Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve
Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve (, ) (also Shulgan-Tash) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) in the western foothills of the Southern Ural Mountains. The terrain is one of heavy forest and karst topography; the site contains some of the oldest caves of human habitation (Kapova Cave). The reserve has 13 full-time "bortniks" - practitioners of the ancient apiculture (bee-keeping) of tree-hollow cultivation of wild honeybees. The reserve is situated in the Burzyansky District of Bashkortostan. It is about 40 km southeast of the District town of Starosubkhangulovo. In 2012, the reserve was added to the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve "Bashkir Ural", in particular for protection of the Burzyuan bee, which has been cultivated since ancient times by the local Bashkir people. Topography The Shulgan-Tash Reserve terrain consists of low-lying foothills (100 - 300 meter ridges, dissected by river and stream valleys); the overall altitude range in the reserve is 240 – 700 meters. The cover is over 90% light-coniferous-deciduous forests; the remainder is small sectors of mountain steppes and meadows. Bashkiriya National Park is to the west and south, and Shulgan-Tash includes the Altyn-Solok Entymological Reserve. The Nugush River and Belaya River flow through the reserve. The most famous of the