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The Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Ministry of Ecology has shared a stunning video of kulans and gazelles in Altyn-Emel National Park,
Kazinform News Agency reports.
The "golden treasure" of Altyn-Emel National Park - kulans and gazelles. The video was shot in the territory of the park," the publication reads.
Altyn-Emel State National Park is located in Kazakhstan’s southeast, in the Ili River Valley, some 250 kilometers away from Almaty. Its area is about 307,000 square meters. The main office is located in the village of Basshi in the Basshi rural district of the Kerbulak region
According to the information provided on the park’s official website, Altyn-Emel is a home for 70 species of mammals, 14 of which are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan.
In 1953, eight kulans of the Turkmen subspecies (onager) were brought to the Barsakelmes island in the Aral Sea, where the animals successfully naturalized. In February 1982, due to the deterioration of the ecological situation on the island, 23 Turkmen kulans were relocated to the northern bank of Kapchagai water reservoir (Konayev, Zhetysu region). And in the spring, the first foals were born. Since then, the number of Altyn-Emel kulans has increased 100 times, having reached 3,607 (as per statistics of 2021).
As for gazelles, they mostly inhabit plains of Altyn-Emel. Their number changes depending on the year and season due to migration. Their exact number is unknown, as their census is carried out only in a wintering period.
Presently, the number of local population of gazelles has reached almost 5,000 (5,181 species as of February 2020).
