The Red Book of the Saratov Region: List of Plant and Animal Species

The Saratov region is famous for its rich nature: protected forests, animals and birds are interesting, in general, there is something to see. It is here that the species that can not be seen in other regions of our vast country live.

The Red Book of the Saratov Region

Due to the geographical location of it at the junction of Europe and Asia, climatic, soil and relief features three landscape zones converge here: the forest-steppe, the steppe and the semidesert. Therefore, the nature of the Saratov region is quite unique. In the right-bank north, these reserved forests and the chalky mountains of Khvalynshchina and Vol'sk, passing southward into the forest-steppe zone, the left bank of the Volga represents a herbaceous, feather grass, fescue-wormwood steppe bordering the Kazakhstan semi-desert.

There is nothing like this in any region of Russia. The uniqueness of the location has determined the originality and flavor of the plant and animal life of the Saratov region: more than 1,500 plant species, 250 bird species, 70 mammals ... And this is not a complete list. Unfortunately, as a result of the development of steppe lands and other economic activities of man, the natural balance is disturbed, and the most vivid representatives of flora and fauna are preserved mainly in places difficult to access: in the tracts, floodplains of rivers and estuaries, Khvalynsk and Khopra protected areas, forests of Kumisnaya Polyana. To date, only 541 species have been included in the list of rare or almost extinct species of flora and fauna of the region.

Red Book

For the first time, the need to preserve the unique diversity of the plant and animal life of the region was started in the 90's of the last century. And already in 1996 the first Red Book of the Saratov region was published, where detailed developments were presented on rare or almost extinct species of plants, animals and birds. Ten years later, it was reissued, and the Government of the region approved a list of species of plants and animals listed in the Red Book, and defined liability for damage to these objects. Measures have been taken to regulate hunting in the region: hunting for elk is closed, limited to deer, roe deer.

In particular, there are animals of the Saratov region, listed in the Red Book (235 species), plants (286 species). The publication is richly illustrated, maps of the distribution of various species of rare and endangered species are shown, their description, recommendations on protection are given.

Animal world

Now there is a need for another reprint. The red book of the Saratov region in the new edition should be published in 2016. It will include data from recent years on the threat of complete and imminent disappearance and rare species of flora and fauna, represented in our region and in need of special protection. Animals of the Red Book of the Saratov Region are represented by two dozen species of rare mammals, 32 species of birds.

Special protection needs 7 species of reptiles and 4 species of inhabitants of both land and water. Among the most interesting species of reptiles, we can note a variegated colored lizard. As a rule, it lives in the landscape zones of steppes and semi-deserts, mainly in the left bank of the Volga River, in particular in the Markovskiy district. Sometimes representatives of this species can be found in the forest-steppe and even in the highlands. Lives in shallow burrows, which digs itself, or uses mink frogs, rodents and even settles in cracks and crevices of the soil. Its food is small insects: flies, spiders, ants, caterpillars. Hunts in the morning and daytime. It lays eggs of rather large size - from 1 to a half centimeters.

Protection and control

Animals of the Red Book of the Saratov Region are under the protection and control of the Government of the region. For damage caused by extortion outside the law and subsequent destruction, as well as destruction or damage to their habitats, measures of material and administrative responsibility have been established.

The Red Book of the Saratov Region presents an extensive list of animals living in the Saratov area. These are the following varieties: a screaming muskrat inhabiting the steppes of marmots, a vespers, striking with its gigantic dimensions. The avtotka, the stern golden eagle, the interesting saker, the screaming bustard, the tyvik, the crane, the snake-eater, the red-breasted goose, the lapwing, the spoonbill, the crested pelican, the white-tailed eagle, and dozens of species and subspecies that are practically absent today .

In the region, the number of such rare representatives of the order of birds is rather high, such as the almost disappeared Bustard, practically not encountering a bustle, a forgotten serpent, and many others.

Birds

In the section "Red Book of the Saratov Region. Birds "is of interest to a sea pigeon. He is often confused with the lake gull, but unlike her, the color of the feathers of the head is white, not black, like a gull. Special beauty is given to the pinkish neck, tail and lower body, and this color is characteristic for the summer period. The back and wings are gray, black and white stripes on the tail and black tips of flight feathers, as well as a beautiful beak and red paws complete the elegant outfit pigeon. The bird is quite large - along the length from 39 centimeters to half a meter, the wingspan about a meter. You can see it in the Left Bank in the summer months.

Golden eagle - a terrible bird

Another bird, listed in the Red Book of the Saratov region, is a golden eagle. This is a rather formidable representative of birds, the length of its claws is only 7 centimeters, the feet are feathered to claws. Weights from three to seven kilograms, body length about a meter. Because of the black with the golden tint on the back of the head and neck, the color has received an original name, in English it sounds like "Golden Eagle". White golden eagles. Distinguished by beautiful sight, prey can be seen at a distance of 4 kilometers. The flight speed in the dive is much greater than 100 km / h.
The habitat is forests, mountainous terrain. It occurs in the Khvalynsky Reserve. It is under protection. His food consists of ducks, marmots, herons and even cranes and snakes. Very aggressive, can attack even deer, roe deer. Family couples, as a rule, remain faithful to each other until the last day. There are several nests in the pair, the chicks are hatching up to 45 days, then they feed them for about two months.

Plants

Section "The Red Book of the Saratov Region. Plants "is also extensive and quite interesting. Thus, the second edition included 286 plant species, 1 of which are lichen families, 14 mosses, 3 plains, 10 ferns, 2 species of gymnosperms and 256 angiosperms, and 20 subspecies of fungi. Woody and shrubby species are represented by a birch of a fluffy, Austrian cannabis , an arboreal cotoneaster. Of particular interest are the medicinal plants of the Red Book: Adonis Volzhsky, Angelica, considered medicinal, Cicuta poisonous. The number of decorative species includes: northern fighter, 11 species of astragalus, cornflowers (there are at least four different subspecies), as well as all orchids of the region recognized as wild, fingered and a unique steppe plant - gooseberry.

The red book of the Saratov region introduces us to the rare species of ferns: the female go-keeper , the luncheon grouse and others. This also includes wild-growing cereals: the cheek is brilliant, the snake is spread out.

In the zone of special attention

Special attention is paid in the Saratov region to the protection of such species of birds as the screaming bustard, tuvik, crane (belladonna), and also those that were listed a little earlier. The Red Data Book of the Saratov Region includes 14 species of birds of prey, including the eagle, the griffon, the white-headed sip, the gyrfalcon and many others. The significance of the edition of the Red Book is extremely great.

The animals of the Saratov region entered in the Red Book are under the control of the Government of the region, which formed the basis of all modern nature protection activities in the region.