The Kazakhstan Red Book is replenished each year with new animals on the verge of extinction. Water, air, land, forests – all natural spheres feel the negative impact of human economic activity. The Republic of Kazakhstan is protecting the environment and taking measures to rescue endangered species.
Which animals are included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan?
The Red Book of the Republic of Kazakhstan contains an extensive list of endangered species. Many animals became victims of industrial and private trade – hunting. Among them: red tugai deer, goiter, snow leopard, cheetah, caracal, red wolf, manoul.
red deer Tugai
Where does the red tugai deer live in Kazakhstan? This subspecies is the only one among relatives living in the desert. Until the late 19th century, tugai deer were often found along the Syrdarya River. In the first half of the 20th century, representatives of the species became rare visitors to the territory of Kazakhstan. The animals managed to acclimatize again to the state-run Karachingil hunting farm in 1981.
The height of these slender cute animals is about 120 cm, the weight reaches 200 kg. Males have branched horns up to 110 cm long with five procedures. The color of the deer is light ash with a brown-yellow-gray hue.
Jeyran
Many animals, listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, once existed peacefully and multiplied in the fertile steppes of the country. Goiter is one of them – an elegant and cute artichoke.
Externally, this steppe antelope is small (up to 1 m at the withers), has a beautiful brown-brown color, spots on the sides and a white belly. The main feature of the gazelle is the beautiful horns, curved like a lyre. In males they reach a length of 40 cm.
Goiter is well rooted in the desert area, because:
- for a long time can do without water and food.
- Its slender legs with sharp hooves are adapted to overcome rocky and clayey soils.
However, the gazelle hernia can not boast of endurance: long-distance migrations exhaust it. This species lives in small groups and closer to winter, individuals gather in herds of up to a hundred heads.
Why did the gazelle enter the Red Book of Kazakhstan? These animals were on the verge of extinction due to the negligence of humans. Goiter gazelles die under the wheels of cars: they are paralyzed by glowing headlights, freeze on the road and become victims of accidents. They are also hunted by poachers.
Cheetah
The cheetah, the fastest cat on the planet, was found everywhere in Kazakhstan in the 18th-19th centuries. Where did cheetahs live in Kazakhstan? These animals lived on the Caspian coast, in the deserts by the Aral Sea. By 1964, representatives of this population were recorded on the Mangyshlak Peninsula and on the Ustyurt Plateau. However, in the 1960s, the last 16 such species disappeared from Kazakhstan.
There is still hope for the recovery of the sprinter population. This can be achieved if you intend to breed cheetahs in captivity and then teach them to live independently and release them into the wild where many ungulates live (the main food source for the cheetah).
Snow Leopard
These animals follow a secret way of life, so the exact data on the size of their population is unknown. How many snow leopards live in Kazakhstan? According to preliminary estimates, 180–200 people live in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Cats are threatened with extinction due to poaching and the reduction in the number of mountain goats they feed on.
You can meet the snow leopard in Kazakhstan in the mountains Dzungarian Alatau and Tien Shan. However, the possibility of such a thing is very small, since the animals are active mainly at night.
They are protected in the reserves: Markakolsky, West Altai, Aksu-Dzhabagly and Almaty. As an additional measure, the creation of new specially protected areas in areas where the snow leopard is located is envisaged.
Caracal
“Karaqal” translates from Kazakh as “black brush”. Such a detail of the appearance of the animal (black tassels in the ears) was observed by the ancestors of this predator. For a long time, the animal was called steppe lynx, believing that it represents a separate branch of this species.
However, in the book “Animals of the World. The Red Book “Doctor of Biological Sciences AV Tikhonov writes that caracals in Kazakhstan look more like cougar.
These animals are medium-sized (up to 85 cm) with a long (up to 35 cm) tail. They have thick fur and strong legs. Where do caracals live in Kazakhstan? These representatives of the cat family live in deserts and semi-deserts – they are found off the coast of the Caspian Sea, on the Mangyshlak Peninsula.
red wolf
This species has practically disappeared from the territory of Kazakhstan. This is a fairly large animal (body length – up to 110 cm, weight – about 20 kg). Its appearance combines the characteristics of a wolf, a fox and a jackal. From the usual wolves, the red representative of the genus is distinguished by red color, fluffy hair and a long tail with a black tip, which reaches to the ground. The muzzle is short, pointed. The large upright ears are placed high on the head.
Where did the red wolf live in Kazakhstan? This species is found in rocky, plateau and forest areas in the alpine, subalpine and forest belts of the mountains, in the mountains of Dzungarian Alatau and Tarbagatai at an altitude of 800 to 1500 m.
manul
The predatory mammal belongs to the cat family and its appearance and size resemble a domestic cat. The maximum body length reaches 65 cm, the tail is up to 30 cm long and the weight is about 4 kg.
The massive body of the manula is supported by short and thick legs. The tail of the animal is wide and fluffy. Manoul has very soft fur, the fluffiest and thickest of all kittens – up to nine thousand hairs about 7 cm long grow per square centimeter.
When was manula hunting banned in Kazakhstan? The ban came in 1976 as the species became endangered due to poaching. Since then, manoles have been bred in captivity at zoos.
The above list is one centimeter of the items registered in the national red book. Animals that can still be found in nature today are dying or migrating due to adverse conditions. Their preservation and protection is a concern not only of the state, but also of every citizen of Kazakhstan.
Original article: https://www.nur.kz/nezavisimost/1640179-zhivotnye-krasnoy-knigi-kazakhstana/