October 2019 – Two more kulan transported to the Torgai steppe

The 2 kulan translocated from Barsa Kelmes to Alibi on 10/11 October 2019 the day after the transport in the large acclimatization enclosure in Alibi. Photo: Petra Kaczensky On the afternoon of 11th October 2019 two kulan were released from their transport boxes onto the central steppes of Kazakhstan. These individuals had just completed an...

October 2018 – No free tickets for kulan this year

A lonely kulan against the backdrop of mountains in Altyn Emel National Park. The lack of pasture and water near the capture corral, was one of the main reasons why we were unable to translocated kulan in 2018.                                   ...

“The Flying kulan of Kazakhstan” ARTE 360° Geo documentary

A new documentary by Markus Schmidtbauer on ARTE is showing the capture, transport and release of kulan from Altyn Emel National Park in SE Kazakhstan to a new area on the Torgai Steppe of central Kazakhstan. The documentary is available online from 27/05/2018 until 25/06/2018 and will be broadcasted live again on 8. June at...

March 2018 – Kulan released from acclimatisation enclosure

By the end of March, winter finally came to an end and we opened the gates of the adaptation enclosure. However, the kulan did not leave their home for the last 5 months, but needed some convincing. On 3 April 2018, the 9 kulan left the enclosure as one group and are now roaming freely...

October 2017 – The wild ass returns

For the first time in more than a century kulan – or Asiatic wild ass – are now roaming the central steppes of Kazakhstan. On 24th October 2017, a first group of nine animals was released into an acclimatisation enclosure on the edge of the Altyn Dala protected area in central Kazakhstan. The animals had been...