The protected area “Aleko-Telika Complex” includes the lands of the village of Sandrovo, Ruse municipality, the town of Slivo Pole and the village of Ryahovo, Slivo Pole municipality, with an area of 206 ha, forest fund. It is managed by the Danube State Forest Management Agency – the town of Ruse. It includes the eastern part of Aleko Island and a group of smaller islands located in the immediate vicinity, located near the villages of Sandrovo and Ryahovo.
The natural habitats of the islands support endangered species of plants and animals of national and global importance. Plants included in the Red Book of Bulgaria are found here, such as the marsh snowdrop, the shining milkweed, the three-ribbed rusty, the kakichka and others.
The area provides an important food base for fish populations in the Danube, as well as suitable conditions for nesting, resting and wintering of globally endangered bird species. This part of the Danube is the most important habitat for six species of sturgeon in Bulgaria. Here are some of the largest colonies of herons, cormorants, species such as the Dalmatian pelican, the red-breasted goose and the little cormorant find refuge, and for the white-tailed eagle these are the last preserved habitats. The floodplain forests, backwaters and marshes of the islands are an integral part of the Danube migration corridor, which is of paramount importance for the distribution of many invertebrate fish and fish-eating bird species during their nesting and seasonal migration.
The protected area has an overlap (partial or complete) with a protected area under the Habitats Directive “Marten-Ryahovo”.
