Recovery original ungulate wildlife in Altyn Dala area (Kulan and Przewalski Horse)

In October, 2010, a workshop was held in Kazakhstan, Astana about the "Recovery of the original ungulate wildlife in the Altyn Dala area in Kazakhstan, Planning of Reintroduction of Kulan and Przewalski Horse".

Dr. Hartmut Jungius, Scientific Advisor and ambassador of the Large Herbivore Network (LHN), participated in the workshop on behalf of LHNet with a presentation on “Principles of Reintroductions”. This was followed by other presentations on reintroductions of Kulan and Przewalski Horses in Central Asia with a focus on Kazakhstan.

The aim of the workshop was:

• Exchange of expertise and knowledge in reintroduction techniques
• Building capacity in reintroduction techniques
• Planning of reintroduction of both species in the Altyn Dala area
• Preparation of a feasibility study for reintroduction in the Altyn Dala area
• Building networks

The presentations on reintroduction techniques and results from previous projects were followed by thorough discussions of the three main aspects of reintroduction:

• Feasibility study
• Developing and implementing a reintroduction strategy
• Follow-up to release of animals

There is quite a lot of expertise available in Kazakhstan from previous reintroductions, but additional input would be appreciated on international standards of feasibility studies, implementation and follow-up (protection, working with stakeholders, education/awareness, monitoring, follow-up to release).

Kulan

Historic distribution area of the Kulan (Equus hemionus).

The presence of Dr. Victor Lukarewski (Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences), who was invited on recommendation of LHNet, was extremely useful for the workshop. He reported in great detail on the results, success and failures of reintroductions in Turkmenistan. All participants agreed that future projects should learn from these experiences.

All animals for reintroduction to Turkmenistan and other Central Asian Countries originated from the only remaining autochthones population in the Badhys Nature Reserve in Western Turkmenistan, 100 to 150 animals were left in 1941. The current population of the reserve is about 1,000 - 1.500, main threats are poaching.

Dr. Bekonov from the Institute of Zoology gave an overview of the situation in Kazakhstan and the status of their reintroduction projects. More field work is needed to verify data and to gather information on the status of current population, originating from previous releases. The total number of Kulan in Kazakhstan is estimated 2,500 to 3,000. This is very optimistic. These data need verification.

Several of the previous reintroduction projects failed or are about to fail due to lack of proper protection of the released herds, and follow-up releases to strengthen the fragile founder populations. The most successful project was the release into the Altyn Emal NP, present numbers are about 1,800. The population is reaching the limits of the areas carrying capacity. The government looks for sites to transfer animals.

The Procedure for reintroduction projects in Kazakhstan is based on a law and several decrees:

• The Committee on Forest and Hunting requests the Institute of Zoology to undertake a feasibility study to identify suitable sites for reintroduction.
• The Institute receives funds from the committee and submits its report to the Committee for approval, the committee implements.
• Such a process can take up to 1 year. This study is underway right now and several sites are under consideration, it was the objective of the workshop, which was organised with the participation of the committee, to ensure that Altyn Dala is being included into this review.
• The Institute has been requested to identify suitable sites for establishing new populations of Kulan. A feasibility study is under way. First data were presented to the workshop, most of these were based on literature, and field work is needed to update information and to close gaps such as: reasons for extinction, human use of the area and potential threats from developments e.g. mineral explorations, attitude of local people. It was also recommended to provide more advice on capture and release techniques and to broaden the genetic base of the Kazakhstan population by adding animals from Zoos.
• The Large Herbivore Foundation, now LHNet, was included into future reintroduction projects as an important partner for providing technical know-how through its network of experts.
• All participants agreed to include Altyn Dala into the survey and the Institute was requested to follow-up with the Committee.

FZG is now exploring how to proceed. The establishment of a team is under consideration, composed of local scientists (zoologist, botanist) and FZG/ACBK field staff who are working in Altyn Dala, under the leadership of an expatriate team leader with experience in reintroduction projects, who would participate in data gathering, and assess and coordinate the team’s input, and prepare the final report. Mr. Jungius offered to lead the team as LHNet representative and will stay in contact with FZG and ACBK.

Przewalski Horse

At this stage Altyn Emel NP is the only place for a reintroduction project. It was agreed to look also into the suitability of Altyn Dala, some experts believe that this is more suitable than Altyn Emel NP, but is highly unlikely that such a project will take off.

All participants agreed that the reintroduction project for Altyn Dala was not well designed and that one must learn from the failures, the most serious ones were:

• Selection of an unsuitable area and
• Insufficient time for building a social structure among the animals provided for release.

Zoos who have animals available for Altyn Emel (except Munich which started the project) are very hesitant to get involved, unless the project is moved to a proper site in the park and proper techniques are applied.

At present the horses are herded during daytime and put into an enclosure over night. It is fully realised that Przewalski Horse is more difficult than Kulan, this is a reason to ensure that the best habitat is being selected, acclimatisation for at least one year in a 50 ha enclosure, selection of high genetic diversity, building a social group before release and more.

LHNet was recognised by all participants as a competent organisation in this field and expected to remain involved.

This meeting was organised by:

The Committee of Forestry and Hunting, Republic of Kazakhstan, the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), the Frankfurt Zoological Society in Kazakhstan, Astana 4 - 6 October 2010.

Tags: Recovery original ungulate wildlife, Altyn Dala area, Kazakhstan, Planning of Reintroduction, Kulan, Przewalski Horse