Yuri Grachev,Institute of Zoology, Science Committee, Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, teriologi@mail.ru

The aerial survey of saigas in Kazakhstan was commissioned by the Forestry and Wildlife Committee, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan and carried out between 11th and 30th April 2017. Researchers from the Institute of Zoology, Okhotzooprom, the regional forestry and wildlife inspectorates and the Altyn-Dala, Irgiz-Turgay and Korgalgy State Reserves took part in the monitoring. 

The total number of saigas in Kazakhstan is 152,600 individuals, with 51,700 in Betpakdala, 2,700 in Ustyurt and 98,200 thousand in the Ural population. By comparison with 2016, the Betpakdala population has increased by 42.8%, the Ustyurt population by 42.1% and the Ural population by 39.8%. The total number of saigas in Kazakhstan has grown by 40.9% compared to 2016.