Donetsk, Aug 31 – DAN. DPR Central Bank has released commemorative coins to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Khomutovskaya Steppe – Meotida Natural Reserve.
"The unique natural park celebrates 20th anniversary this year, and the Bank prepared a album of commemorative coins featuring the sanctuary's rarest inhabitants – animals, plants and birds included in the Red Book."
The album comprises six coins featuring Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus, called Wench-bird in Russian and Ukrainian), pasqueflower (Pulsatilla pratensis, locally called sleep-grass), Marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna), Pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta, black and white wader), Long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus), and Dwarf iris (Iris pumila).
The coins are made of a copper-based alloy.
The album's predominant color is red, which is reflective of the Red Book of endangered species. Rare animals and plans are seen on its cover. The print run is 250 copies priced at 2,650 rubles, it will be available on September 1.
The Khomutovskaya Steppe natural reserve is located in the Novoazovsk region of the DPR, its protected biosphere area constitutes 50 percent of the DPR total reserve lands. Khomutovskaya Steppe covers more than 18,000 ha, 7,746 of them are in the Azov seawaters. It contains more than 600 varieties of steppe plants including rare and endemic plants; dozens of mammal, reptile, amphibian, and fish species live there, as well as 1,500 insect species. *ot