Region
Kakheti’s Alazani valley, dry foothills, and semi-arid belts shape eastern Georgia’s distinctive fauna. Warmth-loving, dry-habitat taxa dominate — Levantine viper, fast racers, and cat snake.
The atlas has 72 species profiles for Kakheti: 18 birds, 15 snakes, 13 lizards, 9 amphibians, 8 mammals, 4 spiders, 2 turtles, 2 insects, and 1 scorpion. Reptiles make up 30 of them, amphibians 9. The region’s main habitats: Alazani valley; Dry foothills; Semi-arid zones.
5 listed species have a high or moderate risk level for people: Levantine viper (Macrovipera lebetinus), Eastern steppe viper (Vipera renardi), Eastern Montpellier Snake (Malpolon insignitus), Mediterranean black widow (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus), and Mottled scorpion (Mesobuthus eupeus). Keep your distance from any unidentified snake, never try to catch or handle it, and call 112 after a bite.
A species is listed only when it has an atlas profile and a confirmed record names this administrative unit. This is not the full fauna of Kakheti, so an animal missing here may still live in the region. Related region pages: Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta — Mtianeti, and Tbilisi.
The Levantine viper (Macrovipera lebetinus) and the steppe viper (Vipera renardi) are venomous vipers, and the eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus) is a rear-fanged snake rated moderate risk. Most other listed species are harmless, but correct identification still matters.
Snakes recorded in Kakheti in this atlas: Levantine viper (Macrovipera lebetinus), eastern steppe viper (Vipera renardi), eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus), Urartian ratsnake, steppe ratsnake, red-bellied racer, dice snake, grass snake, Dahl’s whip snake, spotted whip snake, European cat snake, smooth snake, collared dwarf snake, ring-headed dwarf snake and European blind snake. The glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus) also lives here, but it is a legless lizard, not a snake.
Yes — Kakheti belongs to the dry/semi-arid east, Adjara to the humid Colchic west. Species assemblages differ sharply.
News
Snakes
Armenia’s Red Book of Animals has not been updated since 2010. The new edition may add the Urartian ratsnake and drop the great cormorant.
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In June 2026 parliament approved two new national parks: Egrisi in Samegrelo and Tsiv-Gombori in Kakheti. Alongside Tsiv-Gombori it also created the Signagi Strict Nature Reserve and the Tsiv-Gombori Protected Landscape.
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Georgia’s oldest protected area is hosting the steering committee of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas for a week. Lagodekhi is a candidate for both the Green List and the European Diploma.
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