2025.06.19

Employees of the Institute of Zoology went on an expedition to Goygol, Dashkesan, Lachin and Shusha region

From June 2 to June 12, 2025, staff of the Department of Terrestrial Vertebrates at the Zoology Institute of MSE RA — Associate Professor, PhD Tavakkul Isgandarov and senior lab assistant Zivarkhanım Ibrahimli, carried out an expedition in the districts of Goygol, Dashkesen, Lachin, and Shusha to collect research material related to the project titled “Assessment of the Impact of Natural and Anthropogenic Factors on Reptile (Reptilia) Species Distributed in the Mountain and Foothill Regions of the Lesser Caucasus Natural Province of Azerbaijan.”

During the expedition, visual surveys were conducted in Goygol National Park and the adjacent mountain slopes. No changes caused by natural processes (such as floods, mudflows, or landslides) were detected in the surveyed areas. The only negative impacts on reptile habitats observed were of anthropogenic origin—specifically, pollution by household waste generated by local residents and various catering establishments.