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| About Georgia |
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| Flora and Fauna |
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Georgia is very interesting from the
ecological point of view. In Georgia there are more than 500 popular
mineral waters such as Borjomi, Sairme, Bakhmaro, Nabeglavi, Bakhmaro,
Zvere, Javal etc.
Among the 4000 sorts of wines, registered through out the world 500 Are
Georgian.
There are 4000 and 4500 species of vascular plants in the country, of
which around 15% are endemic to the Caucasus. Of these, around 300 are
endemic to Georgia alone. Ten species of Peonies and five of the eleven
species of Snowdrop in the world can be found.
Georgia is, without any doubt, a bird-watching paradise. It is the
habitat for 360 species of birds, four vultures and eleven types of
eagles. It is noticeable that four endemic species can be seen only
here.
The forests still cover 2.7 million hectares (38.6% of Georgia’s
territory) where from only 59,500 ha are artificially planted; about 6%
of the natural forests are virgin and 40% have avoided serious human
impact.Home to wolves, bears,
jackals, foxes, lynx and other predators. The mountain regions encounter
many hoofed animals: roe deer, red deer, chamois, wild boar, wild or
bezoar goat - and the endemic Caucasian tour, still found in herds high
in the Greater Caucasus.
The Georgian Shepherd Dog (which Russians named in the 19th c. as a
Caucasian Shepherd) is one of the best guardian breeds in the world.
Out of Existing 27 species of wheat in the world, the major part – 14
species are found in Georgia and 6 among them are endemic.
Georgia's unusually rich geographical diversity is well reflected in its
flora and fauna - a paradise for nature lovers, botanists and for
tracing wildlife.
It's often overlooked that the common pheasant, found across Europe and
North America originates from the Caucasian Phasianus Colchicus, named
after the Phasis River - today's Rioni River in western Georgia. Later,
Greeks and Romans brought it to Europe and beyond.
In 2003, a spectacular discovery was made: remote sensing cameras
captured an adult male Anatolian Leopard in the Vashlovani National
Park. This beautiful but critically endangered animal had been
considered long extinct in Georgia.
The variety of ecosystems conditions the richness of the flora and fauna
of Georgia. The forests cover 40% (2,75 million hectares) of the whole
territory. 5% of it can be considered as virgin forests, and 40% of it
retains the original structure. Up to 5,000 species of angiospermous and
gymnospermous, about 8,300 species of sporoparous plants are found in
Georgia. 380 species of the plants are endemic to Georgia, and around
1,000 are endemic to the Caucasus. There are around 110 species of
mammals, more than 330 species of birds, 48 species of reptiles, 11
species of amphibians and 160 of fish.
A single leopard has been discovered in the former Soviet republic of
Georgia, years after the big cats were thought to be extinct in the
area.
Zoologists were first alerted by some footprints in the Vashlovani State
Reserve, which looked far too large to belong to the much smaller lynx.
The leopard - now named Noah - was then caught on remote-sensing
cameras.
Although Noah is the only leopard to be spotted in the area since 1954,
many fear he is in danger from poachers.
The Georgian leopard, Nacres
Many years ago, relatives of African and Asian leopards roamed over
Europe. It was enough to get the Noah's Ark Centre for the Recovery of
Endangered Species (Nacres) to launch a search project. For years they
found nothing.
After so many years of searching we were almost ready to give up hope we
would ever find the leopard here again.
"But once in a while, locals from the high mountainous villages would
tell stories about seeing the leopards. We believed the stories less and
less, but we kept looking." Then, in the winter of 2003, Nacres
zoologists Bejan Lortkipanidze and George Darchiashvili found some
suspiciously large footprints in the Vashlovani Reserve, East Georgia.
The two researchers took plaster copies of the footprints and sent them
to an Asian leopard expert for validation.
The results came back positive: without a doubt a leopard was in the
area. The leopard - christened Noah after the organization that found
him - was later caught on camera.
Caucasian Mountain Dog are strongly-boned, muscular and even-tempered
Molossers. The breed has two types: mountain and plain. Plain dogs have
a shorter coat and appear taller as they are more lightly built.
Mountain types have a heavier coat and are more muscularly built. The
breed's weight range is 102–160 pounds (46–73 kg.) and the height range
is 25–29 inches (64–78 cm.).
Softness and vicious temperaments are considered serious faults for the
breed. Generally healthy and long lived, hip dysplasia, obesity and
occasional heart problems are known to occur. The ears of the Caucasian
Ovcharka are traditionally cropped, although some modern dogs are
unaltered. The preferred show-types are the long-coated grey dogs with
some white markings. Black or black-and-tan dogs are not acceptable in
the show ring. The minimum height is 24.5 inches with no upper limit.
They are loyal to their duty in protecting their flock and family and
will stand by and defend through any circumstance. They are an extremely
aggressive animal and need very experienced owners. |
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