In our time, you will no longer find large virgin steppes. Man mastered them, plowed and sowed. But there is a unique piece of virgin land on the territory of the Donetsk region - the Khomutovskaya steppe, showing us how the Sea of ​​u200bu200bAzov looked like in the distant past.
The reserve with this name was organized in 1926. This is all that remains of the once vast Wild Field, which occupied the southern part of Ukraine. In its expanses, various peoples appeared, developed and disappeared - the Scythians, Sarmatians, Pechenegs, Polovtsy and many others, who rolled over the boundless steppe in waves, leaving stone women on the mounds of time sentries. Unfortunately, these idols of the past could not protect the fertile steppe from the man who plowed the land. Today, the area of ​​the reserve is 1030.4 hectares, and 90 of them are absolutely protected areas, which have never been touched by a plow and where cattle have not been grazed and mowing has not been carried out for 70 years. On its territory, plants of the group of the plain forb - fescue - feather grass steppe have been preserved and protected. 604 species of flower plants and ferns grow here - herbs, shrubs and trees. Of these, 19 are endemic, i.e. distributed over a very limited area. 59 species of mosses, 46 species of lichens and over 270 mushrooms are also registered in the reserve. The most typical and massive representatives of the flora are: katran, kermek, feather grass, hairs, porridge, wheatgrass, bonfire, tyrsa, adonis, tulip, violets, almonds, gorse, caragana, cornflowers, bluegrass, sage, cutter, scabiosa and hundreds of other plants . Each of them decorates the steppe in its own way and in due time.
Only in the reserve is it possible to follow the seasonal changes of the real steppe - its spring awakening, the riot of life in the summer and the fall-winter fall asleep. For example, at the beginning of May, a blooming peony creates indescribable beauty in vast areas. It seems that a sea of ​​fire has spilled over the green carpet of the spring steppe. The fauna of the reserve is diverse: a wolf, a fox, a raccoon dog, a hare, a hamster, a bobak, a ground squirrel, a vole, mice, a ferret, a weasel, a lizard, a snake, a copperhead, a snake, a steppe viper, toads, frogs, etc. The feathered world of the Khomutovskaya steppe is represented by more than 80 species of birds. Partridge, quail, pheasant, ducks, bustard, strepant, larks, starlings, harriers, steppe eagle, shrikes-zhulan, warblers, tit, oriole, red-footed falcon, kestrel, honey buzzard, warbler, bittern, snipe, lapwing, kingfisher, heron, cuckoo - these are the most common birds.
Currently, in the Khomutovskaya steppe, as part of a scientific experiment, work has begun on breeding and grazing horses. This is due to the problem of accumulation, especially in areas with an absolutely protected regime, litter from a thick layer of dead plants. This happened due to changes in the ecosystem, namely the disappearance or a sharp reduction in the representatives of the animal world. Once there were herds of tarpans, aurochs, saigas, roe deer. Later, the Don Cossacks pastured herds of horses here. By eating grass, they held back the formation of litter. Therefore, the revival of horse breeding in the Ukrainian steppes provides a unique opportunity for the revival of colorful landscapes.

From a hill on the left bank of the river Gruzsky Elanchik, a view of a huge preserved massif of the pristine steppe opens up. Visitors to the "Khomutovskaya Steppe" cache can visit the museum, where qualified employees will tell and show a lot of interesting information. To go out into the steppe and see what it was like in the distant past, it's wonderful!