These pictures were recently taken on the weekend at the Lijk-Argich Preserve located within the confines of the Sevan National Park. The Preserve is one of the four located in the Park. While it is not the largest of the four it is home to 5 species of birds; the Glossy Ibis, Dalmatian Pelican, Whooper Swan, a member of the Magpie family and a type of duck or mallard.

The fact that pelicans are targeted by week-end hunters doesn’t seem to faze either the hunters themselves or the administrators of the Sevan Park, whose job is to ostensibly protect and preserve the flora and fauna within the Preserve. 

The fact is that the expanse isn’t being monitored given that bird hunting has become an established routine since way back. We have photos of poachers that were taken in the autumn and winter of last year. One of the poachers, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that he knew nothing about a hunting ban. (Even though the hunting season is in full swing, such activity is outlawed in the Preserves.) 

According to Sevan Park’s 2007-2011 management plan, the boundaries of the Preserve have been extended. The plan states that this step has been taken the protect bird nesting sites as well as to preserve and stimulate the growth of valuable fish species such as the Sevan trout. 

These regulations remain just words on paper for apart from some poachers, grazing cows and picnickers, we saw no one else. 

Gagik Martirosyan, Director of the Sevan National Park, stated that all violations are duly registered and that those engaged in poaching within the Preserve mostly come from the neighboring villages and are people in social need who enter the area to collect wood, hunt and fish. 

Such explanations however do not justify the lackadaisical attitude of the Park administrators since the hunting of birds listed in the Armenian Red Book of endangered and threatened species is more a hobby than a means of sustenance. 

The Lijk-Argich Preserve is an ideal site for nesting birds since there are three small lakes located within its boundaries. Furthermore, the Argich, Lijk, Bakhtak and Tzakqar Rivers all flow in Lake Sevan with Preserve boundaries as well. The Preserve itself covers some 1,175 hectares of which 693 hectares are covered with water.