The new Ezri State Nature Reserve was established by a government decree (December 21, 2000, No. 992) that can be considered historic: now Russia has one hundred nature reserves!
The Ezri Reserve (total area: 5,970 hectares) is situated in the mountains
of the Northern Caucasus, in the Dzeyrakh district of the Republic of Ingushetia.
The reserve borders the Chechen Republic, while a semi-protected buffer zone
surrounding the reserve (34,240 hectares) borders Georgia and the Republic
of Northern Ossetia – Alania.
The reserve is extraordinarily picturesque and has a high level of biological and landscape diversity. The Dzheyrakhsko-Assinskaya Depression is inhabited by more than 180 rare and endangered species, including strict endemics of the Caucasus not found elsewhere. The background species of mammals include bears, wolves, foxes and wild boars. There are also roes, chamoises, bezoar goats, Daghestan aurochs, badgers, European wild cats, and sometimes lynxes. Of rare bird species, the Caucasian snow cock, golden eagle, and peregrine falcon, among others, have been registered. The reserve contains unique natural sites of high scientific and aesthetic value (a rare subspecies of forest pine Pinus sylvestris spp. Hamata; the Shoansky Glacier; a sea buckthorn grove; the Assa River Canyon, etc.), as well as numerous historic and cultural landmarks. The famous Dzheyrakhsko-Assinsky State Historical and Architectual Museum Reserve is situated within the buffer zone. The Ezri reserve has created a remarkable historical, cultural and natural ensemble in the Republic of Ingushetia that will preserve the natural and historical values of the region and its national heritage.
Like all of Russia’s state nature reserves, Ezri is a site of federal importance and is included in the system of reserves administered by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources. The Ministry now administers a total of eight state reserves and national parks in the mountains of the Northern Caucasus.
