Azernews.Az

Seventeen years have passed since the establishment of the Shahdag National Park.

Founded in 2006, the Shahdag National Park has become one of the most exciting places for tourists.

The park is a perfect place to experience the awe and wonders of nature.

The park was laid in an area of 115,900 hectares (1,159 km2). In 2010, the territory of the park was enlarged to 130,508.1 hectares (1,305.081 km2). in accordance with the presidential decree.

A celebration has been organized in the Ismayilli section of the national park to mark this date, Azernews reports.

Employees of the regional branches of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, teachers and students of Ismayilli State College of Humanities and Technology, the employees took part in the event.

The participants were informed about the creation of the national park, its flora and fauna, tourism potential, as well as reintroduced noble deer and bison to the territory of the park.

The director of the Shahdag National Park Nizammaddin Taghiyev, said that the national park was established by the presidential decree on December 8, 2006, in order to protect the environment, preserve biological diversity and develop ecotourism.

He underlined that the Shahdag National Park, which covers the administrative territories of Ismayilli, Guba, Gusar, Gabala, Oguz and Shamakhi regions and has the largest area in the South Caucasus, is beautiful in every season with its unique colors.

"Shahdag National Park combines the country's most important mountain and forest landscape and serves the preservation of biodiversity, including rare and endangered species of plants and animals, the park director said.

"The park also contributes to the development of ecotourism. Since May 2019, 46 bison have been brought to Azerbaijan from German, Belgian, and Dutch zoos. Together with 10 more bisons brought from the zoological park of Germany, the number of bisons in Ismayilli section of Shahdag National Park has reached 61," he added.

In his speech, Nizammaddin Taghiyev noted that there are European roe deer, wolf, Indian musk deer, brown bear, Caucasian skunk, jackal, fox, rabbit, bison, red deer and other animals in the territory of Shahdag National Park. It is possible to see many animals up close by coming here as a tourist in all seasons of the year.

In 2022, 4 noble deer, 3 females and 1 male were released to the Ismailli section of the Shahdag National Park.

Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and head of International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA) Public Union Leyla Aliyeva took part in the event.

Currently, the number of deer has increased naturally and reached 7. The reintroduction project jointly organized by the IDEA Public Union and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources envisages that red deer will initially undergo an adaptation period in a specially designated place in the Shahdag National Park, and then be released into the wild in different regions of the country where the deer historically inhabited.

Truly mesmerizing, the Shahdag National Park is home to the rare East Caucasian tur, a mountain dwelling goat antelope found only in the eastern half of the Caucasus Mountains.

Other large mammals found here are the Caucasian, Bezoar ibex, domestic goat, Caucasian lynx, Syrian brown bear, wild boar, Indian wolf, common jackal, common jungle cat, red fox, roe deer as well as bison that truly captivates nature enthusiasts.

A variety of tree species, including the Caucasian Oak, Caucasian and European Hornbeam, Oriental Hornbeam, Oriental Beech, Silver Birch, Birch, Common Yew, White Willow, Common Walnut, and Wild Cherry can be found here.

The Shahdag National Park gives enough respite to those who seek a deep connection with nature.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr

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