Cat Fighters

A very rare photo of a very rare leopard. Image courtesy of I. Khorozyan, A. Malkhasyan and M. Boyajyan

Cerush Adamir and the other foresters have received new binoculars and GPS transmitters to secure the forest watch from the Norwegian Environmental Department, through the WWF.

Foresters on the Meghi-edge, above the enclave in southern Armenia. The edge is the only big way in to the reserve and has to be guarded 24–7 to prevent poachers from getting in.

It may not be popular among the locals that the foresters have been given Jeeps, arms and other equipment from the West, but they still respect them personally as many of them fought to protect the villagers in the Karabakh war.

The elected spokesman of the small village of Nerkin, Tatjik Vagdasaryan (to the right) and forester guerrilla leader Ruben Mkrtohyana (to the left).

A war torn Armenian city.

The Mother USSR statue still stands in Yerevan’s central park, while the Soviet reign has become a faint memory for the tiny Caucasian state of Armenia.

The leader of the forester guerilla, Ruben Mkrtohyana, telling us about his days as a Former Soviet elite soldier.

Thanks to the natural conservation efforts and Armenia’s stunning mountains, eco-tourism has been picking up in the little country. So hopefully the villagers will soon be able to make a buck or two.