Babaneuri Strict Nature Reserve

Babaneuri Strict Nature Reserve (Georgian: ბაბანეურის სახელმწიფო ნაკრძალი) is a protected area in Akhmeta Municipality, Kakheti region of Georgia on the bank of Alazani River, 439–985 meters above sea level.^[1]

Babaneuri Strict Nature Reserve
IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)
Zelkova leaf.
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Location	Georgia
Nearest city	village Babaneuri
Coordinates	42°05′15″N 45°23′55″E
Area	15.16 km2 (5.85 sq mi)
Established	2003
Governing body	Agency of Protected Areas
Website	Batsara-Babaneuri Protected Areas

The Nature Reserve is located at the foot of the Greater Caucasus in the vicinity of villages Babaneuri and Argoq, it also includes the Batsara-Babaneuri Protected Areas. The main objective is to protect up to 240 ha of zelkova (Zelkova carpinifolia) grove, trees that are featured in Regional Red List of Georgia.^[2]

Babaneuri Strict Nature Reserve is part of Batsara-Babaneuri Protected Areas which also includes Batsara Strict Nature Reserve and Ilto Managed Reserve.^[3]

Flora

The Nature Reserve has the largest grove of the rarest plant in Georgia - the Caucasian zelkova - a tree that has survived from the Tertiary period and was considered to have already disappeared from the face of the earth, but in 1946 it was rediscovered on the banks of the Alazani.

These relict trees can reach height of 30 m with a trunk diameter of 90 cm. The Georgian oak, the field maple and the other are mixed together. The undergrowth is represented by hawthorn, privet, medlar, privet and wild rose.

Fauna

Numerous songbirds spend winter in a preserved grove. A variety of mammals also live here: stone marten, roe deer, rabbits, foxes and others.