animal world of underground cavities is peculiar, where worms, beetles, mollusks live. Colonies of bats (horseshoe bat, long-winged bat, bat, bat, kozhan) nest in rock crevices, in caves, and sometimes in the attics of houses.
Rodents (ground squirrels, hamsters, voles, jerboas) are found in the steppes of the peninsula, which foxes, polecats, and weasels feast on. The hare is widespread (remaining gray even in winter, since winters in the Crimea have little snow). The world of birds in the flat Crimea is represented by larks, partridges, quails. In the northern part of the peninsula, where there are numerous shallow bays of Sivash, the Karkinit Bay of the Black Sea, lakes and watered rice fields, there is expanse for waterfowl of the Crimea: ducks, loaf, coots, chalets, gulls. Herons nest in reed beds.
Thousands of swans gather during the period of molting and wintering on the famous Swan Islands. Thanks to these birds, which have an amazing ability to evoke only bright and kind feelings in all people without exception, the small and inconspicuous islands of Sary-Bulat have long been declared protected and known throughout the world. There are also large colonies of herring gulls, etc.
Among the reptiles there are many lizards - a quick, rocky, multi-colored, Crimean and legless yellow-bellied lizard. The latter is often mistaken for a snake and therefore killed, but meanwhile it is an ancient surviving relic.
In Crimea, there is only one type of poisonous snake - the steppe viper (cases of bites are very rare), all the rest are harmless and never attack a person (ordinary and water snakes, yellow-bellied and leopard snakes, copperfish).
Of the insects, deer beetles, rhinos, ground beetles shimmering with a green-violet sheen, barbels, and cicadas are interesting. Pests of forests, gardens and orchards are gypsy moth, codling moth, scale insects, Colorado potato beetle.
Many different species of Crimean animals are found in fresh water bodies. These are representatives of crustaceans: freshwater crab, cyclops, daphnia, amphipods, crayfish. Many of them serve as food for fish: carps, crucians, ruffs, etc. Aborigines of mountain rivers - brook trout, chub, Crimean barbel.
Settlements with their complex architecture, parks, ponds have become the habitat of many representatives of the animal world. Among such animals in the Crimea there are many insects, rodents and birds of the Crimea (ringed dove, rock dove, crow, rook, jackdaw, swallows, sparrows).
The animal world was not always the same as it is now. This is evidenced by excavation materials, discovered fossils. It is known that several million years ago, when the climate was wetter and warmer, giraffes, antelopes, and hornless rhinos lived in the Crimea. After their extinction, the peninsula was inhabited by camels, southern elephants, cave bears. During the epochs of the Quaternary (Pleistocene) cooling, hare, wolverine, lynx, reindeer, black grouse, white and tundra partridges were common in the Crimea, and the remains of a mammoth were found in the vicinity of Simferopol (Chokur-Chinsky Grotto). In the basin of the Zui River (Kiik-Koba grotto), bones of the following species were found: saiga antelope, bison, mammoth, brown bear, arctic fox ... All these species, except for the extinct mammoth, currently live much north of Crimea.
Of the now extinct animals of the Crimea, at different times, the Biruli ground squirrels, Eversmann's hamsters, cave bears, hyenas and lions, tarpans, wild European donkeys, and giant deer were settled. And from those that did not live in the Crimea before, there were red ground squirrels, marmots, beavers, jerboas, European forest and water voles, housekeeper voles, narrow-skulled voles, brown bears, wild cats, kulans, wild boars, bison and sheep.
At the beginning of the XX century. in the Crimea began acclimatization of animals. Mouflons were brought from the island of Corsica and from the Askania-Nova reserve, mountain goats from Kyrgyzstan, teleutka squirrels from Altai, wild boars from the south of the Far East, and wild rabbits from the Odessa region. Pheasants, mountain partridges, kekliks were settled in the Crimea. In the Sea of Azov, the acclimatization of the Pilengas fish has successfully passed.
Many species of Crimean wild animals (196 species, or more than 50% of the entire Crimean fauna) are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and are under state protection. Among them: black stork, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins, bustard, yellow-bellied crane, demoiselle crane, white-tailed eagle, swallowtail, common cicada, little bustard, pink starling and many others.
Today in the Crimea there are 58 species of land mammals.
Fox
Lives in the Crimean mountains mountain fox, and in the steppe its subspecies - steppe fox. The main fox food is mice, gophers, hamsters, hedgehogs, bird eggs, and if you're lucky, then the birds themselves, hares and wild rabbits. And already completely without pleasure, from hunger, it eats insects, frogs, lizards, and even carrion. The need will force!
Neither a fox, nor even a wolf (which is believed to have long been absent from the Crimea) cannot be compared in bloodthirstiness with a tiny, cute and very funny, at first glance, caress. By the way, it can be tamed if raised in a house, and the weasel will sleep on a pillow near the head of the owner, make friends with a cat and a dog, bring fun to the family with its playfulness and tireless curiosity. The house where the tamed weasel lives will be absolutely clean from rodents and insects. It is a pity that in captivity this animal rarely lives up to five years. This animal is a real robber...! Whom does he not attack? It can be mice and moles, hares and rabbits, chickens and partridges, as well as a host of other animals - all this becomes the prey of a miniature predator.
During fox mating games, grooms claiming the attention of females walk in front of the chosen one on their hind legs, performing a peculiar and very amusing dance. People spied on him, then they themselves learned this dance, giving it the name foxtrot (“fox step”).
Belodushka
Belodushka we call the stone marten with white fur on the throat and on the chest. Elegant, graceful, beautiful white woman is a brave, voracious and incredibly agile predator, not alien, however, to vegetarian food. In summer and autumn, the marten is supplemented with thorns, hawthorn, pears and grapes. Unlike the common marten, the barnacle does not climb trees, but if it already climbs into a home chicken coop (usually in the middle of the night), then effortlessly, in a few minutes, it will strangle the entire bird family restless with horror there.
Badger- a peaceful representative of the bloodthirsty family of mustelids, which includes such indomitable predators as mink, otter, sable, wolverine, ermine, and from the Crimean ones - ferret, weasel and marten. "Family" energy and courage are manifested in the omnivorous badger not in bloody robberies, but in tireless useful work. He digs holes for himself several floors, to match the caves; the total length of the underground "halls" and "galleries" can reach twenty meters.
Each otnork has its own purpose, and the floor is always lined with fragrant herbs for disinfection. Burrow cleaning is carried out daily; badgers completely change their bedding twice a year. The hole is constantly expanding, deepening, improving and, surrounded by the holes of its neighbors, eventually becomes part of a large badger town. The animal eats mushrooms, nuts, acorns, forest berries, root crops, eats snails, mice, ground squirrels. For honey, the badger climbs into the nests of wild bees. They sting him, but he endures, because he loves sweets very much.
The badger is a peaceful animal, but a rare hunting dog, which has chased foxes many times under a shot, will dare to poke its nose into the badger "town". She knows, feels that the owner will not leave his home and family, that he will fight, and one of the opponents will have to die in this dungeon.
It is believed that in 1922 the last Crimean was killed. wolf but the road is open to them. Perekop is narrow, gray robbers cannot run across it in a large flock in order to settle again in a fertile land.
raccoon dog- the Far Eastern predator, which is not very suitable for fishing, was acclimatized in the Crimea twice. For the first time, these animals did not take root, and after the second resettlement they mastered the flat areas, including Belogorsky and Leninsky. The beast is omnivorous, but more prone to animal food.
A wild boar
A wild boar has long lived in the Crimea, but by the 19th century it was completely exterminated by hunters. To restore the population in 1957, one wild boar was brought here from the Chernihiv region, and 34 wild pigs from the Primorsky Territory.
Boars are omnivores. The basis of the diet - roots, acorns, mushrooms, all kinds of fruits and nuts. In addition, there are insects, their larvae, rodents, bird eggs, and even when it is completely hungry, the boar does not disdain carrion.
In November-December, single adult males join the herds of wild pigs with young. Violent battles break out between the billhooks. The front part of the boar's body is protected by a "kalkan" - a thick layer of fat and connective tissue; not every bullet pierces this natural shell. The stomach, however, is not protected, so that for a weaker opponent, the duel can end in death.
But the winner collects a small "harem" - and in early spring becomes the father of the family. The female feeds, warms the piglets, and if necessary, hides away, covering with leaves. At this time, it is extremely dangerous.
Seeing or smelling a person, a wild boar prudently leaves. But he does not forget insults and does not know fear.
Roe
Once upon a time in the forests and in the steppe part of the peninsula lived roe deer. People forced them into the mountain forest areas, and now most of the roe deer live on the slopes of the Main mountain range. Meeting in the forest with this gentle, graceful animal is not such a rarity. Seeing a person, the animal freezes, and realizing that it has been discovered, it is carried away into the depths of the forest.
Belonging to the same family, roe deer are very similar to deer. Both of them feed on herbaceous plants, tree growth, buds, leaves and bark. Like deer, male roe deer wear branched antlers, hold mating tournaments in August-September, and then lose their weapons so that in the spring, in preparation for the next season, they begin to grow new ones. Roe deer in the Crimea are attacked by foxes and martens, but their worst enemy is, of course, the poacher.
Roe deer have excellent hearing. An alarm signal given by one roe deer is received by all animals within a radius of three kilometers.
Crimean red deer
The largest of our animals Crimean red deer found in mountain forests. There are males weighing up to 260 kilograms and up to 140 centimeters high at the withers. The deer is light-footed, slender, with a proud head posture and wide branched antlers. It is to this noble article that he owes his name. The age of the Crimean deer is 60-70 years. The age of young males corresponds, as a rule, to the number of processes on the horns. The age of older animals is determined by the chewing surface of their teeth.
Horns are the deer's weapon. In the Crimea, he has no enemies (except hunters), so the horns serve only for tournament fights during the September mating season. At this time, usually before sunrise, the forest resounds with the inviting roar of males.
The number of deer in the Crimean forests was constantly changing, and at the beginning of the 20th century they were almost completely exterminated. Since 1923, with the formation of a protected hunting economy, shooting has decreased, and by 1941 more than two thousand deer were bred in the forests of Crimea. Today, as the huntsmen say, the number of deer is “regulated” by the poachers themselves.