Satellite tagging of saigas is one of the most important parts of the conservation work which the Association of the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), our partners, carry out to help prevent the extinction of the remaining saiga populations in Kazakhstan.
The ACBK have been carrying this exercise since 2009 and again teamed up with the State agency “Okhotzooprom” the Forestry and Wildlife Committee to capture and satellite tag saigas in the Ural and Ustyurt populations.
Albert Salmgarev, who leads the programme, told the Liter newspaper recently that “Tagging saigas is really important. First, it helps to determine the migration routes of the animals. Secondly, it helps us to pinpoint the calving places of the saigas, so that we can get our teams out there at the right time to observe them. Thirdly, weekly, according to the data received from the transmitters, our team can prepare maps of the location of the tagged animals, which we send to the Forestry and Hunting Committee to improve the efficiency of the protection of the species.”
Quick facts: In 2016, 95 transmitters were attached to saigas (70 – Betpakdala, 15 – Ustyurt, and 10 – Ural population). In total, since 2009, 117 transmitters have attached to saigas in all three populations in Kazakhstan.
See the original article here: https://liter.kz/mobile/ru/articles/show/37506-chtoby_sohranit_saigaka