ASTANA – Kazakhstan has completed large-scale work on a unified database of rare and endangered animal species, Kazinform reported on March 12.
Snow leopard. Photo credit: Saltore Saparbayev/UNDP Kazakhstan
According to Marina Chirikova, the deputy director general for science at the Institute of Zoology, the project integrates 2,959 records into a single information system for the first time.
The system features 217 interactive maps based on geoinformation data, now included in the new edition of the Red Book. A web portal on rare species is also being developed, alongside new animal monitoring methods in protected areas.
Another achievement is the creation of a cryobiological collection, which includes 19 rare vertebrates such as the snow leopard, Tugai deer (Bactrian deer), porcupine, steppe eagle, and white-tailed eagle.
Director General at the Institute of Zoology Roman Jashenko highlighted the recovery of Kazakhstan’s saiga antelope population, which has grown from 21,000 in 2003 to nearly four million today. Kazakhstan now hosts 99% of the world’s saiga population.
“The International Union for Conservation of Nature has raised the status of this species from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened. This is one of the most successful cases of restoration of the mammal population in history,” he said.
Kazakhstan is also advancing conservation programs for the Houbara bustard and saker falcon. A reproduction center for the Houbara bustard, established in the Turkistan Region in 2009, has contributed to its recovery. In Almaty, a nursery has released around 700 artificially bred saker falcons into the wild.
The country currently lists 227 rare and endangered species, though ongoing research has led to a proposal to reduce the number to 217, reflecting improvements in some populations. Notably, 21 species have been removed from the Red Book due to population stabilization, while 11 species have been added, including three insects, two birds, and one mammal.
Special attention is paid to the preservation of the snow leopard, one of the symbols of Almaty. Nearly 70% of its habitat is protected, and conservationists use camera traps and satellite telemetry to monitor populations. The number of snow leopards has risen from a critically low 80-100 individuals in the 1990s to approximately 160-180 today.
In 2024, two large-scale projects entered an active phase in Kazakhstan: to restore the tiger and Przewalski’s horse. Historically, these animals inhabited the country, but were completely eradicated.
Despite these successes, some species remain at risk. The griffon vulture population in the Karatau Mountains has declined by 95% in the past 12 years, and the black vulture, once numbering around 250 pairs in 2002, has nearly disappeared. The jungle cat has also been added to the endangered list, as its presence in Kazakhstan is confirmed only by old records.
