Animal world of Crimea. Animals of Crimea are inhabitants of forests. Steppe and mountain fox

At present, humanity is concerned about the state of nature and is doing everything possible to preserve rare representatives of flora and fauna. The Red Book of Crimea will help you find out which Crimean animals and plants need protection.

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The first list, which listed rare plants and rare animals in the Crimea, was compiled in the twenties of the last century. Over time, it changed, many scientists made their additions. But there was not enough material to create a full edition. Finally, in 2015, a government decree issued a decree on compiling the work “The Red Book of Crimea. Plants and Animals". The document gave the publication an official status. More than fifty specialists worked on its creation. The information contained in it helps in making decisions on the expansion of protected areas or the creation of new reserves and reserves.

Structure

The Red Book contains the name of the species in Russian and Latin, their description. The characteristic of rarity is given and the actions taken for conservation are indicated. A map showing habitats, illustrations and photographs is presented. At the end of each essay there are links to primary sources.

On land and in water

Almost 400 species of animals are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Crimea. Of these, more than fifty are endangered, 16 subspecies are recognized as almost extinct.

List of some animals from the Red Book of Crimea:

The steppe polecat is an endangered group.

Lives on plains, forest plantations and even in small settlements. Feeds on small rodents. Females are fertilized in the spring, give birth in early summer, 10 - 16 puppies at a time. At the end of summer, puppies leave their mother, live alone and become sexually mature individuals by the next year. No special protection measures are proposed. The population size depends on the number of rats that are the main food.

The bottlenose dolphin is a declining species.

In Crimea, it lives in the Black Sea and the Kerch Strait. It feeds on fish, lives an average of 20-30 years, becomes sexually mature at 7 years old, and produces offspring every 3 years. Suffers from illegal capture for commercial dolphinariums, dies from collision with ships. In captivity, it breeds, but the offspring gives a weak, incapable of full reproduction. As a conservation measure, the reduction, and subsequently the closure of dolphinariums, is named.

Gopher small - declining in numbers, the steppe group.

Lives in colonies in steppes and semi-deserts. Digs long burrows with passages. It feeds mainly on cereals. In the cold season, it hibernates for 3-4 months. Upon leaving hibernation, the breeding cycle begins, in the litter from five to ten cubs. At the beginning of summer, they leave their burrows, and other groups of animals settle in the burrows, including those listed in the Red Book in the Crimea, which makes the ground squirrels an ecologically valuable subspecies. The threat to them is the plowing of the steppes and predators.

The large jerboa is an endangered species.

Prefers meadows and dry shores of reservoirs. Lives in burrows, equipping a nesting chamber. It hibernates for the winter. It feeds on bulbs, seeds, leaves and insects. The threat for them is the plowing of meadows, grazing. It also suffers from predators: seagulls, owls, ferrets.

A complete list of which animals are listed in the Red Book of Crimea can be found in the publication itself, in print or electronic form.

In the air

The birds listed in the Red Book in the Republic of Crimea amaze with their diversity. Let's look at some of them:

Starling pink.

The color of this bird is actually pink, except for a small crest, wings and tail - they are black, with a metallic sheen. This is a rare subspecies. Arrives at nesting sites in May. Over the past 30 years, the number of arriving birds has decreased three times. It builds nests in shelters - cracks in rocks, under slate roofs. Lays about 5 eggs, which are incubated by both parents. A month after birth, the chicks already fly well. The starling feeds mainly on insects; in summer, juicy fruits are added to the diet.

Tirkushka steppe.

Is under the threat of extinction. Breeds near the sea or salt lakes, at a distance from water, in colonies. In the seventies of the last century it was an ordinary bird, now it is extremely rare. Arrives in early May, uses a small hole in the ground as a nest, laying up to 5 eggs. Parents incubate together, flying away during the day to feed. The nest left for this time is looked after by other birds of the colony. At the beginning of September, tirkushki, together with their young, fly to Africa for the winter.

The yellow heron is a rare subspecies.

It nests along the banks of brackish and freshwater reservoirs, next to other bird colonies. Arrives in April, lays eggs in early May. By July, the young are already flying away from the colony. Adult birds fly away before the end of September. It feeds on insects, amphibians and small fish in shallow water.

Many species of migratory birds have reduced their numbers in recent years and those listed in the Red Book are under state protection.

Insects

Representatives of insects require no less protection. Let's look at some of them:

The Crimean ground beetle (another name is "Rough ground beetle") is a rare subspecies.

Lives on rocky slopes, in gardens, vineyards, parks and forests. This is a predator that eats snails, insects and their larvae. It breeds from early April to late September. The life span is three years, larvae of different ages hibernate. There are significant population fluctuations.

The Flying Bumblebee is a subspecies that is endangered.

Occurs alone, rarely. Prefers shores and water meadows. Nests are made on the ground, under last year's foliage or moss. Active from late spring to late summer. It feeds on pollen and nectar from members of the legume family. The burning of dry grass and the impoverishment of feeding places are recognized as a threat.

Machaon is a rare species. Large, beautiful butterfly.

The wingspan reaches 10 cm. It lives in the steppes, but flies over long distances, flying into the villages to the gardens and laying eggs there. Before mating, males dance mating dances. The female lays 1 to 3 eggs. Caterpillars feed on umbrella plants, preferring their flowers. They develop within a month, then they make a chrysalis. The threat to the population is the plowing of the steppes, uncontrolled grazing.

All these and many other animals of the Crimea listed in the Red Book are protected by the law of the Russian Federation.

Flora

Its representatives play an invaluable role in the development of the planet. The state takes care of the conservation of useful species. Endangered plants of the Crimea, listed in the Red Book - rare plants, all of them are also listed in the Red Book of Russia and Ukraine.

In the introduction of the publication, a story is given about the nature of the peninsula with colorful photographs and illustrations of landscapes. A list of normative acts is presented. The descriptions themselves include the following sections:

1. species name in Russian and Latin with synonyms;
2. photograph or illustration;
3. taxon status;
4. area of ​​growth and a cartogram with the designation of places of growth in the territory of the Crimean Republic;
5. morphological and biological features;
6. possible threats and accepted methods of protection;
7. links to sources of information and authors of illustrations and photographs.

Nearly 300 vascular species, about 40 bryophytes, a little less than 20 algae and 55 lichens and fungi are protected by law. Plants of the Red Book express a loud call for the protection of not only rare subspecies included in the list of the Red Book, but also all other equally important species growing on the peninsula.

Crocus Crimean. In addition to the peninsula, it is found in Novorossiysk

Trees

On the peninsula, depending on the distance from the coast, there are different types of forests.
In the foothills, these are forest-steppes, consisting of junipers, pears, oaks, wild roses and other trees. To the south, oaks appear - these are light and not dense forests. Higher in the mountains, they change to beech trees (the trees are over two hundred years old). It is very twilight there, the grass under the crowns does not grow. The higher, the more clumsy and undersized trees become. Closer to the sea are pine and beech forests. Further south, a mixed forest appears, consisting of oak, pistachio, juniper and other drought-resistant plants.

For example, the Crimean juniper is a species that is declining in numbers. It is an evergreen tree up to 15 meters high. Prefers steep southern slopes, wind-pollinated, propagated by seeds. The threat is construction, quarrying, forest fires. Protected in nature reserves.

Juniper grows in Crimea in many places, but everywhere it is not numerous.

Flowers

These representatives of the flora are represented in an incredible number of species. Many of them are endangered. We list some of them:

The wildlife of the Crimea has been studied no less carefully than the flora.

The connection between the uniqueness of the geographical location of the Crimea and the originality of the fauna of the peninsula is no less obvious than for the flora, although the animals are more dynamic. In addition to the species characteristic of the nearby southern regions of Ukraine, we everywhere meet animals of the Mediterranean range on the peninsula. Many species or subspecies of animals are found, except for the Crimea, only in the Caucasus, the Balkans, the islands of the Aegean Sea or in Asia Minor, confirming the hypothesis of the existence of Pontida.

The hunting territories of some animals are measured in many kilometers, animals are able to make long migrations, nevertheless, the fauna of the Crimea has many endemic species and subspecies. Finally, the uniqueness of the Crimean natural communities is confirmed by the "depletion" of the fauna - the absence of many species that are very common in neighboring regions.

All of the above is indisputable proof of the special principles and ways of developing the natural community on the Crimean Peninsula.

The data of paleontology, the science of fossil organisms, show us that in ancient times Crimea was inhabited by such heat-loving animals as giraffes and ostriches. Then, along with glaciers, they were replaced by northern species, for example, arctic fox and reindeer. Even 10-12 thousand years ago, the Crimean fauna was composed of an amazing conglomerate of species from completely different spaces and times.

Alas, you have to pay the highest price for uniqueness. When unfavorable conditions arise, animals have nowhere to migrate in a relatively small area of ​​the peninsula, so they have adapted to a unique habitat.

Animals are divided into invertebrates and chordates. The former are very primitive, the latter are perfect. Primitiveness is a very relative concept. The evolution of invertebrate ancestors did not end after the birth of vertebrate descendants. Many types of microorganisms appeared much later than the relatively young species of primates.

Coelenterates are often cited as a striking example of the primitiveness of our evolutionary ancestors. Let's check if this is so, using the example of jellyfish - the most accessible representatives of this class to our eyes.

Jellyfish lead two lives, and the transmigration of souls is a constant practice for them. In one of their lives, they are a sedentary form - polyps attached to a solid substrate, close relatives of the builders of coral islands. Like all homebodies, polyps are not capable of frenzy of passion and multiply by budding. Confirming the eternity of the conflict of "fathers and children", the budding descendants of polyps are born in the form of gelatinous formations well known to us. Experts call these forms "sexual". The gelatinous body of jellyfish is shaped like a bell or an umbrella; squeezing it, the animal shows us the oldest example of a jet engine and moves in space, however, somewhat slower than spaceships. At rest, jellyfish move at the behest of waves and currents. Along the edge of the body, jellyfish are armed with tentacles with stinging cells that dig into the skin of the victim and paralyze it. Paralysis does not threaten a person, but a meeting with some oceanic species of jellyfish can result in a serious burn. The largest jellyfish reach 2.3 m in diameter.

Zoopsychologists who have studied the intellectual abilities of octopuses have come to the conclusion that their level is very high. This statement seems to be in some contradiction with the statement about the "primitiveness" of another class of invertebrates - molluscs. Unfortunately, neither squids nor octopuses are found in the reservoirs washing Crimea, but there is an abundance of their evolutionary relatives. On land and in fresh water there are quite a lot of snails, slugs, bivalve shells, and among the mollusks of the Azov and Black Seas, zoologists distinguish more than 200 species.

Mollusk means "soft-bodied" in Latin. Quite often, molluscs hide their softness in a strong shell or in a bivalve shell. Undoubtedly, these are "good", "useful" animals. First of all, they produce pearls for people. All bivalves secrete a special secret, a substance that turns into mother-of-pearl when solidified. Translated from German, "mother of pearl" means "mother of pearls." If a foreign object gets into the body of pearl mollusks, then, being enveloped in mother-of-pearl, it can become a pearl. Unfortunately, pearl mussels do this laudable activity mainly in tropical waters.

Many mollusks are attached to underwater rocks with strong thin threads, the so-called byssus. This substance is a frozen secret of a special byssus gland. In ancient times, linen was made from the byssus of the mollusk - a strong, somewhat harsh fabric similar to silk.

From the point of view of many people, a very commendable property of mollusks is their edibility. Mollusks do not eat people, but they need to eat something. This desire is not encouraged in any way. Mankind has come up with more traps for hunting slugs than for catching tigers.

It is absolutely impossible to call crustaceans primitive. As for their "usefulness", in terms of culinary properties, many of them are in no way inferior to shellfish, especially when it comes to ten-legged crayfish, which include lobsters, lobsters, our freshwater crayfish, crabs and shrimp. These "useful" animals occasionally make a very pleasant change in the everyday life of beer lovers.

There are 11 thousand species of centipedes on Earth. "Legs", or rather segments, these animals really have a lot: from 11 to 177, but, despite the abundance of "limbs", these animals are often very slow. The most common centipedes in the Crimea are nodding-dark brown sluggish animals hiding under stones, deadwood or bark. Their only defense is the ability to hide and a rather pungent smell.

The centipede found in the Crimea also belongs to the centipede class. This predator hides during the day in approximately the same places where the nods are, and is active only at night. Scolopendra is equipped with a powerful jaw apparatus and is poisonous. The bite of the Crimean centipede is quite painful, but absolutely harmless.

Representatives of the order of arthropods of the arachnid class - phalanxes, or salpugs, also bite very painfully. About 600 species of these arthropods live in deserts or semi-deserts. The largest phalanx, moreover, the largest representative of the class of arachnids in Ukraine - the common phalanx reaches a length of 5 cm. There are also many legends about the poisonousness of the phalanges, but we are unlikely to be able to prove their failure on ourselves, since the animal is so rare that listed in the Red Book.

Scorpions belong to the class of arachnids. The bite of a scorpion is very painful (it injects poison through hollow formations at the end of the tail). However, it is less and less possible to meet a scorpion in the Crimea, and not at all because he is very prone to suicide, hitting himself with a sting, but because many of us believe all sorts of fairy tales and fables and rush to trample on a dangerous animal, forgetting that no one is given the right to destroy the harmony of nature. Even if we are talking about ticks, which are really the most unpleasant for us, people, representatives of the arachnid class.

However, according to some zoologists, mites do not belong to arachnids. One way or another, this does not make them any less - 3 thousand species are allocated only in Ukraine. Many of them spoil agricultural products, others do not directly touch people, and still others have not come up with anything better than to feed on our blood. In the Far East, there are types of ticks that carry pathogens of encephalitis. In Crimea, too, especially in spring, there are similar "aggressors", so after a walk through a mountain forest or a spring yayla, inspect your loved ones and "look around" yourself. Ticks do not tolerate heat well and are most active in spring and autumn.

We will complete the story about invertebrates in the class of insects. This is the most numerous class of the animal kingdom, numbering more than 800 thousand species according to the most conservative estimates. At least 12-15 thousand species of these most biologically prosperous animals live in the Crimea.

Insects are found everywhere on the peninsula: on desert salt marshes, rocks, in reservoirs and on their banks, even in old apartments. Nevertheless, only a small part of what is observed by entomologists falls into our field of vision. Zhukov, for example, entomologists in the Crimea have described at least 4,000 species, and a person far from biology is unlikely to be able to distinguish more than 100, or even 10 species. However, it seems to many that it is quite enough to get acquainted with only one of the beetles, who came to visit us from Colorado.

The most noticeable insects are butterflies, however, without special knowledge, skills and equipment, a tiny part of more than 2000 species of Crimean butterflies appears to our eyes, since the main number of these insects has a modest camouflage color or nocturnal activity.

Due to their large numbers and varied diet, insects play an extremely important role in natural communities. Only their tireless activity maintains a magnificent variety of vegetation in various landscapes, without these little workers there would not be many vegetable, fruit and field crops. But even the most unpleasant squad of insects for us - Diptera - all these flies, mosquitoes, mosquitoes, horseflies and gadflies cannot be considered "bad".

It is very unpleasant when a mosquito bite itches. It is unusually pitiful for a deer tormented by the larvae of the gadfly, but as soon as some kind of insect disappears, any kind of bird or fish that feeds on them or their larvae can immediately disappear, and some fellow Colorado potato beetle, which has received the opportunity to reproduce freely in the absence of predators, will turn out to be much more unpleasant for us and our household than the itch from a mosquito bite mentioned above. Man constantly upsets the balance of nature, creates the prerequisites for the excessive development of certain species by his activity, for example, by plowing the steppe, and then, instead of trying to restore the balance, violates it even more.

The richest species composition of insects (entomofauna) in Crimea is observed on the southern coast, especially in its eastern part. Almost 75% of Crimean insect species and most typical Mediterranean species are found here. Many Mediterranean species live in mountain forests, in the foothill forest-steppe and on the flat peaks of Yayla. Most of the endemic species are distributed in all these zones. Due to plowing, many insect species of the Crimean steppe have survived only in point habitats with untouched areas of steppe vegetation. Of the 173 species of insects listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, 104 live in the Crimea.

Fish already belong to a higher evolutionary stage, to vertebrate animals. That is, they, like you and me, the skeleton is inside the body, and not outside. In fish, evolution has introduced into practice the construction of a skeleton from bone, although the "worst" representatives of this class (sharks) and the "best" (sturgeons) appeared on Earth before the bone was invented by Nature, and therefore are forced to make do with cartilage.

46 species of fish live in the fresh waters of Crimea, but only 14 of them are aboriginal, originally Crimean inhabitants. The remaining 32 species were acclimatized in one way or another. Only after the commissioning of the North Crimean Canal, crucian carp, carp, perch, pike perch (like a city), silver carp, grass carp and pike became common for fishermen. There are about 200 species of fish in the Black and Azov Seas. Many of them live in them permanently, others visit it "in transit", migrating through the Bosporus. Some species make such migrations annually, others - every few years, others, such as swordfish, have been seen in isolated cases.

Not all fish species can make such journeys, as the relatively low salt concentration in the Black Sea is detrimental to most Mediterranean species adapted to saltier water. The same can be said about the migrations of various species from the Black Sea to the fresher Sea of ​​Azov or in the opposite direction.

Now the reader and I will have to leave the abyss of waters, as amphibians, otherwise called amphibians, did about 225 million years ago. For such a long time, it would seem that one can adapt to life on land, but amphibians have not completely overcome some of the habits of their dark evolutionary past: they breed only in water in order to hatch from eggs and serve a certain period of their life as tadpoles. Amphibians are divided into tailed (newts) and tailless (toads, frogs). Both are represented on the territory of Crimea by six species, the most common of which are the lake frog and the green toad, and the toad is found even in semi-desert areas, hiding in deep burrows during the day, and at night and after rains going out to hunt for insects. Tree frog (tree frog) and crested newt are common in the mountain-forest part of the Crimea, and the red-bellied toad and common spadefoot can be found only in the plains.

Many of us have an inadequate attitude towards amphibians, and there are reasons for this attitude. First, amphibians vaguely resemble reptiles, many of which are poisonous. Secondly, the skin of many types of toads is poisonous, and if you eat a toad raw, you can get poisoned, which sometimes happens with small predators and dogs. It is entirely possible that the fear of poisonous animals, like other instincts, accumulates in the memory of generations and is transmitted genetically. On the other hand, a reasonable person must overcome this fear, just as we overcome the fear of darkness in childhood. Many Romanesque peoples have overcome this fear and eat frog legs with great pleasure, however, by no means eating raw toads.

Template arguments about the "usefulness" of amphibians that eat "bad" insects, frankly, set the teeth on edge with their senselessness. "Good" insects are also eaten with great pleasure by amphibians, because they do not distinguish food in this way.

The only poisonous of the 14 species of Crimean reptiles, the steppe viper, is found in the plains and foothills of the peninsula so rarely that it is included in the Red Book. "Reliable" statements about the toxicity of other species living on the peninsula are in fact prejudices, alas, much more tenacious than those included in this "black list" species, primarily the yellow-bellied snake, the four-banded snake and the leopard snake. In addition to the listed snakes, two species of snakes and copperfish live in the Crimea. The only species of turtles, the marsh turtle, inhabits mainly mountain reservoirs, but sometimes descends along the riverbeds quite far into the steppe regions. Of the six species of lizards, the Crimean, nimble and rock lizards are quite numerous.

Birds, or, as experts say, "avifauna" of the Crimea, number more than 300 species. Almost 65% of them nest on the peninsula, 5% (17 species) winter here, the remaining 30% are migratory.

The largest birds on the peninsula are gray crane, demoiselle crane, bustard, little bustard, swans, geese and large predators: short-toed eagle, steppe eagle, osprey, dwarf eagle, imperial eagle, white-tailed eagle, golden eagle, vulture, black vulture, griffon vulture , saker falcon, peregrine falcon and eagle owl. Sometimes pelicans are met in the Crimea. Almost all large birds are rare. The main number of species have chosen mountainous areas as their habitat, especially many birds on the plateau of the Main Ridge and on the borders of the plateau and the forest. The avifauna is very rich in mixed floodplain forests of river valleys. In the steppe part of the Crimea, waders, four species of larks, quails and such rare species as bustards and bustards that remain for wintering in warm years are quite common.

Crimea is located on the routes of traditional bird migration. Huge flocks of semi-aquatic and aquatic species accumulate in the shallow waters of the Sivash and Karkinitsky Bay during migration and wintering. On the peninsula expanse for hunters. Divers feed and nest on the shores of the Black and Azov Seas, ducks (mallards, wigeons, pintails, teals), wild geese, woodcocks, quails, gray partridge and wild pigeons wait out the winter in secluded places. However, many game birds have adapted to spend the winter in close proximity to crowded city beaches, where the ban on hunting is complemented by an abundance of food.

In many areas, nesting and migration of birds are protected by law, among them are several islands of Sivash, the protected tract "Mount Opuk" and the islands of Elken-Kaya in the south of the Kerch Peninsula.

In the northern part of the Kerch Peninsula there is a state ornithological reserve "Astaninskiye plavni" ("Oysulskaya plavni"). The eastern shores of the Aktash lake-estuary are thickets of reeds, they are called floodplains. Reliable shelter and abundance of food attract numerous flocks of migratory and nesting birds in the Crimea.

But the most "main" ornithological reserve, which has a well-deserved international recognition, is the Lebyazhy Islands - a branch of the Crimean State Reserve. Six islands of the tract are located near the northwestern shores of the plain Crimea. They stretched for about 8 km along the coast of the Karkinitsky Gulf. The largest island is about 3.5 km long and up to 350 meters wide. The islands are about 3.5 km away from the coast. Shallow water, an abundance of plant and animal food in the water and on land, combined with a protected regime, attract a lot of waterfowl to the Swan Islands. A large population of mute swan nests here. In late autumn, northern whooper swans gather on the islands for wintering. Various species of ducks, waders, white and gray herons, gulls, cormorants nest on the islands, more than 25 species in total.

Hunting requires excitement, scientific birdwatching requires serious professional skills, but any of us can get up before dawn, walk through the park or climb into the nearest forest to hear the discordant choir of songbirds at dawn, because the bird population is only forest parks and parks settlements of the Crimea has more than 20 species.

More than 60 species of mammals live in Crimea. The largest representatives of the Crimean fauna are ungulates, four species of which have adapted to the mountain forests of the peninsula. The Crimean red deer, preserved in the protected areas, is a local (aboriginal) species, the other two species of artiodactyls appeared thanks to the efforts of people. Lan in the 70s 20th century imported from the Askania-Nova Reserve, but a large increase in livestock has not yet been observed. But the wild boar, which appeared in the mid-50s, has now settled throughout the forest zone, and licensed shooting is allowed for it. Attempts to acclimatize bison and mountain sheep-mouflon in the Crimea ended in failure: the bison, causing harm to vegetation unadapted to the growth of its livestock, was deprived of the Crimean "registration" in 1980, and the mouflon reproduces rather poorly.

Of the predatory animals of the peninsula, the fox and weasel are quite numerous. Weasel is the smallest predator of the Crimea, the fox, together with the forest dweller badger, are the largest. The common fox is more common in the steppe areas, the Crimean subspecies is more typical for the mountain-forest part of the peninsula. The marten lives in the foothills of the Crimea, and the raccoon dog settled along the North Crimean Canal. Predators eat either purely animal food, like the ferret and weasel, or have a mixed diet, as is observed in the marten, fox, badger, and raccoon dog. There used to be quite a lot of wolves in Crimea, but the last animals disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century.

Life without wolves for hares, of course, seems insipid, but a hare
feels good in the Crimea and can be found everywhere, except perhaps the central city blocks. A significant increase in the rabbit acclimatized in the steppe regions has not yet been observed, but the squirrel, which settled in 1940 on the territory of the Crimean Natural Reserve, settled throughout the peninsula, including parks and green areas of cities.

Four representatives of marine mammals are found in the Black and Azov Seas: the monk seal and three species of dolphins. In the natural environment, dolphins are rarely seen, but at present it is easy to meet them in the dolphinariums of Sevastopol, Yalta, Evpatoria and Karadag, where bottlenose dolphins are usually kept. Dolphins are happy to jump through hoops, play with a ball, perform various commands of trainers - in a word, they demonstrate their remarkable abilities to the public, and therefore a visit to the dolphinarium is always very spectacular and informative.

A tourist who went to rest in the Crimea should be aware of the dangers that may lie in wait for him in the nature of this wonderful land. In the sea and in the mountains, an inexperienced person can stumble upon trouble.

What to fear in the Crimea?

You need to know each enemy by sight in order to bypass him in time or skillfully avoid the consequences of contact.

Dangerous plants in Crimea

The flora of Crimea is full of plants that can harm human health. You should not pluck the flowers you like without knowing their true properties. Even the well-known magnolia is not so harmless. If you put her flowers in a vase of water at home, then you are guaranteed headaches, and you will not know why it is so bad.

Autumn or Colchicum

Pale pink flowers of autumn crocus (autumn or kolchikum) grow in open areas: edges, glades, in the mountains. Tearing off the beautiful large buds of the plant, you will incur nausea, muscle aches, and diarrhea. Once in the body, colchicum leads to paralysis of the respiratory system, heart. Help in case of poisoning: wash the stomach with a solution of manganese, call an ambulance.

Aconite flower

Violet flowers of Aconite are found in the forest, in the meadow, in the clearing. Very dangerous if swallowed. Causes respiratory and cardiac paralysis. You also need to act: rinse the stomach with a sorbent and seek medical help.

Burning Bush

Beautiful lilac flowers with dark streaks of golostyolbikovy ash tree (burning bush) grow in ravines, forests and clearings. Due to the contained oils, the plant ignites in the heat, without singing itself. In contact with it, you can get a burn that does not heal for a long time. Inhalation of oils from flower stalks leads to damage to the mucous membranes of the lungs. If a burning bush suddenly meets you on the way, it is better to bypass it. In contact with the plant, the affected area should be washed with water, treating with soap.

Datura vulgaris

White large flowers, reminiscent of a gramophone, an ornamental plant Datura vulgaris are often planted near roads in resort towns. It grows in thickets, blooms in mid-summer, bears fruit in autumn. It is poisonous and leads to severe hallucinations, followed by falling into a coma when eating the seeds of the plant or any part of it. Washing the stomach with manganese and drinking strong unsweetened tea will save a person from the consequences of the destructive effects of dope ordinary.

Henbane black

A poisonous plant that grows in groups near landfills. These are meter-long white flowers with a dark middle. If you take any part of the plant (especially the seeds) into your mouth, you can be seriously poisoned. The pupils dilate, salivation begins to profuse, hallucinations with seizures appear, and suffocation occurs. Immediate help is needed for the victim, as there is a threat of death. It is necessary to remove the poison from the stomach, causing vomiting with a probe. You need activated charcoal. Call an ambulance immediately.

Belladonna (mad cherry or common belladonna)

Poisonous plant found in beech forests, on river banks. It has dirty purple flowers and dark cherry-like fruits, so people are often poisoned by it. Belladonna poisoning is manifested by fever, dry mouth, hallucinations. If you do not provide first aid, then paralysis of the respiratory tract develops. The victim needs to drink a solution of manganese, activated charcoal and seek medical help.

raven eye

You can get poisoned by the berries of the crow's eye, which resemble blueberries. They grow in the forests of the Crimea and wet places. After eating such berries, a gag reflex, diarrhea, and abdominal pain appear. You can not induce vomiting on your own and drink a laxative after eating a crow's eye. You need to drink activated charcoal and call an ambulance.

hemlock spotted

It is a poisonous plant that grows near landfills and wastelands. Its leaves are similar to parsley. The plant has white tall umbrella-type flowers. The smell is unpleasant. Poisoning after eating the plant is manifested by a burning sensation in the oral cavity, the appearance of signs of poisoning, convulsions and seizures. First aid consists in taking potassium permanganate, activated charcoal and calling an ambulance.

hogweed

Outwardly similar to hemlock, but the effect is different. It can be found on the slopes of mountains. It has a poisonous sap that, if it comes into contact with the skin, makes it highly susceptible to ultraviolet rays. In these places, blisters appear. Burned areas are treated with soap and water. Then Panthenol should be applied to them.

Dangerous insects in Crimea

centipede

In the south of Crimea there are centipedes resembling centipedes. They live under rocks. They love to crawl into tents with tourists. Scolopendra has poison on its paws that can cause burns when the insect comes into contact with the human body. This leads to fever, pain and symptoms of poisoning. Exposure to poison is deadly for children and people with weakened immune systems.

Karakurt

In the steppes of the Crimea, there is a karakurt spider, which has a black color and long front legs. There are individuals with red spots. During the day, the insect lives under stones, and at night it leaves the shelter. The spider does not attack first. It can be stepped on or accidentally touched. Its bite is painless, but the consequences are very unpleasant: the nervous system is affected with muscle pain and cramps. 10% calcium chloride (10 ml) and magnesium sulfate (25%) can relieve pain. At the first sign of an insect bite, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Tarantula

Everywhere in the Crimea there is a South Russian spider tarantula. Lives in vertical holes. Biting hurts. The affected area swells and hurts. It must be burned with a match, then the poison begins to decompose.

Tick-borne Encephalitis

Encephalitic mites live everywhere in the forests of Crimea and in the bushes on the roadsides. The beginning of summer and autumn are periods of insect activity. The tick first clings to clothing, and then painlessly bites into places behind the ears, on the back. After a few days, the first signs of a disease of the nervous system appear - this is fever, cramps, muscle pain. It is necessary to prevent the spread of infection in time, and for this you should immediately consult a doctor. Before walks, cover all parts of the body as much as possible, and after them, look everywhere and make sure there are no ticks.

Dangerous inhabitants of the sea

Poisonous fish live in the Black Sea:

Sea ruff (scorpionfish) with dangerous spikes, touching which causes pain throughout the body for about a day.

A variegated sea dragon that causes local inflammation when touched. Stingray (sea cat) with a spike on the tail, causing pain for a long time.

Jellyfish in Crimea are not dangerous. Only a few can sting, but it feels no more painful than contact with nettles. If you come into contact with the cornea of ​​the eye, then they should be immediately rinsed under fresh water. A little about the jellyfish of the Black Sea:

snakes

In the Crimea, you can often find a snake even in the parks of resort towns, but poisonous species have not been found here. The most dangerous are the steppe viper and the yellow-bellied snake. If the snake attacks and bites painfully, then the viper's venom can provoke a person's illness with an increase in body temperature. In any case, you need to see a doctor.

Today there are 58 species of land mammals in Crimea. We will begin to tell with more primitive and small ones.

Bat

There are 18 species of bats in Crimea, we call them bats. In terms of the number of species, this is the most numerous order of mammals on the peninsula. The shoulders, forearms, together 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.

Mammals of the chiroptera order mastered the heavenly expanses much later than birds, therefore they are active only in the dark. Having very poor eyesight and good hearing, bats navigate using echolocation apparatus. Animals constantly send ultrasonic waves into space and, picking up response signals, distinguish objects around them. All Crimean species of bats feed exclusively on insects. They maintain balance among insects with nocturnal activity by regulating their numbers.

horseshoe

The most common species of bats in the Crimea are two species, large and small. These animals are distinguished by characteristic horseshoe-shaped outgrowths on the nose. They fly out to hunt twice a day - in the evening and before dawn. The hunt ends in the pre-dawn twilight. Horseshoe bats are bad flyers; in inclement weather, their flight may be delayed or even not take place.

Bats pair up in autumn, and females are fertilized in spring. The cub that was born (sometimes two) gets on the membrane and crawls to the mammary gland, holding tightly to the skin of the mother. At first, the female flies with him in search of food. But the baby grows quickly - in a month you can no longer distinguish it from an adult.

Bats are gullible, so there are few of them left in the Crimea. People killed bats out of ignorance, out of fear, and someone just for fun. Curious cases happen to tourists in caves where bats live. Ultrasonic waves are absorbed in a person's lush hair, and a harmless animal in need of protection sometimes flies there without any malicious intent, by mistake - to the great fear and disgust of the city tourist. Obviously, this is also why a headdress is not superfluous in caves and grottoes.

The largest bat of the Crimea - giant party, reaching 10.4 cm in length and 76 g in weight. The smallest bat dwarf bat has a length of about 3-4 cm and 3-9 g of weight.

Gopher

The hot waterless steppe is inhabited gophers- insatiable funny rodents the size of a rat. Gophers are painted in the color of grass, because already at the beginning of summer you can’t hide in withered grass. The animals whistle from time to time, standing on their hind legs near their minks and observing. At noon, gophers sleep in deep cool minks, and when it is especially hot, they fall into a second, summer hibernation. The enemies of gophers in nature are the steppe ferret, fox, gull-gull, birds of prey.

Jerboa jumps on long hind legs, balancing with a long tail with a tassel. This makes him look like a kangaroo. He uses his front paws only for leisurely movement, digs the ground with them, takes food. But on the rear, it can make two-meter jumps, and when running away, it develops speeds of up to fifty kilometers per hour. And he is smaller than a hedgehog!

Its permanent burrows are up to three meters deep, of complex structure, with emergency exits. For hibernation, the jerboa prepares the room underground even deeper and warmer. The food of the jerboa is grains of wild and cultivated cereals, melons and gourds, root crops. He also eats insects.

Jerboa

Hamster gray omnivorous, but prefers plant foods. It stores up to 16 kilograms of grain for the winter, carrying it in cheek pouches. It hibernates only in the most severe winters. Few people like the character of a hamster. It is smaller than a cat, but it fights with large dogs, and near its hole it may not retreat even from a person. If in captivity a female gives birth to cubs, she, as a rule, immediately eats them. So judge for yourself.

Looks a lot like a hamster gray hamster. It differs only in size - almost half the size.

white-bellied hedgehog belongs to the order of insectivores. He does not shun plant food - fruits, seeds, roots, but the basis of his diet is insects and their larvae. Hunting in the evening and at night, the hedgehog eats snails, worms, lizards hiding between stones and even snakes. Strongly hungry, the hedgehog attacks small rodents and its distant relatives - shrews. A hedgehog is born already with spines, but they are soft and all are “combed” back. Hedgehogs are smart and tame well. They only interfere with their nocturnal lifestyle - until the morning they scratch and snort, hunting for mice, spiders, cockroaches, crickets ...

In the steppe can meet hare hare. It is grey, with a brownish back. The color of his coat almost does not change after seasonal molts. Long auricles serve the hare for heat dissipation in the heat, like a protruding tongue of a dog. And also these are hearing organs - two independent from each other, the thinnest sound pickups. In the people, a hare is called oblique. Why? Predators have eyes that are known to point forward to look for prey. They rarely run away and look back. But in herbivorous animals, in peaceful birds and fish, monocular vision: each eye with a maximum viewing angle sees its own part of space.

The mother feeds her hares and leaves them one by one in secluded places for 3-4 days, watching from afar to help in case of danger. The hare rarely visits the children, but they do not die of hunger. These animals have an instinct that obliges each "dairy" hare to feed other people's babies. On the seventh day, the teeth erupt in the hares, they begin to eat on their own, and after another three days they leave the nest and no longer remember their not too affectionate mother. However, when enemies appear, the hare behaves selflessly - it rushes about in circles, diverting attention from the kids.

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 of the latter).

The animal world of underground cavities is peculiar, where worms, beetles, mollusks live. Colonies of bats nest in rock crevices, in caves, and sometimes in the attics of houses (horseshoe bat, long-winged bat, long-winged bat, bat, kozhan).

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, loaves, 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, and 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 gophers, marmots, beavers, jerboas, European forest and water voles, root 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. Moufflons 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.