Nestled between the Black and Caspian Seas, where Europe and Asia meet, the Caucasus Mountains gives rise to some of the world’s most incredible biodiversity. During my visit to the Museum of History in Tbilisi, I was struck by the wild, breathing world of the animal kingdom. In the Museum of History in Tbilisi, Georgia, the wildlife of the region is shown in life-like forms.
In a small wing of the museum, an exhibition on the biodiversity of the Caucasus region reveals wolves and lynx, eagles and ibex, insects, and wildflowers, all rendered in glass cases or detailed dioramas – ecologically rich and rare.
The Caucasus is considered one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, home to over 6,500 plant species; hundreds of mammals, birds, and reptiles; and a high rate of endemism (species that exist nowhere else).
This is due to the region’s dramatic topography and varied climate: alpine meadows, lowland forests, wetlands, and semi-desert plains all exist within a few hours of each other. In terms of species richness, it rivals far larger countries.
Among the museum’s most striking displays are lifelike models and bones of the Caucasian leopard, an elusive predator that roams the remote mountains. Once thought nearly extinct in Georgia, it is making a slow return.
Other mammals featured include: the Eurasian lynx with tufted ears; Caucasian brown bear; Bezoar goat; red deer; and wild boar, as well as golden jackals, badgers, and martens.
The Caucasus is a key migratory route for birds, and the museum celebrates this with detailed exhibits of lammergeiers (bearded vultures) known for dropping bones from heights to break them open to access the marrow; imperial eagles; Caucasian black grouse; and booted eagles. There are also tiny, bright-winged, turquoise birds like the European bee-eater. The museum features bird calls in the background, creating a sensory echo of the skies above Georgia.
From blunt-nosed vipers to fire salamanders, the region is home to over 100 species of reptiles and amphibians. Many are adapted to niche ecosystems between canyons and riverbeds.
There is also an astonishing array of butterflies, moths, and beetles, many of which exist only in this mountainous area.
The plant diversity is equally vast. The exhibit highlights rare alpine flowers, medicinal herbs used since antiquity, and endemic species like the Colchic boxwood, rhododendrons of the Lesser Caucasus, snowdrops, crocuses, and orchids.
Panels outline threats to the region’s biodiversity such as deforestation, overgrazing, mining, and climate change. There is also hope due to local conservation efforts in protected areas like Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park and growing eco-awareness.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
MARTINA NICOLLS is an Australian author and international human rights-based consultant in foreign aid evaluations and audits, education, psychosocial support, resilience, peace and stabilization, and communication, including script writing and voice work. She lives in Paris. Her latest books are: If Paris Were My Lover (2025), Tranquility Mapping (2025), Moon, Mood, and Mind Mapping Tracker (2025), and Innovations within Constraints Handbook (2025). She is the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
 |
 |
Comments
Post a Comment