southern russia. this faraway place by helicopter. special permission to travel around you. have such damage. to film the landscapes it's all this close read it's all set up i can't tell you how beautiful. weather is right i'll go.

to. this place. heritage site. of the coastal area. of. a long time ago the people of the caucuses used to shepherd droves of sheep across the a bug of lambs were often targeted by hawks even today let. me bring hawks back to this past. this is a bearded vulture. of this kind bigger nests on low lying logs of

thirty or forty kilometers from here. but when they go hunting. fifty kilometers in search of food. they're interesting creatures. the above go is situated close to the greater northern slope of the caucuses mountain range from the grassland you can get a panoramic view of the mountain ridge of the caucuses nature reserve. there is also a clear view of mt fished one of the highest points in the western caucuses. let's try to get the mountains in frame filming is best done from the highest point on the bar go it's about nine hundred meters above sea level here dimitri is teaching a son killed how to set up for the filming. look. you

can see that the lighting is on one side of the mist covers most of the valley. we don't want to film only the mist we need to focus on the foreground look at the grass gleaming in the sunlight its light of the valley is dark. so the light strip will show this shot to the best advantage. now if. the great in northern slope is a continuous chain of mountain ridges tops by snowy peaks millions of years ago there was a vast sea in this place the smallest part of it the black sea is now hidden behind mountain ridges they form a shield in the way of warm breezes blowing from the sea the warm air creates a sub tropical climate in the foothills of the southern slope of the greater

caucuses ridge there is a moderate zone further upslope the kingdom of eternal snow and ice on the mountain tops is more than three thousand metres above sea level. which is the. i'm going to film these magnificent landscapes. in order to show the . to the hundreds of people who never venture here. or will either because they have no time. when you go because they don't understand the meaning of nature. to live side by side with the pass translated from the caspian language means the mountain of caucasian goats the reserve is the only habitats of western caucasian goats in the wild here they don't move about very much a small herd might well stay for decades in the same area high in the mountains one

thousand nine hundred metres. the only trail leading across the pass begins in the above go grassland. caucuses reserve ranges often use it to make rounds of the area they always do it on horseback a round trip usually takes one week. where they'll come across poachers interests on this path. and then. the only way here there are rocks on one side and a thick tangle of bread and rain on the other it is very difficult terrain.

all. the ranges camp out in small pots it's always cold in the mountains at night. shortly before dawn the metering killed head to a small flat mountain top according to an old caucasian legend do you often meet the sunrise in the mountains lives a long and happy life get real you can no see mode you go and you're right. the sun will rise from behind the aspen pass. we're going to choose the highest point for filming we only have ten to fifteen minutes for that.

it is a mystery of the world used to it no single one is ever the same the deluded. it's truly wonderful. the nearest settlement is far away radio is the only means of communication with human civilization. hey folks if you're listening

to our movement of radio show us your hosts once again and you get to ring and look at it last term and talked about in the history of the congress is nature reserve you get to go to the small studio broadcasting the al movement show is in a town of scores of kilometers away from the a bar go for schoolchildren told locals about the caucuses reserve journalists. oversees the programs the children talk about the reserves animals surviving trees mountaintops and rare plants. they draw on their experience as reporters and engineers working in various protected areas therefore they always fully prepared for the program when they go on air.

and i think when people look at it and they try to imagine what these trees saw a long time ago. as for me i always have this uncanny feeling that my agent stature martin significant in front of these or inspiring giant. one of the most famous parts of the caucuses nature reserve is the growth situated close to the black sea coast the oldest tree here is over a thousand years old. the grove has survived several generations of tourists and many natural disasters. according to scientists the greatest of them took place some eighteen million years ago. a rupture in the earth's crust created a natural labyrinth and the gorge the gorges bed was filled with water from

mountain streams. this landscape has undergone no changes since then. visitors are fascinated by the mysterious origin of the grove and the trees there in they think of it as a living relic of the distant past. well i can tell you that i really do feel mystical about it is that people rarely break the rules here they're not eager to destroy or cut things down to the bush that some people might say i'm crazy but i honestly believe nature herself is at work here and i think this place is protected by higher forces it's. a small canyon on the outside edge of the grove mocks its natural boundary in the north the west and east in the horns of an infamous mountain river called the hostile joint where the canyon is at its most narrow and the never ending war of war is

a sign of its dangerous allure. and you'll know. this canyon is notorious because the water rises quickly when the snow melts or off to terentia. though the whirlpool formed a strong water splashing against one side of the ravine and then against the other . anything that falls into the whirlpool gets sucked down to the bottom people trying to swim will walk across it end up drowning. there's been several deaths as a result. that's why this place is infamously known as the devil's. bottle. there are four major waterways in the caucasus reserve a river is one of the deepest which has been put up but the small hydro power station supplies electricity to the hot sun the upper reaches of the reserves

northern sector ranges stay for the night. but the vote by. claiming there is a. w. bush route where you can get from any spray on a small river border to hear more from a bit of a soul faithful drink. that. international rafting competitions take place on the bella river every year the route is extreme the rapids and near impossible to clear. download the official antti have location on the phone on pod touch from the i

choose our story. life on the go. video on demand ati's mind bold costs and feeds now in the palm of your. question on the ati dot com. a cargo helicopter flies through a mountain gorge before it reaches the weather station and to go good is situated

in the mountains of the caucuses nature is a as an altitude of more than two thousand meters is about sea level it is the optimist station in the west and caucuses its total square is two hundred eighty two thousand hectares our reserve is the only one in russia that occupy. the territory of three russian regions it's really unique. the director of the caucuses reserve personally oversees the rotation of stars and food supplies in this remote area the helicopter rarely stops at juga for more than twenty minutes but even such a short period of time is enough for dimitri says just some kid to get several shots on take.

most of the world's weather stations located in major cities recalled changes in the atmosphere resulting from industrial waste and fecal fumes the data collected juga and similar stations is important for fundamental research into how the earth's climate changes in areas situated far away from manmade sources of pollution which are now the temperature of juba is fifteen degrees above zero but a couple of days ago trees were falling to the ground under the impact of strong gusts of wind which by the way where the snow is usually one may to date around this time in december temperatures were unusually high in november it may well turn out to be the warmest november in twenty five years. each day caucuses reserve staff record temperatures wind velocity humidity and amice fair expression.

one team is on shift for two months. oops. on its way from to go to the grand northern slope the helicopter passes by now and fished the highest point in the western ridge. after an hour's trip by end dimitri and his son curial walk about the northern sector of the caucuses reserve in the company of ranges the jugo weather station is

now schools of coleman says away. people and animals as share the only path there is in this area. do the bison let humans approach them most of the people traveling around the reserve granges and horseback most short while ago patrol g.t. in a different area of the short distance from here they can see month show there are ten across nine bars and. the lettuce come quite close to them. we're only fifteen meters away. bison living in the caucuses reserve have no enemies sometimes humans can come very close to them provided they are on horseback buses a range of dismount the bison instantly make it clear they're poised for attack.

horses are the most reliable and indispensable companions when people go on long trips in the mountains only horses with good training eligible for the job. well. this one is called cherish. he's my favorite. but we became fast friends. reading him is no problem he does what he's told to do. this one is still young stallion. so that it will let anybody touch him. look. is scared of everybody.

has one of the remotest areas of eastern sector of the caucuses reserve several reserve stock and their families live here on a permanent basis. even if the weather is warm it's only possible to reach this place with an off road vehicle schoolchildren from a nearby village of sit by often visit reserve ranges they have organized an eco movement called the little bison. hello hello glad to see you. dear our guests. that.

doesn't this is the machine we are. is the starting point of a circular route for high just only visitors with a permit and a map are allowed to enter the reserve they gear is inspected and ranges. teach them the elementary rules for surviving in the mountains children from the little bison always welcome here they already have experience walking cross-country the children from the little bison often cross the river in that way but it's risky in winter time so today we're going to take a detour we'll cross the bridge and forest work and we'll take care of all stuff. hikers can choose between several popular routes in different areas of the coaxes reserve.

close to the trail stands an oval table used by ranges it's meant for hikers passing by wanting to rest for a moment children from the little bison club gather here on the bank of the stream to discuss major ecological actions just as we all know that on the eve of new year's celebrations many local people pick up the axis and go to the forest to cut down our green beauties. would save the green beauty is the name of a movement organized by the children that. lamie crieff let's bear in the image of a thirty three you know they were a taxed on the leaflets and display them prominently into village. the children hope their peaceful actions will help prevent fur trees from being cut down illegally. preserve ranges however take more radical measures against

low breakers their main task is finding and detaining poachers. one of the most challenging jobs takes ranges to mount. each time they go there under a veil of secrecy regardless of day or night or weather conditions very painstaking job requires special knowledge and staying power they need to be skilled horseman as well as able to discern telltale signs showing the presence of trespasses and have no difficulty finding their bearings. new voters will always be tempted to enter the reserve because beasts are easy prey here. they're not as much afraid of humans as they are elsewhere because they're under constant protection. cultures see them as enticing tidbits because hunting for them is so easy.

as the path reaches higher out a cheese one climatic zone in the mountains gives way to another here the fog that enveloped the forests in the foothills is now a distant memory there is snow on the slopes and it is much colder the coke asian mountains gradually come into view. after several attempts to find the best point for filming the landscape dimitri suddenly comes face to face with a brown bear one of the rarest and largest animals of the caucasus reserve.

ranges did find fresh tracks they were close to the huts where the rain just put up for the night they reported the find of a walkie-talkie could even use. there are wolf tracks here now the stove all got from a wolf yes. keep still have let me see them what they go in the trucks now just those. bases here they are two three three. eight calling one zero four eight calling one of four everything's ok no poacher tracks only some left by animals the

latest tracks are those of wolves three of them over announce. different people visiting the coaxes nature reserve are often different things some seek shelter from the hostile and bustle of big cities others around the thrills only a few are able to blend in with this wonderful place and become possible. just invested by old and yet i feel i'm an integral part of this world at large and to do well no crazy romantic. i'm nearly drowned almost frozen to death and full of cliffs but in. nature is wiser than we are give her ingenuity is all pervasive. she is the creator that gave birth to us about enough but i do not and

may bring us to ruin unless we come to our senses. they have led them i think does what people should devote their lives to. us will get about i don't know if i can cope with the task but i'm going to try.

the latest news on the week's top stories here on our team arab league on ice this year in fact finding mission is frozen at the violence escalates triggering pressure from the e.u. on top talks at the u.n. security council. and revolutionary aftershock deadly clashes and troop build up in levy a while image of hundreds of thousands staged fresh protest against their ruling military joined. us police take gloves off approach against occupy

protesters in oakland firing tear gas and flash grenades at demonstrators. this week also saw online anger spilling onto the streets as internet users in poland fought against new international anti-piracy agreements censorship and human rights abuses. here in russia the internet has become a battlefield for pre-election campaigners with provocative viral videos and slogans used as weapons in the online battle for vote. in the russian capital you're watching r.t.r. marina josh welcome to the program the arab league's monitoring mission in syria has been suspended due to a sharp rise in violence opposition activists suggest that over two hundred people have been killed in the past four days across the country syria staying.