The release of saigas into the wild from the Saigak nursery of the Astrakhansky state hunting property (ГООХ), carried out on December 4, 2020, is a multi-year project implemented as part of the regional project “Conservation of biological diversity and development of ecological tourism”, which is part of the federal project of the same name.
At this stage, specialists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS (IEE RAS), which, as already mentioned before (LINK), within the framework of the Russian-German project “ICARUS” IEE RAS collaborates with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (Germany) and the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, implementing the project “Protected Areas for Saigas”.
Two weeks ago, the saigas specially prepared in the nursery for their release into the wild in the territory of the Stepnoy Reserve were equipped with ultra-light ear tags that do not disturb the animals and represent a new type of satellite transmitter. Within two weeks, the animals underwent adaptation in the "Saigak" nursery, and now three males, delivered to the territory of the "Stepnoy" reserve in special transport boxes, were now released into the wild.
Those present at the release of saigas, member of the institute A.A. Yachmennikova, as well as specialists from the Saigak nursery, the Stepnoy Wildlife Refuge, representatives of the Limansky District Administration and the Environmental Management and Environmental Protection Service of the Astrakhan Region, and the journalists, were able to observe how the trinity of males rushed together to the nearby saigas. Now a rut is taking place on the territory of the Stepnoy reserve, where herds of saigas graze, and we hope that the animals raised in the Astrakhansky state hunting property (ГООХ) will find mates of their own.
We consider the participation of our Institute in the ongoing release of saigas bred in the Saigak nursery of the Astrakhansky state hunting property (ГООХ) and equipped with satellite ear tags to the Stepnoy Reserve as a continuation of the implementation of various projects of the Institute for the Study and Conservation of Saigas in the North-Western Caspian region and close cooperation with any interested parties. The telemetric information received via the ISS to the Mission Control Center from the satellite will make it possible to track the movements of saigas, assess the success of their participation in the rut and outline measures to improve their protection, and also identify the most preferred habitats.
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