Kazakh Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nyssanbayev discussed the restoration of the snow leopard and Przewalski’s horse populations and the preservation of rare and endangered animal species in Kazakhstan during a Dec. 17 government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.

The Prime Minister’s press service reported that the meeting highlighted the work to prepare policy documents to protect Red Book animals.

Currently, there are over 220 species of animals in the Red Book. Owing to the work done in the period from 2005 to 2023, the number of Tugai deer increased from 350 to 1,147 individuals, kulan from 1,112 to 4,493, argali (mountain sheep) from 8,835 to 20,316, goitered gazelle from 12,500 to 15,400.

He reported that 227 species of animals are registered in the list of rare and endangered animals, including 131 vertebrates and 96 invertebrates.

According to Yerlan Nyssanbayev, over the years of independence, the area of ​​specially protected natural areas of the country has increased from 869,000 hectares to 30.9 million hectares. Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service.

According to Nyssanbayev, during the years of independence, the country’s area of ​​specially protected natural areas increased from 869,000 hectares to 30.9 million hectares due to the expansion of existing protected areas and the creation of new ones.

Modern accounting and monitoring systems, including video traps and satellite telemetry, are deployed. Eleven snow leopards were fitted with satellite collars, and the data obtained is expected to help strengthen the network of specially protected natural areas.

“Thanks to efforts to conserve and monitor snow leopards, we were able to expand the population from the critical level of the 1990s by more than two times, reaching over 180 individuals. The work to protect the species continues, and cross-border and international collaboration is expanding,” said Nyssanbayev.

A Houbara Bustard Reproduction Center was created in Turkistan as part of an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to maintain the Houbara Bustard population and release it back into its native environment. From 2009 to 2024, nearly 73,000 Houbara bustards reared at the center were released into the wild.

Nyssanbayev also reported that the Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve was created as part of the implementation of the Turan Tiger Restoration Program. To restore the natural food supply of the tiger, 205 Tugai deer were brought to the reserve from 2018 to 2024, work was carried out to resettle more than 100 kulans, and the population density of roe deer and wild boars was increased. 

In the fall, two tigers were brought from the Netherlands to the Ile-Balkhash Reserve for enclosure breeding. In 2025, three or four tigers are expected to be brought from the wild in Russia.

Work continues on the reintroduction of the Przewalski’s horse; previously, the horse’s historical habitat in Kazakhstan included the territory of the country’s nine regions.

Przewalski’s horse disappeared from the world’s wild nature by the end of the 1960s.

Thanks to the cooperation of the ministry with international organizations, the first seven Przewalski’s horses were brought from the Prague Zoo to the Altyn Dala Reserve in the Kostanai Region in June. It is planned to bring 40 horses by 2029.