Description of the attraction
Zhuvintas Nature Reserve was founded in 1946 in the southern part of Lithuania, namely in the Alytus region. It completely covers Lake Zhuvintas, for this reason it received this name. The area of the reserve is 5420 hectares, of which 1032 hectares belong to Lake Zhuvintas itself, 1211 hectares belong to forests, 2881 hectares are swamps, and 68 hectares belong to meadows. It is known that the reserve regime previously worked on this lake, which began in 1937. By 1976, the Zuvintas Nature Reserve became a branch of the Kaunas Zoological Museum.
Lake Zhuvintas itself has unusual floating islands, but most of the area around it is covered with swamps, represented by both upland and lowland types. Another large water body of the reserve is the Dovine River, which is located in the Shushupe basin.
The relief of the reserve is mainly represented by plains, with detached and low hills. The climate here is moderate: the average temperature in the month of July reaches 16.5 ° C, and the average temperature in January is -5 ° C. Average annual precipitation ranges from 600 to 800 mm.
In the Zhuvintas reserve, 473 plant species are officially registered, of which mosses and algae account for 105 species. In the northern part of the reserve, there is the Bukta forest, which is a swampy spruce forest with an admixture of hornbeam, aspen and birch. Reed thickets and lacustrine vegetation thrive in this area, and all this is due to the prosperity of zoobenthos of zooplankton: mollusks, annelids, dragonfly and mosquito larvae, isopods, which are a rich food base for a huge number of fish. If we take into account the numerous fish, then it is worth mentioning such as: tench, pike, roach, rudd, bream, bleak, perch, silver bream and three-spined stickleback.
About 217 bird species are registered in the reserve, including nesting and waterfowl: mallard, mute swan colonies, whistler teal, cracker teal, crested ducks and red-headed duck. The special pride of the reserve is the mute swan. Back in 1937, a pair of swans settled on this site for the first time, and then the natural natural re-acclimatization of these birds began in Lithuania.
The mammal world of the Zhuvintas reserve is represented by 29 species, for example, roe deer, common wild boar, European hare, common squirrel, elk, fox, raccoon dog, black polecat, river otter, weasel and others. Regular hunting from nearby areas limits the number of wolves in the reserve. One by one, wolves appear in the reserve in winter, but they do not bring strong harm to the local fauna.
In 1947, 8 river beavers were brought to the reserve, which had previously lived in the Voronezh reserve. The beavers were released at Lake Zhuvintas. After some time, most of the beavers left the lake due to the strong peat and swampiness of the lake shores and settled on the Dovina and Bambyan rivers. During 1950-1951, beaver burrows and lodges appeared on these rivers. Later, the beavers left these places as well. By 1952, only one beaver remained on the lake, surviving to the age of 14. In 1974, beavers reappeared in this place. They established their refuge in the deltas of the Kiaulich and Bambyan rivers, as well as on the eastern shores of the lake. By 1985, about 20 huts were counted on the territory of the reserve.
Muskrat huts were found on the Dovina River in 1969. These animals settled here on their own and began to expand their habitat, which was helped by warm winters over several years. In 1982, in the area of the lake, new inhabitants of the Zhuvintas reserve appeared - American minks, the number of huts of which had reached 15 by 1985.
The development of the natural complexes of the reserve is determined not only by natural, but also by anthropogenic factors. Natural changes in the ecosystems of the Zhuvintas reserve are manifested not only in the overgrowing of the entire lake and its silting, the accumulation of peat, an increase in the share of high bogs, but also in the flow of chemicals into the ecosystem and the plowing of adjacent lands. It is these factors that make lake ecosystems especially dependent on external influences.
