Lower Prut Reserve

Lower Prut Reserve (Rezervaţia Prutul de Jos) is a scientific Reserve in Cahul District, Moldova which was founded on April 23, 1991. It covers an area of 1691 hectares.
It was created in order to protect the flora and fauna of the lake and floodplain Beleu of his surroundings through Government Decision of 23 April 1991. Length of the lake is 5 km and the  width is 2km, with an average average depth of 0.5-1.5 m, a maximum depth of 2.5 m water level in Lake Beleu largely dependent on the water level of the Danube and Prut.
Fauna Reserve is represented by198 species, 140 of them are birds. Reserve is located at approximately 450 parallel north latitude, which is halfway between the equator and the North Pole and represents an important passage for migratory birds. Some rare birds like egret, swan, spoonbill, pelicanil, cormorant, little Califar white, glaucous gull, etc. can be encountered here. Among the rare species of mammals that are encountered within the reserve there can be mentioned otter, wild cat, white bellied shrew, ermine, mink, etc. The Reserve is also represented by approximately 190 species of plants.