Andrii
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Askania Nova Biosphere Reserve named after Friedrich Falz-Fein, the oldest steppe reserve in the world which belongs in the top hundred of the most renowned protected areas of our planet, one of seven natural wonders of Ukraine has already celebrated its centenary.
Short History
It was in the late 19th century that the wild life preserve in Askania Nova was founded by Friedrich Falz-Fein (1863 – 1920), a descendant of German colonists who had owned vast territories in the south of Ukraine and successfully farmed there, where he first started building aviaries for birds and animals at the age of 11. Friedrich’s childhood hobby and fascination with wild nature soon became his life’s calling which he passionately pursued till his last breath. By the early 1880s the news of an unusual zoo with various animals roaming free in the middle of arid steppes of Tavria region in then Russia had spread over Europe. Not only the size of the zoo was impressive but also the fact that it featured, unusually for Europe, zoo species like Przhewalski horse and saiga antelope among no less exotic for this part of the world ostriches, lamas, antelopes, elands, wildebeests, gazelles, zebras, bison and other exotic ungulates that felt at home here.
From the very outset, the founder of this steppe oasis set up and achieved highest environmental goals which were ahead of its time by minimum of 100 years. Following the zoo creation, the arboretum was planted in years 1887 – 1902 with the elaborate water supply system. In 1898 Friedrich Falz-Fein commanded that the large plot of fescue-feather grass steppe ecosystem be conserved ‘in perpetuity’. There has been a great deal of evidence from reliable scientific sources that by 1898 in Askania Nova F.Falz-Fein had managed to establish a nature reserve structure similar to the one which was declared ‘a biosphere reserve’ concept by UNESCO only in 1972. Such powerful was Friedrich Falz-Fein’s vision of preserving wild life for generations to come and solid the nature conservation foundation stone laid by him in Askania that neither two world wars and revolution nor socialist “collectivization” that resulted in famines and other tribulations and vicissitudes could destroy or significantly damage his creation.
In 1919 Askania Nova Preserve was nationalized and transformed first to the centre of crossbreeding and acclimatization of animals, then to the institute of steppe livestock research. Despite all the transformations three main components of the preserve — zoological garden, arboretum and largest in Europe plot of conserved feather grass steppe –have been always kept unchanged. Askania seems to be blessed with miraculous resilience and vitality, and keeps evolving and expanding with every next generation of nature researchers. While the original area of the zoo was nearly 100 hectares, nowadays animals reside partially free on the territory of 2330 hectares; the arboretum has grown in size from 28 ha to 167 ha and the conserved steppe area has increased from 600 ha to 11054 ha.
In 1984 Askania Nova Reserve was designated as a biosphere reserve and has been listed in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) by UNESCO since then. Its current area is 33.300 hectares comprising the steppe reserve (the core area), the buffer zone and the transition area, and is rightfully considered the oldest steppe biosphere reserve on the Earth and the largest one in Europe. The biodiversity of this steppe ecosystem is amazing: altogether there are over 500 species of various plants and over 3000 animals.
Short History
It was in the late 19th century that the wild life preserve in Askania Nova was founded by Friedrich Falz-Fein (1863 – 1920), a descendant of German colonists who had owned vast territories in the south of Ukraine and successfully farmed there, where he first started building aviaries for birds and animals at the age of 11. Friedrich’s childhood hobby and fascination with wild nature soon became his life’s calling which he passionately pursued till his last breath. By the early 1880s the news of an unusual zoo with various animals roaming free in the middle of arid steppes of Tavria region in then Russia had spread over Europe. Not only the size of the zoo was impressive but also the fact that it featured, unusually for Europe, zoo species like Przhewalski horse and saiga antelope among no less exotic for this part of the world ostriches, lamas, antelopes, elands, wildebeests, gazelles, zebras, bison and other exotic ungulates that felt at home here.
From the very outset, the founder of this steppe oasis set up and achieved highest environmental goals which were ahead of its time by minimum of 100 years. Following the zoo creation, the arboretum was planted in years 1887 – 1902 with the elaborate water supply system. In 1898 Friedrich Falz-Fein commanded that the large plot of fescue-feather grass steppe ecosystem be conserved ‘in perpetuity’. There has been a great deal of evidence from reliable scientific sources that by 1898 in Askania Nova F.Falz-Fein had managed to establish a nature reserve structure similar to the one which was declared ‘a biosphere reserve’ concept by UNESCO only in 1972. Such powerful was Friedrich Falz-Fein’s vision of preserving wild life for generations to come and solid the nature conservation foundation stone laid by him in Askania that neither two world wars and revolution nor socialist “collectivization” that resulted in famines and other tribulations and vicissitudes could destroy or significantly damage his creation.
In 1919 Askania Nova Preserve was nationalized and transformed first to the centre of crossbreeding and acclimatization of animals, then to the institute of steppe livestock research. Despite all the transformations three main components of the preserve — zoological garden, arboretum and largest in Europe plot of conserved feather grass steppe –have been always kept unchanged. Askania seems to be blessed with miraculous resilience and vitality, and keeps evolving and expanding with every next generation of nature researchers. While the original area of the zoo was nearly 100 hectares, nowadays animals reside partially free on the territory of 2330 hectares; the arboretum has grown in size from 28 ha to 167 ha and the conserved steppe area has increased from 600 ha to 11054 ha.
In 1984 Askania Nova Reserve was designated as a biosphere reserve and has been listed in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) by UNESCO since then. Its current area is 33.300 hectares comprising the steppe reserve (the core area), the buffer zone and the transition area, and is rightfully considered the oldest steppe biosphere reserve on the Earth and the largest one in Europe. The biodiversity of this steppe ecosystem is amazing: altogether there are over 500 species of various plants and over 3000 animals.
