Wildlife of Armenia

Wildlife of Armenia includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats.

Wildlife in Armenia includes wild boar, porcupines, various lizards, snakes and numerous species of birds. Endangered species living in Armenia are the Caucasian Bear, Caucasian bearded goat, the Armenian mouflon (sheep) and the leopard.

Fauna

Fauna in Armenia is diverse given the country's relatively small geographic size, owing to the varied habitats created by the area's mountainess terrain [ [http://www.da-tours.com/pages/en/AboutArmenia/florafauna.htm DA Tours: Fauna] ] . Armenia is an important area for migratory animals, about 350 different bird species were recorded in the country. Many of the world's domesticated animals originated in the area Armenia is located in, and the mouflon, the ancestor of domesticated sheep, is present there. Research suggests that about a quarter of the animal species in Armenia are internationally endangered. The mouflon are suffering a great population decline due to poaching and habitat loss, and the Sevan trout, which made up thirty percent of the fish in Lake Sevan, have virtually disappeared.

Southern and south-western Armenia remains the last stronghold for survival of this cat in the whole Caucasus, in part due to its connectivity with Iran where the main portion of the Persian leopard population exists. The total population size in Armenia numbers no more than 10-20 individuals, including adults, sub adults and cubs. [ [http://www.persianleopard.com/ Persian leopard research and conservation] ] Special calculations were not carry out. By fragmentary data, population in Armenia is accounted not more than 25 individuals.

Common wildlife:
* Armenian Gull
* Armenian Rock Lizard
* Brown Bear
* Caspian Tiger
* Caucasian Bear
* Common Spoonbill
* Eastern Imperial Eagle
* Eumeces schneideri
* European Otter
* Greek Tortoise
* Karabakh Horse
* Leopard
* Long-eared Hedgehog
* Marbled Polecat
* Natterer's bat
* Pallas's Cat
* Persian Leopard
* Sevan khramulya
* Sevan trout
* Squacco Heron
* Steppe Eagle
* Syrian Brown Bear
* Vipera raddei
* Wild Goat

Flora

* Acer campestre
* Apricot
* Armenian cucumber
* Downy Birch
* Black Poplar
* Elaeagnus angustifolia
* Eurasian smoketree
* European Pear
* Common Fig
* Hackberry
* Sycamore Maple
* White Mulberry
* Norway Maple
* Armenian Oak
* Pomegranate
* White Poplar
* Pyrus salicifolia
* Quince
* Sea-buckthorn
* Tatar Maple
* Wild Cherry
* White Willow

References

* "Krasnaya kniga Armyanskoi SSR, zhivotnye." 1987. Yerevan, Hayastan.
* Kurkjian R. 1999. "Out of Stone. Armenia. Artsakh." Stone Garden Productions, Washington, DC.
*

External links

* [http://fish.mongabay.com/data/Armenia.htm List of Freshwater Fishes for Armenia]
* [http://redbook.am.iatp.net/biosphere/extinct_animals.htm Extinct Armenian Animals]
* [http://www.tacentral.com/nature/fauna.asp Fauna in Armenia]
* [http://www.herp-am.narod.ru/Checklist.htm Armenia's Amphibians and Reptiles Checklist]