Animals of Crimea: species and habitats

Crimea is rightfully called "Little Australia". This peninsula includes three climatic zones at once, so many different animals live on its territory.

Crimea has a rather modest area of ​​27 thousand square kilometers, but at the same time 50 salt lakes and 257 rivers are concentrated on it. The Black and Azov Seas are washed by mountain and steppe massifs. All of the above factors determined the species diversity of animals, fish, birds and insects inhabiting the region. There is information that in the old days even ostriches and giraffes lived here, but against the background of climate change, they were replaced by less heat-loving animals.

The fauna of the Crimean steppes includes white-bellied shrew, gopher, jerboa, hamster, mole vole, foxes and many other representatives of the animal world. Among the birds of these latitudes there are bee-eaters, rolling rollers, bustards, cranes, little bustards, steppe harriers and eagles.

The steppe viper can rarely be seen here, much more often people meet four-striped snakes and nimble lizards. Nest in the steppe world of Crimea herons, mallards, long-nosed mergansers, cranes.

One of the most popular animals of the steppe - korsak. The steppe fox, called the corsac, belongs to the canine family. The body length of the animal is about half a meter, and the tail is up to 35 cm. The weight of an adult is no more than that of a large cat.

The fur coat of a corsac has a gray-yellow tint with a reddish color, while the fur is lighter below, and the tip of the tail of this fox is darkened. In pursuit of prey, the corsac develops a speed of up to 60 km per hour. He is not averse to feasting on rodents, birds, and carrion.

In the foothills of the Crimea, there are wolves, squirrels, but here you cannot meet many of the usual inhabitants of Russian forests. But these lands are inhabited by representatives of various Balkan, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and endemic species.

A rich fauna is presented on the northern slopes of Yaila, on the territory of the Crimean nature reserve. The specially protected natural area is inhabited by Crimean deer, Crimean chamois, forest and stone martens. Local animals have unique characteristics. For example, they wear their summer coat all year round.

Let's talk about some interesting inhabitants of the Crimean foothills in more detail.

• Whitebird. The second name of the stone marten is white-bodied. She is so named because of the white fur on the chest and shirt front. Slender and nimble, she easily makes her way into the chicken coops, but she can also feast on berries.

• Noble deer... It is rightfully considered the pride of Crimea. The head of this forest beast is adorned with luxurious horns that grow with age. Deer herds can be heard by the characteristic roar that spreads through the forest. In winter, they move closer to the gardens to find food there.

• Mouflon. This is the name of the mountain ram, which has taken root in this region in tsarist times. Its horns are in the shape of a spiral; the weight can reach two centners. The acclimatization of this beautiful animal was not without difficulties, therefore the mouflon is a protected species. In summer, they hide from the heat in shady rocks and go out to eat herbs only in the evening, and in winter, due to lack of food, they get closer to human houses.

• Roe... During the active settlement of people, these animals were driven further into the mountains. They do not have tools for protection from predators in the form of horns, but nature has endowed these graceful animals with very good hearing. It allows roe deer to hear the enemy from afar.

• Doe... It rarely appears in the foothill areas of the peninsula. Nimble, resourceful and very beautiful animals hardly adapt to the conditions of the Crimea. It has not yet been possible to significantly increase the population of these artiodactyls, but local residents are trying to protect the animal from the encroachments of poachers.

The south coast is teeming with reptiles and invertebrates.

• Crimean gecko... These nimble creatures love to live in old buildings, where there are always deep cracks and various tunnels for them. For this reason, in earlier times they lived in old houses and courtyards.

They rid people of hordes of insects and thereby provided a service to man. But today, in cities, their population has declined. The reason was the active development of territories, as well as the attacks of cats, who are not averse to feasting on these cute lizards.

• Mantis... It gets its name from its raised front legs. Of course, these creatures do not hold their limbs in this position at all in order to offer prayer. They just spend a lot of time in ambush, pedantically tracking down prey, and from this position it is easier for them to attack it. The growth of the praying mantis reaches 5 centimeters, so sometimes they get into a fight with the sparrows.
• Crimean ground beetle. This protected inhabitant of Crimea has a purple color that shimmers in different colors. It is better not to touch it, otherwise the five-centimeter beetle will release a frightening secret. The ground beetle prey is mollusks and snails.

Among the feathered inhabitants of the coast, birds such as herons, mallards, cranes. In total, there are more than 200 species of birds of the Crimea, however, among them there are no unique ones living only in this region.

More than two hundred fish live in numerous reservoirs of the peninsula, and a quarter of them periodically visit the Crimean waters from the Bosphorus. A lot in the region frogs, toads and newts. There is only one poisonous snake here - this steppe viper... Inhabits bodies of water and swamp turtle.

The fingers of this animal are equipped with membranes that allow it to swim better, and the size of the shell usually does not exceed 15 cm in diameter. Turtles are diurnal - they sleep until dawn, and then begin to hunt for medium-sized fish. Also, these animals are not averse to trying plant foods. They spend the winter buried in silt.

In addition to animals that cannot harm humans, quite dangerous creatures also live in the Crimea, it is better to avoid meeting with them.

This dangerous species is found not only in the steppes and forests, sometimes it can also be seen in urban areas. The bite of a female black widow can be fatal. If it happened, then you need to burn it with a match head or an object hot on a fire and immediately go to the doctor. If help is late, severe body aches, trembling hands and feet and dizziness will begin, hallucinations occur due to damage to the nervous system.

Ringed centipedes are not as dangerous as black widows, but their bite can cause serious discomfort. The bite is able to unsettle for several days, all this time the victim feels fever, aching muscles, and the bite itself can hurt for a long time. Scolopendra lives on the peninsula everywhere, besides, it is very agile - appears unexpectedly and disappears just as suddenly.

Its habitat is wide: mountains, steppes, salt marshes, vineyards, sandy roads. She, like karakurt, is capable of killing with her bite. After it, there is an increase in heart rate, dizziness, nausea, the appearance of blood in the urine.

The poison can be sucked off, each time rinsing your mouth with water or a solution of potassium permanganate, at the same time, there should be no wounds in the mouth, otherwise the poison will penetrate into the body of the rescuer. Next, the wound is disinfected, a bandage is applied, but not a tourniquet.

Mountains and steppes are favorite places for tarantulas. Allergy sufferers are most at risk when meeting with him, for everyone else he is less dangerous. Signs of a bite from this spider are about the same as in the case of a black widow. The bite site needs to be cauterized with brilliant green, you also need to consult a doctor.

A large and dangerous predatory beast was once exterminated on the territory of this region, but after years it again settled in its forests. The habitat of wild boars is mountainous areas where oaks and beeches grow, because they are not averse to feasting on plant foods. They avoid meeting people, but if a collision occurs, then the boar is capable of showing strong aggression towards the stranger.

Displaced by people from the inhabited territories, he did not go too far, but began to settle right in the houses, more precisely, in their darkest and dampest rooms. Spiders, centipedes, praying mantises often become its prey, therefore scorpions to some extent help people fight dangerous insects.

They are nocturnal, so meeting them during the day is unlikely. Symptoms of the bite are similar to the reaction to the bites of other poisonous inhabitants of the Crimea: shortness of breath, pressure surges, chills or fever, dizziness.

Under protection are both unusual and interesting animals of Crimea, and well-known Arctic fox, wolverine, beaver, marmot, bear, steppe ferret, because their populations in the region are small. The only mouflons for many thousands of kilometers, including Eastern European ones, live in the Crimea. They came from individuals who lived in the royal nursery, and therefore are of special value.

Serpentine jaundice has a body a meter or a little more, it often frightens people, as it resembles a viper. The spindle representative is completely harmless, if you do not frighten him on purpose.

Monk seal, also called the white-bellied seal, is critically endangered. According to scientists, the population of this rare animal is no more than 600 individuals in the world. The seal received such an unusual name because of its secluded lifestyle, and its head is also decorated with a kind of short fur. Two-meter sea animals can weigh up to three centners, nevertheless, they are able to dive quite deeply and return with their prey.

Red Book bottlenose dolphins develop a speed of up to 40 km / h. They are friendly in nature and can travel very long distances. These mammals have been protected since 1956.

These include rare species that exist only in the Crimea. We have already spoken about the scorpion above; it has been living on the lands of the peninsula since ancient times. Consider other unique views of the region.

• Lumberjack Retovsky. This species was discovered by the scientist Otto Retovsky. The green color allows the insect to remain unnoticed in the thickets of grass. Most often, such a rare grasshopper can be seen near Alushta or Alupka.
• Black sea velvet bowl. These beautiful butterflies are often found in Yalta and its surroundings. The brown color helps them hide on the stones, so not everyone can see this beauty.

Going on a trip to Crimea, remember that along with the beautiful and friendly representatives of the fauna of the peninsula, there are also not harmless species. But no matter how dangerous they are to humans, each of these species is a part of the ecosystem that does not need to be disturbed.

All about the animals of the Crimea, see the video below.