During our field trip in June, we set up two camera traps on a dam 4 km from Altybai in the centre of the Altyn Dala Conservancy (Kazhakstan).
What a sursprise, as we now checked the camera for pictures! It had been the first time we used camera traps and we were rewarded with perfects shots of a steppe wolf. They are the first close-up pictures of a wolf we have from Altyn Dala!

The Altybai area in our wildlife management area is a special ecosystem for the central steppe. It is partly covered by wild olive and tamarisk groves, which make it partly look...

Especially during the last year, the Betpak-Dala population of saigas in Kazakhstan, which is in the focus of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative (ADCI), has been under great pressure through poachers. Due to conservation efforts in the framework of the project from non-governmental and governmental side the population recovered slowly in recent years. Now the saiga density makes poaching of males again economically profitable, whose horns are sold at high prices to China. Poachers are professionally organised with brand-new cars, making it possible for them to escape...

On 23rd October, the last of 25 saigas has been caught and collared by the team of the ADCI. During 26 days of intensive fieldwork, these animals have been caught in different regions of the project area of the ADCI, the Betpak-Dala. The widely spread collars will hopefully allow obtaining a complete picture of the distribution of saigas throughout the former migration range.

The last collars have been deployed in the most southern parts of the population in Central Kazakhstan. This is already the area, where the animals come together every year for the rut in...

At the moment, the team of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative is conducting the most extensive fieldwork ever for its project. The focus is mainly on the saiga catching and collaring, which is a continuation of last year’s activity. But at the same time we are also conducting a test of a new, alternative census method for saiga antelopes.

After the successful collaring in autumn 2009, we are currently extending this telemetry project to its full extent. The original plan was to deploy transmitters to 40 saigas in order to allow following the major part of the...

As every year, so in 2010 the saigas in Kazakhstan have been counted by an aerial census. A team from the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) working for the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative (ADCI) has again taken part in the census of the Betpak-Dala population of saiga in Central Kazakhstan. Our team had the role of a technical advisor for the census, actually having quite a lot of influence on the process of the census in this year, caring for the planning, organisation and evaluation of every day's survey flight. Support has been...

Almaty, Kazakhstan, January 20, 2009

The 4 rangers of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative (ADCI) together with a policeman of the Nature Conservation and Veterinary Police yesterday at about 6:00 am stopped a russian "Kamaz" truck of one of Kazakhstan's largest copper mining companies based in the city of Zheskazgan on the road from Arkalyk to Zhezkazgan, between Ulytau and Satpaev. In the truck they discovered heads, skins and carcasses of nine poached saiga, of them 2 adult and 3 young males with horns and 4 females. Apart from the animals, two Yamaha...

UNESCO declares important steppe and wetlands in Kazakhstan as World Heritage Sites.
The Saryarka - steppe and lakes of northern Kazakhstan are important parts of the Altyn Dala Conservation Area and now promoted to a World Heritage Site

"These important steppes and wetlands became the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Central Asia. Today is a great day for Kazakhstan, Central Asia, all partner organizations involved and all experts who worked hard to make this nomination happen!” stated Vitaliy Gromov today in Almaty, Director of the Association for...