Species found in the Caucasus region
The leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica) is the most well-known species in the region, featuring in many celebrated poems, rhymes, and songs. At the beginning of the century, it was widespread through the Caucasus.
Now, as a result of the destruction of much of its natural habitat, extensive poaching and the loss of prey species, it is reduced to inaccessible portions of the Great Caucasus, the Talish Mountains, and probably remote corners of northeastern Turkey and northwestern Iran.
Caucasian turs
Other large mammal flagships include the east Caucasian tur (Capra cylindricornis) and the west Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica), 2 members of the goat family that are endemic to this region.
They are found in the eastern and western portions of the Great Caucasus Range, dwelling mainly in the high mountains and sometimes descending into the rocky gorges of the forest belt. Unfortunately, they have declined greatly in recent years and are now listed on the IUCN Red List as endangered and vulnerable.
Among the birds, one of the best flagships in the Caucasus peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus). It, too, is now very rare in the Caucasus, with only 30-50 pairs in the entire region. The main reasons for its decline are poaching and loss of habitat.
Other species found only in the Caucasus
- Caucasian black grouse (Tetrao mlokosiewiczi)
- Caucasian snow cock (Tetraogallus caucasicus)
- Caucasian warbler (Phylloscopus lorenzii)
- Caucasian rock lizards (genus Lacerta...)
- Caucasian viper (Vipera kaznakowi)
- Caucasian salamander (Mertensiella caucasica)
The Caucasian black grouse occurs all over the high mountains of the Caucasus, while the Caucasian snow cock is found in the Great Caucasus Range.The Caspian snow cock of the Small Caucasus also reaches its most northerly distribution in the Caucasus. They are now all reduced in number, and suffer the same problems as the turs.
Many of the above mentionned species occupy total ranges of only a few thousand square kilometers, while several of the females of certain lizard species can reproduce on their own if no other males are present.
