The Red Book

Plants and animals listed in the Red Books are subject to special protection. Fines and damages are levied for their destruction. The Red Book is a legal document on the basis of which measures are taken to protect and preserve rare species of plants and animals, up to the criminal prosecution of persons involved in their destruction.

 

Plants

There are 32 species of various categories of rarity on the territory of the reserve, which is about 7.5% of the total number of flora of higher plants. The leading plants in the rare group are those listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan:

1. Kazakh reed (Scirpus kasachstanicus Dobroch), family of Sedges – Cyperaceae. Rhizomatous perennial, 100-300 cm tall, with a triangular stem and a dense inflorescence, 8-12 cm long, with unequal branches. It grows in fresh and brackish flowing waters. It was described in 1950 by K.V. Dobrokhotova from specimens collected by her on 08/17/1946 in the Semiskulsky Bayou near the village of Semizkul.
2. Blue–leaved poplar, blue-leaved turanga (Populus pruinosa Schrenk), Willow family – Salicaceae. A powerful tree, up to 10-16 m tall, with a wide crown and grayish bark. The leaves are leathery, bluish, smooth, whole–edged (which is the main external difference from the more widespread species in the territory – turangi of different leaves).
3. Shield–leaved marsh flower (Nymphoides peltatum (S.G.Gmel) O. Kuntze), Shift family – Menyanthaceae. A perennial aquatic rooting plant with a long creeping rhizome and rounded-elliptical leaves, from 3 to 10 cm long and 2-5 cm wide, with long petioles. To date, the populations are in a favorable condition; adult plants bloom abundantly and bear fruit.
4. Aldrovanda vesiculosa (Aldrovanda vesiculosa L.), the family of Rosaceae – Droseraceae. Perennial free-floating aquatic plants with thin filamentous stems and whorl-like leaves. A feature of the morphological structure of aldrovanda, an insectivorous plant, is the bivalve leaf blade, which closes, folds in half along the middle vein after the insect is captured. A rare relict species, whose numbers are declining everywhere. It is found in the waters of lakes and channels.
5. Nut—bearing lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.), the Lotus family – Nelumbonaceae. A perennial aquatic rooting plant, a rare relict species, introduced in Kazakhstan. In the second half of the twentieth century, it was naturalized in the delta of the Ile River, Lake Karakol (Red Book, 1981). There is no data on the current state of the species here, special additional studies are needed.
6. Ili barberry (Berberis iliensis M. Pop.), the family of Barberries – Berberidaceae. A branching thorny shrub, up to 3 m tall, endemic to the Ili Valley. A rare species with a declining range and abundance (Red Book, 1981). It is most common in the tugai thickets of the floodplain. The Ile and its tributaries. On the territory of the reserve, it occurs along the banks of the Ile River and channels, as well as on islands in the area of the former pioneer camp (5 km above the village Bakanas). It is represented here in insignificant abundance as part of turang groves (from Populus diversifolia, jidovniki, as well as willow-loch thickets).
7. Ili honeysuckle (Lonicera iliensis Pojark.), the Honeysuckle family – Caprifoliaceae. A branching shrub with numerous strong thin branches, narrow leaves and blackish-bluish, almost spherical fruits. A rare endemic species common in the valley of the Ile (from the vicinity of Khorgos to Bakanas), gorges of the adjacent ridges of the Northern Tien Shan and Dzungarian Alatau. On the territory of the reserve, it is recorded in the same places and in the same communities as the Ili barberry, but in slightly greater abundance.

 

There are 7 relict species in need of special protection and of scientific interest on the territory:

And also 18 endemics of Kazakhstan:

 

The animal world

 

Fish

3 species are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan – Balkhash perch (Perca schrenkii), thorn (Acipenser nudiventris) and short-headed barbel (Barbus brachycephalus).

 

Amphibians

In the delta of the Ile River, among the rare and endangered amphibians listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, only one species is known to inhabit – the Central Asian frog (Rana amurensis). The number and range of the species has been catastrophically declining recently. It disappeared in the places of its former habitat along the Ili, Almatinka, Kaskelenka, Chemolgan rivers and in the vicinity of Almaty, where it used to be common. Currently, in the Ili Valley, it has been preserved only in the lower reaches of the Charyn River within the boundaries of the Charyn National Park.

 

Reptiles

Rare species of reptiles have not been noted on the territory of the reserve.

 

Birds

The Ile Delta is the largest natural delta in Kazakhstan and one of the most significant wetlands in Central Asia, of international importance as places of mass nesting of waterfowl and near-water birds, as well as clusters during migrations, including globally threatened species.

Suffice it to note that 33 rare and endangered bird species living here are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which includes 56 bird species, of which 19 are breeding, 11 are migrants and 3 are migratory.

This territory is especially important as a nesting place for curly-haired and pink pelicans, spoonbills, savka, white–eyed black-tailed eagle, and adjacent deserts – saxaul jay, saji, black-bellied grouse.

Wetlands are also of great importance as molting sites and stops for migrating birds.

20 species belong to the category of globally threatened bird species listed in the IUCN Red Lists, of which 8 are breeding: curly pelican, savka, white-eyed blackbird, burial ground, steppe kestrel, beauty bustard, brown pigeon, blue-throated.

Rare and endangered birds listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan

 

*Note: B – breeding; M – migrant; V- migratory; O – sedentary species.

 

٭٭Category I – endangered (endangered species or subspecies, including possibly already extinct, since there has been no information on them for several years, but no more than 50);

Category II – declining (species whose numbers are relatively high, but declining catastrophically fast, which in the near future may lead these species to the category of endangered);

Category III – rare (species that are not currently threatened with extinction, but they occur in such small numbers or in such small areas that they can easily disappear if the habitat changes adversely under the influence of natural or anthropogenic influences);

Category IV – uncertain (species whose lifestyle has not been studied enough, and the number and condition of populations are alarming, but lack of information does not allow them to be attributed to any of the listed categories);

Category V – restored (species whose condition, thanks to the protection measures taken, no longer causes concern, but they are not yet subject to commercial use and their populations still need constant monitoring).

 

Bird species that are globally endangered and listed in the IUCN Red List.

Note: * CR: critically endangered – on the verge of complete extinction (critically endangered); EN: endangered – endangered (threatened); VU: vulnerable – vulnerable; CD: conservation dependent – dependent on protection (in need of protection); DD: data deficient – status undefined (lack of data); NT: near threatened – “close to threatened”, i.e. species that may be threatened in the future.

Mammals

Of the 39 species of mammals living in the delta of theOr, 3 species are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan:

1. Marbled Polecat (Vormela peregusna)

It is sporadically distributed in desert and semi-desert landscapes up to the settled foothills. The species is listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan with the status of category 3. A rare animal with a rapidly shrinking range. The only species of a monotypic genus in the fauna of the CIS. It is most often found in fixed, slightly bumpy sands overgrown with saxaul, teresken, juzgun, karagana, astragalus, alternating with clay plains. The number is subject to sharp fluctuations, which is obviously related to the number of main food items (gerbils and ground squirrels).

2. Gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa)

It is found on the territory of the Southern Balkhash region. The species is listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan with the status of category 3. A rare species. The number and habitats in some areas are declining. It is the only representative of the gazelle genus and the antelope subfamily in Kazakhstan, where the northern part of its range is located. The habitats of the gazelles are fixed bumpy sands, gravelly and clay deserts crossed by dry riverbeds, covered with thickets of saxaul, juzgun, boyalych, teresken or open gravelly spaces with saxaul or tasbyurgun pastures.

3. Pale dwarf jerboa (Salpingotus pallidus)

It lives in the Southern Balkhash region on smoothed sandy plateaus. It is listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan with the status of category 3. Habitats are fine–grained sand of various topography. The population in the Southern Balkhash region is subject to noticeable fluctuations over the years.