Conservation
Just another day in the life of a wildlife biologist!
Manul Working Group (MWG) partners recently deployed six camera traps in Kazakhstan’s Altyn Emel National Park, an effort to help monitor the manul in the country’s southeastern region. Altyn Emel rangers joined the fieldwork, guiding specialists through the park and assisting with logistics. These are the first camera traps in Altyn Emel placed specifically to…
Read More2026 will mark another milestone for tiger restoration in Kazakhstan
Siberian Tiger at Zurich Zoo; Wikimedia commons; Photo credit: albinfo; GNU Free Documentation License, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License In the first half of 2026, Kazakhstan’s Amur tiger reintroduction program will reach another pivotal milestone with the planned arrival of a small group of tigers from Russia. Between January and June, three to four Amur tigers are expected to…
Read MoreKulans at Altyn Dala released into the wild
Kazakhstan’s Asiatic wild ass (kulan) reintroduction program has reached another milestone with the late summer release of animals from the Altyn Dala acclimatization enclosure into the wild. After nearly a century of absence in this region, the kulans are once again roaming free across the Torgai steppe of central Kazakhstan. For the past year, the…
Read MoreFall 2025 migration update: young steppe eagles take flight
As part of Kazakhstan’s fall 2025 migration season, nine juvenile steppe eagles began their journeys to wintering grounds in western Kazakhstan in September, marking the young birds’ first migrations. Eight eagles moved westward toward the Caucasus along the Afro-Eurasian Flyway, while one individual, named Klyuvik, headed south across the border into Uzbekistan. Scientists from the…
Read MoreTigers come roaring back to Kazakhstan
In September 2024, two adult Amur tigers—12-year-old female Bodhana and nine-year-old male Kuma—were translocated from a sanctuary in the Netherlands to Kazakhstan’s Ili-Balkhash Nature Reserve, marking the end of almost 70 years without tigers in the region. The homecoming is one stage of a long-term program to revive Kazakhstan’s lost tiger population and restore the…
Read MoreAnother “Magnificent Seven” Herd Arrives in Kazakhstan
Earlier this month seven Przewalski’s horses arrived in Kazakhstan, marking the second homecoming within a year under the “Return of the Wild Horses” project. On June 2, two Czech military transport planes carried three horses from the Prague Zoo and four from Hungary’s Hortobagy National Park to Arkalyk airport in northern Kazakhstan. From there, they…
Read MoreInternship at Shakpak Ornithological Station offers lessons on field work realities and rewards
In Part 1 of our interview, Nicole Ibrahim shared the journey that led her from Brooklyn to bird banding in Kazakhstan, describing how she got her start in ornithology and what brought her to Shakpak Ornithological Station. In Part 2, Nicole first reflects on the challenges of fieldwork and the sense of community she found…
Read MoreEarth Day 2025: A shared future for renewable energy and wildlife
Next week marks the 55th anniversary of the first Earth Day— a movement that began in the United States and has since grown into a global celebration, now engaging more than one billion people worldwide. This year’s theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” invites everyone to rally behind renewable energy solutions and accelerate the transition toward…
Read MoreFlight Path: How one U.S. graduate student found her way to the Shakpak Ornithological Station
Nicole Ibrahim, a PhD student at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory, spent the fall 2024 migration season working at Shakpak Ornithological Station in southern Kazakhstan. Supported by a fellowship, Nicole’s time at the station was part of a two-stage internship—first assisting with bird banding and field research at Shakpak, then…
Read MoreRare Persian leopard returns to Kazakhstan’s Ustyurt Plateau
After decades of absence, the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) is reestablishing its presence on the Ustyurt Plateau, located in the Mangystau region in southwestern Kazakhstan. Over the past 16 months, one specific cat has been captured on camera traps deployed in the plateau’s protected areas, most recently in footage taken in Kyzylsai Regional Nature…
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