Kulans on the move: Second ground translocation within Kazakhstan successful
December 19, 2025
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.
“The kulan translocation is an important and challenging part of our conservation work in Altyn Dala. We are very glad that after testing different approaches for many years, the methodology of ground transportation has proven feasible once again.”, says Albert Salemgareyev, the leading specialist for reintroductions at the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan.
“The ecosystem services that we expect to be provided by this keystone species will be crucial for the long-term restoration of the Golden Steppe”, adds Stephanie Ward, Kazakhstan programme leader at Frankfurt Zoological Society.
In September 2025, sturdy trucks carried the group of wild-caught kulans across more than 2.000 km in little less than 50 hours. During the long and challenging journey, the animals were supervised closely thanks to specially designed transport containers that allowed for feeding, watering, and continuous video monitoring throughout the entire trip. “Conservation Solutions”, a leading wildlife translocation company working across Africa and beyond, provided expert guidance throughout the process. Professional veterinary supervision was led by Julia Bohner, a wildlife veterinarian at the “Leibniz Institute for Zoo- and Wildlife Research”.
The kulan translocation comprised four distinct and high-stakes elements: a night capture of wild kulans in Altyn Emel National Park, sorting and loading selected animals onto trucks, a very long road transport and then a release into the preliminary acclimatization enclosure in Altyn Dala.
Despite the robust measures taken to avoid any injuries or losses during such complex translocations, hazardous incidents can happen. The team takes care to select a harmonized herd with intact social structures. Additionally, it sedates the animals prior to loading in order to avoid stress. Nevertheless, individuals can still panic. This tragically happened with two of the animals involved. Both got injured so severely that they did not survive. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to mitigate these kind of incidents. Despite being the top priority for the team, certain risks when working with wild animals are still present. These incidences are emotionally challenging and remain our focus for learning and improvement of future translocations. It is because of this approach and our efforts in managing risk that the project has faced low numbers of hazardous incidents since its beginning.
After almost 50 hours on the road, the convoy arrived at the Wild Equid Reintroduction Center “Alibi” in Altyn Dala. The kulans now spend the first winter in a 54-ha enclosure before joining their free ranging cousins in the wilderness of the Golden Steppe next spring. With them, the developing kulan population in Altyn Dala is well on its way to becoming self-sustaining.
Kulans are one of the endangered subspecies of Asiatic Wild Ass. In their function as “megafauna”, they support the grassland’s nutrient cycle and disperse seeds across large distances. Once considered noble game, hunted exclusively by dignitaries, kulans were eradicated from the vast steppes of Central Kazakhstan a century ago. Since 2017, within the framework of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, they return to their native lands.
Altyn Emel National Park in Southeast Kazakhstan holds the world’s largest extant population of kulans. Nested between tall mountains and a wide reservoir lake, it presents a limiting habitat for growing numbers of animals. Wild kulans from this locale form the basis of a new population in the Central Steppe. Whilst both areas are situated within Kazakhstan, they are divided by boundless expanses of grasslands difficult to traverse. Since 2024, the Kazakh road network has developed sufficiently to allow for a transportation over land.
The transportation is carried out within the framework of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative — a partnership between the Committee of Forestry and Wildlife of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and Fauna & Flora.
Veterinary support is provided by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW). Technical and financial support is provided by Nuremberg Zoo. The kulan capturing was conducted by the Altyn Emel State National Park and the ranger enterprise “Okhotzooprom” and the loading and transport overseen by the South African wildlife transportation company Conservation Solutions.
Contacts at the Leibniz-IZW
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Deutschland
@leibnizizw
Julia Bohner
Veterinarian in the Staff Unit Head Veterinarian
phone: +49(0)30 5168445
email: bohner@izw-berlin.de
Jan Zwilling
Science communication
phone: +49(0)30 5168121
cell: +49(0)1512 6764603
email: zwilling@izw-berlin.de