Posted on February, 16 2007

Almaty, Kazakhstan – Thanks to the efforts of WWF and the Altyn Emel National Park Service, the endanagered Bukhara deer has been reintroduced to its former habitat on the right bank of Kazakhstan's Ili River.

WWF, together with the park service, started to make preparations for the arrival of the two bucks and seven does several years ago. The deer come from a game reserve located on the other bank of the river where the deer population has been restored since 1972.

A natural migration of the deer to the park has not been possible as the river is too wide for the animals to cross.

“The reintroduction of this endangered species in the area became possible after the creation of Altyn Emel national park in 1996,” says Olga Pereladova, Head of WWF's Central Asia Programme. “The area is very well protected from poachers and logging activities.”

By the late 1980s, the Bukhara deer population throughout Central Asia had dropped to 900 due to habitat loss and poaching. By the end of the 1990s there were only 350 deer left.

Since WWF started its Bukhara deer conservation project in Central Asia in 1999, the population has increased to 1,000. Before the reintroduction in the Altyn Emel National Park, WWF helped reintroduce the deer species in two other sites in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

For further information:
Masha Vinokurova, Communications Officer
WWF Central Asia Programme
Tel: + 7 095 727 0939
Email: mvinokurova@wwf.ru