Bolshoy Utrish

Big Utrish— landscape-floral and marine reserve with a total area of 5112 hectares, located between the village of Sukko and Utrish Small, on the territory of municipal formation resort town of Anapa in Krasnodar region. Located on Abramsom Peninsula. Created by Decree of the Head of Administration of Krasnodar Krai № 116 from 2.04.1994 the city Stretches for 12 kilometers along the coastline and is closed from the North Navaginsky ridge.

2 Sep 2010. on the basis of the reserve was established the state natural reserve "Utrish" to 3 March of 2011, there was no official Position on the nature reserve and bounds description. Order of Minprirody of the Russian Federation dated 03.03.2011 N 145 "About approval of Provisions on state nature reserve "Utrish" (Registered in Ministry of justice of the Russian Federation 16.03.2011 N 20124) approved the regulations and boundaries. 10 Jun 2011 take effect the new edition of the Order according to which the territory of the reserve is not a single array — the reserve is divided into 4 areas from reserve excluded a number of areas:

• unique juniper-pistachio forest in the vicinity of the second and third lagoon — the most ecologically valuable, according to experts, the area, but this place is where you plan to build the so-called "fitness center";
• corridors (width 150 m) access to this road, including "forest fire road";
• the coastal strip East of the village of Maliy Utrish.

At Utrish is the only well-preserved in the Northern black sea portion of a typical Eastern Mediterranean landscape. Here, the most pronounced unique Mediterranean core of the tertiary relict flora, including endemic species such as junipers high and smelly, pistachio and Pitsunda pine, sumac. The most ancient plant Association — pistachio-juniper woodlands, where 62,4 % of the species of plants belongs to the Mediterranean flora, and in oak-hornbeam forests of these types amount to 40.9 %. There are 75 species of herbaceous plants, 107 species of trees and shrubs. About 60 species listed in the Red book. In the forests Large Utrish found trees up to the age of 1000 years.

Of invertebrates and reptiles worth mentioning here open Empusa striped, previously known only by the finds from the Crimea, Saga pedo pall, Mediterranean tortoise, which is the only habitat in Russia, and eskulapa the species (Red book of Russia and IUCN). Among the birds are nesting snake eagle, white-tailed eagle, black vulture, Egyptian vulture and peregrine Falcon, as well as a huge variety of species during spring and autumn migration along the sea coast. It is necessary to allocate such rare species as the mute Swan wintering in coastal lakes estuary type. Wintering and migration from these shores you can observe loons, grebes and 80 species of waterfowl and shorebirds.

It is home to rare species of Mediterranean butterflies.

Water area included in the territory of the reserve is characterized by a high diversity of different types of aquatic organisms — algae-macrophytes, phyto - and zooplankton. On this site discovered 227 species of algae.

In these places, migration routes and the feeding of horse mackerel, mackerel and anchovy, followed the migration routes of bottlenose dolphins.