Fieldwork.

Khosrov Forest State Reserve comprises unique arid ecosystems with rich biodiversity. Due to its proximity to the capital Yerevan, the reserve’s landscapes have been heavily exploited by local people and companies for livestock grazing, construction and sand mining. Reptiles are intrinsically tightly linked with their habitats and disappear fast following habitat loss and direct persecution. Vipers and other snakes have been fiercely and indiscriminately killed by people upon an encounter. The most important stage for conservation of critically endangered and vulnerable species of snakes, lizards and tortoise is having reliable and first-hand scientifically–based knowledge on their ecology, distribution and abundance. Having identified all patches of the range, their location and status we can start the site-specific conservation measures.

In this project we will assess and evaluate the current status of four most threatened focal reptilian species to assess human impacts on local ecosystems and to promote conservation, rising of public awareness and implementation of environmental education program among local people, Khosrov Forest State Reserve staff and for local schoolchildren as future conservationists.

These reptiles are:

1. Spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca)

2. Transcaucasian racerunner (Eremias pleskei)

3. Armenian steppe viper (Vipera = Pelias eriwanensis)

4. Armenian or Radde’s viper (Montivipera raddei)