The Current State of Kulan Populations (Equus hemionus Pallas, 1775) in Central Asia Countries

Abstract

Even in the recent past, kulans (Equus hemionus Pallas, 1775) lived in the Eurasian steppes and deserts, from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea to China. On the territory of Russia, the kulan was last encountered in 1926 in the Torey Lakes region, and in recent years the question has been raised about the possibility of reintroducing these animals into the Daursky Reserve. This review provides information on the current state of the Mongolian and Turkmenian kulan populations living in the countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia and China) bordering Russia. Currently, in countries adjacent to Russia, autochthonous populations of the kulan have been preserved in the southern regions of Mongolia and adjacent parts of northern China, where the Mongolian kulan lives (E.h. hemionus Pallas, 1775). The largest population lives in Mongolia, where currently, according to experts, approximately 70 000 individuals are found (or 83% of the world population of the species). Almost half of the kulan’s range in Mongolia (42%) is located in nationally protected areas, but the size of existing protected areas, where kulans spend only about 23% of their time, is not large enough for the animals to be fully protected. The expansion of the network of protected areas to 30% of the country’s territory by 2030 suggests that the kulan, like other migratory ungulate species of the arid zone, have good prospects. About 80% (or just over 3000 individuals) of the kulan population in China currently lives in the Kalamaili National Nature Reserve in Xinjiang, making this protected area extremely important for the conservation of the species. In the 1930s, the kulans disappeared from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In Turkmenistan the aboriginal population of the Turkmenian kulan was preserved until the end of the 1990s (E.h. kulan Groves and Mazák, 1967) in the Badkhyz Nature Reserve, but was most likely lost in recent years. A successful program for the reintroduction of kulans, which begun in the 1950s, and since the 1980s took on a larger scale, made it possible to preserve these animals (mainly in protected natural areas) within their historical range. In 2023, just over 30 kulan individuals lived in Turkmenistan in two areas with a total area of 800 km²: in the Tersakan river valley west of the borders of the Syunt Hasardag State Nature Reserve and on the territory of the Kaplankyr State Nature Reserve in the border zone. According to experts, it is very likely that in the near future the species will completely disappear from the country, since none of the indicated groups can be considered viable. The number of kulans living in the territory of the Saigachiy and Sudochye sanctuaries, as well as the Southern Ustyurt National Park in Uzbekistan, is currently estimated at 170 animals. Kulans are also actively breeding in the Jeyran eco-center. The reintroduction of kulans in Kazakhstan is progressing successfully in six protected areas; in 2022–2023 there were about 4400 kulans, and this work continues. From the presented review of the current state of the kulan living on the territory of the Central Asian states, it follows that great attention has been and is being given to the restoration and protection of the species throughout its range. This includes providing animals with suitable living conditions, including organizing a network of watering places, removing obstacles in the form of linear structures that interfere with animal migration, regulating the number of livestock, forming a network of protected areas at various levels, including the species in the Red Data Books and adopting legislation on liability for its illegal extraction, as well as creation of centers for breeding and keeping kulans for their subsequent reintroduction and conducting joint long-term and systematic research, including monitoring of populations.