Feature stories from the IZW
Occasionally, feature articles intive you to take a look behind the scenes of the research for conservation at the Leibniz-IZW – in laboratories, offices and in the field, all over the world.
Dezember 19, 2025
Kulans on the move: Second ground translocation within Kazakhstan successful
For the second consecutive year, wild kulans have been transported more than 2.000 km across Kazakhstan from Altyn Emel National Park to the Altyn Dala State Nature Reserve. These individuals join a developing population of the charismatic grazer in Central Kazakhstan, where they have been extinct and their important role in the ecosystem lost for generations. Although this transport was emotionally and logistically demanding, the arrival of a new cohort at Central Kazakhstan, is a cause for optimism. In this respect, the project team of conservationists and veterinarians is content.
Dezember 18, 2025
Bat research for conservation – a Latvian-German success story
They live hidden under the protection of darkness, but behind the fleeting shadows at dusk lie fascinating animals: bats are the only mammals fully capable of flying and are famous for their ability to orient themselves using echolocation. With the exception of the polar regions, more than 1,500 species can be found all over the world and play important roles in their ecosystems, for example as seed dispersers, pollinators or insectivores. However, anthropogenic environmental changes are affecting them. Humans illuminate the night, reduce important food sources and disrupt the migration routes of migratory species. Understanding and protecting bats is therefore the goal of a Latvian-German success story in science: for over 10 years, scientists from the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, the University of Latvia, the University of Oldenburg and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin have been working together at the Pape Ornithological Station in Latvia to unravel the secrets of bats. In August 2025, the German ambassador to Latvia, Gudrun Masloch, visited the Pape Station and accompanied the researchers in their work.