Vashlovan Preserve

located in the El’dar Steppe, in the eastern part of the Georgian SSR. Area, 5,952 hectares; altitude, 350-700 m above sea level.

Vashlovan Preserve was created in 1935 for the preservation of part of the light forests lying between the semideserts and the belt of the oak forests. The primary tree varieties found there are pistachio and juniper. Other common varieties include the willow-leafed pear, pomegranate, hack-berry, fig, sumac, and barberry. Among the animals found in the preserve are the European brown bear, striped hyena, wildcat, wild boar, Levantine viper, coluber, Caucasian agama, Grecian tortoise, rock partridge, and turtledove. In the 1930’s the Persian gazelle was also found in the Vashlovan Preserve, and its reacclimatization is one of the preserve’s tasks.