Photo by @babaktafreshi
Not the Swiss Alps, this is in the Middle East! I photographed this shepherd's hut on a summer morning of Alborz Mountains in Iran, some years ago. The humidity from the nearby Caspian Sea is blocked by this massive mountain range and formed a large band of dense vegetation known as Caspian Hyrcanian forest. This unique habitat is shrinking fast due to human impact and poor management. The entire forest (55000 sq km), extending to Azerbaijan, is under Unesco World Heritage tentative list. The Caspian Tiger once roamed these mountains, now extinct. Other large mammals here are the Caucasus Leopard, lynx, brown bear, wild boar, wolf, golden jackal, jungle cat, badger, and otter.
@natgeocreatve @natgeo #iran #mazandaran #caspiansea #amol #alborzmountains #forest #middleeast #conservation