Georgia

Georgia, located in the Caucasus region, is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Tbilisi, where about a third of the Georgian population lives, is the capital and largest city. Archaeological research shows that due to its location on the Black Sea and later on the historic Silk Road, Georgia has traded with many countries and empires since ancient times. In addition, the Caucasus mountains have been a source of gold, silver, copper and iron. Georgia is home to approximately 5,601 animal species, of which 648 are vertebrates, due to its wide variety of landscapes and low latitude. This represents more than 1% of the world's species, many of which are endemic. The forests are home to a large number of large carnivores, notably Brown Bears, Wolves, Lynx and Caucasian Leopards. The Common Pheasant is a Georgian endemic bird that has spread to the rest of the world as an important game bird. Just over 6,500 species of fungi, among them lichen-forming species, have been described from Georgia, but they are far from being a complete list. A total of 1,729 species of plants have been recorded from the country in relation to the fungi. The country is also home to 4,300 species of mature plants, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. There are four ecoregions in Georgia: Caucasian mixed forests, Euxine-Colchian deciduous forests, Eastern Anatolian montane steppe, and Azerbaijani shrub desert and steppe.