DYNAMICS OF ARGALI POPULATION (OVIS AMMON LINNAEUS, 1758) IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

The research materials are based on the processing and analyzing the official results of the air and ground surveys conducted in 2019, providing departmental materials. The habitats with a high number of mountain sheep include the Karaganda, Turkestan, Dzhambul and Almaty regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The paper aims to estimate the changes in argali’s number and reveal the basic influencing factors. The total number of wild mountain sheep in Kazakhstan is 17954 heads. The paper shows that the share of the influence of environmental and anthropogenic factors on the number of argalis is 99.7%. The main influence on the number of snow sheep is exerted by anthropogenic factors such as poaching and economic use of the range of wild mountain sheep by humans. From time to time, severe fires affect the deterioration of the habitat. The authors attribute the creation of specially protected natural territories and the inclusion of subspecies in the Red Book of Kazakhstan to the positive impact of human activity on the argali population. In modern conditions, the natural potential viability and survival of mountain sheep and further naturalization are weak, although there is an increase in the number of argalis. These aspects indicate that the anthropogenic factor affects animals intensely. The analysis of variance shows and testifies to the high influence of the anthropogenic factor on the number of argalis in regions of Kazakhstan. Today, to improve the protection of mountain sheep, it is advisable to organize a network of specially protected natural territories in the mountainous regions of the south and south-east of Kazakhstan.