Alaniya National Park, a 55000-hectare tract of land in the central region of the Great
Caucasus in the Republic of North Ossetia became a jewel in the necklace of Russia' s
protected areas in 1998.
The national park preserves unique natural and historical-architectural sites. Ancient
watchtowers, castles and burial crypts are neighbors to mountain villages preserved in
their prehistoric form. Local residents practice traditional forms of farming and herding,
continuing a way of life that has not changed over the course of many centuries.
Birds and animals that are nearly extinct in other parts of the region, such as the
Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica), chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), lynx (Lynx lynx), wolf
(Canis lupus), fox (Vulpes vulpes), brown bear (Ursus arctos), golden eagle (Aquila
chrysaetus), bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), snowcock
(Tetrogallus sp.), and Caucasian grouse (Lyrurus mlokoseiwiczi) are common in the national
park.
