Tigireksky Reserve: Protected Natural Territories of the Altai Territory

In this article, we want to talk about the Tigirek Reserve, located on the territory of the Altai Territory. Its area is more than forty thousand hectares and includes three districts: Khanharinsky, Tigirek, Beloretsky.

History of creation and relief of the protected area

The Tigireksky Reserve was founded in 1999. The aim of the creation was to study and preserve the flora and fauna of the middle and low-mountain landscapes of the Altai Territory. There is a reserve in the southern part of Altai.

The terrain is medium-mountainous. The value of medium altitudes varies from 700 to 1000 meters above sea level. The eastern part of the reserve partially captures the Tigiretskii range. The relief here has an alpine character with pointed high peaks. The highest point of the Tigiretsky Range is the Black Mountain (2015 meters), which is located in the southeastern part of the reserve.

Known in these places and Mount Development, which is a historical object. The development of rocks was conducted here in 1842, here extracted quartz and aquamarine, and other varieties of semiprecious stones.

Natural monuments

The Altai Territory is rich in sights. Only in the Tigirek Reserve there are six natural monuments. One of them is the mountain Semipechernaya. It is a very beautiful rock of Upper Silurian limestone. There are several caves in it. Among them the most popular are the caves of Grim and Struna.

The cave of the Lair of Hyena belongs to natural monuments. It is a karst cavity of small dimensions. Her fame was due to the remnants of fossils of the ancient fauna found in her.

But in the cave of Terrible were found the remains of people belonging to an unknown species (the period 35-50 millennia ago).

On the territory of the reserve, there are also caves of Foot and Foot Disease. The first of them has considerable dimensions. The length is two hundred and ten meters, and the depth is about thirty-five meters. In the cave there are three entrances in the form of wide gaps. The Terrible Log is a real karst canyon with many caves on rocky slopes. In the log lies the ancient cave, which is a monument of Altai archeology. The stream flows along the entire length of the cave, then is lost in the bowels, then returning to the surface. In general, there are many more caves not yet studied.

The rivers of the reserve

The river valleys in the reserved zone are gorges and canyons with steep cliffs and rocks. The western and northern part of the territory has a more soft and calm relief.

The river network of the reserve is quite dense and at the same time branched. The largest water artery of these places is Belaya, which belongs to the Charash basin. On the right side, Irkutka, Bolshaya Berloya, Bolshoy Tigirek, Krokhalikha, and on the left - Strizhanka, flow into it. In general, the upper reaches of the Belaya River are very beautiful, unique places.

In the south-western part, the rivers originate: East Aley, Glubokaya, Chesnokov, Bolshaya Tcherepahina. They are filled with snow and rain water. In spring there is a pronounced flood, and in summer there are floods. There are very few mires in this region.

Animals of Tigirek Reserve

I must say that the fauna of the reserve is very rich and diverse. It is represented by 63 species of animals, 173 species of birds, many reptiles, several amphibians and some bony fishes.

The reserve of Tigirek is rich in reptiles. There are 1700 varieties. It should be noted that invertebrates are studied here not so long ago, and therefore we can safely say that the number of their species is not known exactly.

The Altai Territory has a rich fauna. In the protected zone, there are caresses, ermines, foxes, they are quite widespread here.

Less often there are lynx, wolf, wolverine, badger and sable. From the cloven-hoofed here live Siberian roe deer, musk deer, maral, elk and wild boar.

As for birds, for many species the Tigirek Reserve became the home. The inhabitants here are protected and protected from outside interference in their lives. From the birds there are woodpeckers, black grouse, forest skates, a black partridge, a field harrier. There are even very rare at the moment black stork and white-headed sip, which are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.

Out of amphibians in the reserve, there live sharply frogs and gray toads. The latter meet up to an altitude of 1500 meters, which is very unusual for Altai.

Reptiles of this region are represented by an ordinary snake and a viper, a patterned skid, and several species of lizards.

Fish in the rivers of the reserve

The reserve of Tigirek is completely devoid of lakes. The hydraulic system is represented only by mountain rivers, which have a very strong and rapid current. In their waters live grayling, taimen, pike, river minnow, dace, Siberian minnow, perch, burbot, char.

Taimen in the Altai Territory is very rare. He was even included in the regional Red Data Book of the region. Thirty-eight endangered and rare species of animals are found in the reserve, among them: 14 species of animals, 16 species of birds, one species of fish, seven species of insects. All of them have long been on the lists of the regional Red Book of Altai.

Vegetable world of the region

According to 2011, the plant world of the reserve includes 722 species of vascular plants. And there are also bryophytes, and algae, fungi and lichens. Vegetation on the territory of the protected zone varies depending on how high the terrain is. Because you can distinguish such plant belts:

• Low-mountainous;
• Average;
• Alpine.

The basis of the cover of the Tigirek ridge is taiga. It grows preglacial plants, a kind of relics - the wolfwort, the ordinary, the European chop, the broadleaf bell, the Ural flask and many others.

Most of the reserve is aspen-fir forests. The river valleys were occupied by fir-trees. But cedar forests, they occupy the mountain-taiga belt. As for the taiga, lichens are of particular interest. Here they perfectly feel themselves and in conditions of high humidity they almost completely covered the trunks of trees, reaching the height of twelve meters. Lichens even hang out with huge "beards" from branches of trees.

Alpine meadows prevail in the highland belt (alpine-tundra). At altitudes, they change to meadow steppes and shrubs.

Protection of the protected area

The Tigirek Reserve is a closed protected area. To adhere to the special regime that operates on its lands, a special unit of the state inspection has been created. It is engaged in the protection of the territory.

The main task of this department is to prevent, suppress, identify and disclose offenses on protected lands.

The protected natural territories of the Altai Territory are under close surveillance. It must be said that entry to unauthorized persons is forbidden in the reserve. To stay in this territory you need to have a special permit. Hunting and any other activities are prohibited here. All conservation measures are aimed at protecting unique natural and animal communities from the harmful influence of people.

Visiting the reserve is possible only with specially organized excursions along certain routes. You can also visit natural monuments and military-historical sites.

Historical monuments

On the territory of the protected area there are historical monuments: Tigirek outpost and Beloretsky redoubt.

Tigirek outpost is a monument of engineering and military art. It is part of the Kolyvan-Kuznetsk defensive line (the eighteenth century), and is a fortification consisting of a bastion and redoubts. Until now, only a fairly powerful shaft and a very large moat have survived. There is a historical monument in the village of Tigirek.

Beloretsky same redoubt is the remains of a ditch and a shaft. It is located on the Beloretsk cordon on the left bank of the Belaya River. The local places are entirely covered with fir forests with tall and thick grasses. In such a dense vegetation, it is rather difficult to find remnants of redoubt. The shaft and the moat have a rectangular shape, in principle they are not bad preserved. Naturally, they no longer have the original height and depth, but nevertheless, one can judge them by their former size.

Instead of an afterword

The Altai Territory is an amazing and beautiful place, rich in animal and plant life. A Tigirek Reserve, established on its territory, is able to protect natural communities and restore populations of rare and endangered species of animals and plants.