Leonardo DiCaprio praised the Kazakh authorities for restoring the saiga population

Leonardo DiCaprio noted the merits of Kazakhstan in restoring the saiga population

Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio expressed his gratitude to the government of Kazakhstan for preserving and increasing the saiga population.

According to the actor, in 2005 the number of saigas, which belong to the antelope family, was only 48 thousand individuals, but by now their numbers have increased to 1.9 million in the wild.

“Congratulations to the government of Kazakhstan, which has invested significant resources in combating poaching, enforcing the law and creating new protected areas. Their collaboration with conservation organizations, universities and scientists is a shining example of successful conservation through joint efforts,” DiCaprio wrote on social media , where he has 62 million subscribers.

There are three populations of saigas in Kazakhstan: Betpak-dala, Ural and Ustyurt. According to the 2019 census, there were more than 334 thousand saigas on the territory of the republic. In 2022, the number of saigas exceeded 1.3 million.

In mid-October, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Erlan Nysanbaev, announced the Ministry of Agriculture’s plans to eliminate about 20% of the total saiga population through trapping and shooting methods, as they cause damage to agricultural land. According to him, the number of saigas in Kazakhstan has increased significantly in recent years and now amounts to more than 2.6 million individuals.