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Director's Desk: A Ranger's Eyes
On July 23, 2014 ยท By: CNF Staff
(c) WWF-Armenia/A.Malkhasyan
Because Armenia's Khosrov Forest is only an hour or so from Yerevan, I
have been there at least a dozen times over the last six years, and
last month I drove out there again, this time mainly for the
celebration of WWF's 10 years in the country.
Khosrov, which has been receiving CNF support since 2010, is the
northernmost leopard habitat in Armenia. The forest also safeguards
the habitat of other endangered prey species, perhaps the most
important of these being the bezoar goat: a magnificently bearded
mountain goat that can run at speeds of 40 kilometers per hour up
steep, rocky mountain cliffs. Though it is all but extinct in Georgia,
a small and-thanks to the work of CNF and its partner
organizations--slowly growing population survives in Armenia and
Azerbaijan.
The males in particular are also very elusive creatures, summering
high in the mountains away from the females, and in all my visits to
the region I have never seen one in the wild. So when a small group of
us sets off on this lovely June evening with Hrachya Danielyan, one of
Khosrov's most experienced rangers, I joke that I may jinx the outing.
For close to an hour, we climb in our jeep over very rough terrain to
a first observation point, but after just a few minutes of scanning
the hillside and nearby cliffs with his binoculars, Hrachya turns and
tells us there is nothing other than the glorious view for us to
behold.
Undeterred, he leads us to even higher terrain and a second stop.
Again we scan the hillside, this time across a much deeper valley. I
am on the point of saying: "Jinxed again," when Hrachya turns and,
shushing us with a finger on his lips, beckons us to approach his
position. There across the gorge on an outcropping of rock, a mature
male bezoar peacefully grazes. Though we too can now make out his
large form with the naked eye, binoculars highlight his markings and
majesty. From the enormous horns, Hrachya estimates his age at 10-12.
By the evening's end, we have spotted two more subjects in their
solitary meanderings.
The desk work of building up a conservation trust fund for the
Caucasus is occasionally rewarded with moments like this--and finally
witnessing these animals in the wild was of course a great treat. But
for me, watching the trained, professional eyes of a ranger at work
was just as gratifying. Without them, we would have stayed much longer
at the first observation point and never spotted the goats at the
second. I will be forever grateful to Hrachya for his knowledge of and
ability to see Khosrov's secrets, and for his showing them to me.
David Morrison is Executive Director of the Caucasus Nature Fund
http://caucasus-naturefund.org/directors-desk-a-rangers-eyes/
On July 23, 2014 ยท By: CNF Staff
(c) WWF-Armenia/A.Malkhasyan
Because Armenia's Khosrov Forest is only an hour or so from Yerevan, I
have been there at least a dozen times over the last six years, and
last month I drove out there again, this time mainly for the
celebration of WWF's 10 years in the country.
Khosrov, which has been receiving CNF support since 2010, is the
northernmost leopard habitat in Armenia. The forest also safeguards
the habitat of other endangered prey species, perhaps the most
important of these being the bezoar goat: a magnificently bearded
mountain goat that can run at speeds of 40 kilometers per hour up
steep, rocky mountain cliffs. Though it is all but extinct in Georgia,
a small and-thanks to the work of CNF and its partner
organizations--slowly growing population survives in Armenia and
Azerbaijan.
The males in particular are also very elusive creatures, summering
high in the mountains away from the females, and in all my visits to
the region I have never seen one in the wild. So when a small group of
us sets off on this lovely June evening with Hrachya Danielyan, one of
Khosrov's most experienced rangers, I joke that I may jinx the outing.
For close to an hour, we climb in our jeep over very rough terrain to
a first observation point, but after just a few minutes of scanning
the hillside and nearby cliffs with his binoculars, Hrachya turns and
tells us there is nothing other than the glorious view for us to
behold.
Undeterred, he leads us to even higher terrain and a second stop.
Again we scan the hillside, this time across a much deeper valley. I
am on the point of saying: "Jinxed again," when Hrachya turns and,
shushing us with a finger on his lips, beckons us to approach his
position. There across the gorge on an outcropping of rock, a mature
male bezoar peacefully grazes. Though we too can now make out his
large form with the naked eye, binoculars highlight his markings and
majesty. From the enormous horns, Hrachya estimates his age at 10-12.
By the evening's end, we have spotted two more subjects in their
solitary meanderings.
The desk work of building up a conservation trust fund for the
Caucasus is occasionally rewarded with moments like this--and finally
witnessing these animals in the wild was of course a great treat. But
for me, watching the trained, professional eyes of a ranger at work
was just as gratifying. Without them, we would have stayed much longer
at the first observation point and never spotted the goats at the
second. I will be forever grateful to Hrachya for his knowledge of and
ability to see Khosrov's secrets, and for his showing them to me.
David Morrison is Executive Director of the Caucasus Nature Fund
http://caucasus-naturefund.org/directors-desk-a-rangers-eyes/