The conservation status of the Caucasian Reserve was granted to the territory in 1886 at the time of the organization of the Grand-Ducal "Kuban Hunt" of the Romanov dynasty. However, the reserve was established only in 1924 with the help of "Kuban Hunt" Christopher Shaposhnikov in connection with the barbaric extermination of animals, including bison.
Now the bison population in the Caucasus is out of danger; in the protected areas there are 1,150 rare animals. The director of the reserve Sergey Shevelev told EcoTourism Expert that the main goal today is to preserve nature for future generations, to enable tourists to see unique places untouched by humans, thereby conserving the forests, lakes and wildlife.
Today, there are 20 routes in the Caucasus Nature Reserve: 14 summer and 6 winter routes. In 2019, more than 250 thousand tourists visited the routes and objects of the protected areas. The territory of the reserve is 280 hectares and has the status of the UNESCO Western Caucasus World Heritage Site. Recently, the Priazovsky Nature Reserve, a unique estuary complex with almost 200 species of waterfowl and the Southern Culture Park has been included in the protected areas.
According to the specialists of the Caucasian Reserve, ecological education of tourists is becoming a priority. The reserve was one of the first to introduce the principle of garbage sorting, today the program operates on all large cordons of the reserve.
This year, the reserve’s staff will call on tourists to abandon the use of plastic bags and disposable tableware in favor of reusable containers. The result of this work should be a decrease in the anthropogenic load on nature.
The reserve plans to develop scientific and educational tourism - hiking, accompanied by a researcher. For several days, participants will experience a complete immersion in the topic -ornithological, botanical or the study of the animal world.
By the 100th anniversary of the reserve, it is planned to create a life-size model of a bison park, which was built to restore the bison population in the 40s of the last century. The project will reflect not only one of the most important events of the natural area, it will also become another object for attracting tourists
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