Rare Wildlife Populations Increase in Kazakhstan's Zhetysu Region

The population of endangered and Red Book-listed animals is growing in the Zhetysu Region. The area is home to one nature reserve and two national parks. At Altyn-Emel National Park, the combined population of kulans and goitered gazelles has reached nearly 10,000. Meanwhile, the snow leopard population in Zhongar-Alatau National Park is expanding, with around 30 individuals now recorded. Alakol Nature Reserve is also one of Eurasia’s key sites for the conservation of the relict gull and the Dalmatian pelican, 24KZ correspondent reports.

Zhongar-Alatau National Park is home to six mammal species, 13 bird species and seven invertebrate species listed in Kazakhstan’s Red Book. Among the rarest are the Pallas’s cat, Tian Shan argali, brown bear and snow leopard.

Thanks to the efforts of park staff to protect biodiversity, the populations of these species have been growing in recent years. Footage from camera traps installed along some of the most frequently used animal trails in the protected area provides clear evidence of this progress.

Akan Nurtazin, Director of the Zhongar-Alatau State National Nature Park Branch:

- We monitor wildlife population growth in our park throughout the year. Every season, we carry out habitat management and conservation activities. We study animal habitats and ensure an adequate food supply. We then conduct population counts. Advanced technologies that we use in our work help us with this.

Gulnar Zhantasova, correspondent:

- As part of a kulan reintroduction programme, the animals were brought to the national park from Barsakelmes Nature Reserve in the early 1980s. Nearly 45 years later, their population has increased a hundredfold and now stands at 3,500. This is currently the largest kulan population in the entire Central Asian region.

Kuat Baiturbaev, Director of Altyn-Emel State National Nature Park:

- The number of kulans in the national park has exceeded 3,500, while the goitered gazelle population has reached 5,500. The numbers of argali, mountain goats and roe deer are also increasing. Among predators, snow leopards, brown bears and Turkestan lynxes are being spotted more frequently. All this natural wealth is under reliable protection.

Given the region’s arid climate and the need to preserve the food supply, some local kulans are now being relocated to other regions for further adaptation. Over the past two years, 90 animals have been transferred to Kostanay Region, while another 130 have been moved to the Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve. In May this year, an Amur tiger was released into the protected area as part of a reintroduction programme. The international conservation project aims to restore the population of a predator that disappeared entirely from the region 70 years ago. The first tiger released into its natural habitat was a female named Umit.

Zhanserik Yelubay, Deputy Director of the Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve:

- Before releasing the tigress into the wild, we fitted her with a satellite collar. Specialists now use the device to track her daily movements, activity and adaptation to the natural environment in real time. Her condition is stable, and she is successfully adjusting to life in the wild.

Alakol Nature Reserve is also renowned for its unique biodiversity. Established in 1998, it was created to protect the natural ecosystems, flora and fauna of the Tentek River delta, as well as the unique population of relict gulls nesting on the Araltobe Islands in Lake Alakol. The wetlands of the Alakol-Sasykkol lake system lie along the Central Asian–Indian Flyway, a major bird migration route. Rare species nesting here include the Dalmatian and pink-backed pelicans, two species of cranes and the whooper swan.

Around 330 bird species have been recorded in the area, 17 of which are listed in Kazakhstan’s Red Book. Thirteen years ago, the reserve was included in UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Authors: Gulnar Zhantasova, Kuanysh Turgenbayev