Biosphere reserve Dupkata

Dupkata (The Hole) is reserve located in the southern parts of Batashka mountain. It represents a deep gorge, slitted by the Devinska River. The area was declared protected in 1956 and covers areas between 600 and 1300 meters above sea level. The relief of the reserve is highly segmented and cross-cut by the river in almost its entire length. 83% of its territory is occupied by old-age coniferous forests. The most widespread are the large forests of white pine which are often older than 200 years. The height of some trees reaches 40 meters and the diameter of their trunk - 1 m. There are also mixed forests of white pine and spruce. In the lower parts of the reserve dominate the tree species beech, maple, oak, alder tree, willow and others. The reserve provides refuge to many wild mammals - red deer, roe, brown bear, wild cat, fox, marten, badger and others. One of the main purposes for the establishment of the reserve is the conservation of the red deer. Red deers were significantly more in the past, but their number in Bulgaria decreased fast in recent years. In 1977 the reserve Dupkata was counted in the list of the biosphere reserves of UNESCO.