Ornithologists released a bustard into the Ubsunur hollow

Rare birds for the reserve were raised in Kazakhstan

The first batch of young bustard beauties was released the other day to the Ubsunurskaya Kotlovina nature reserve, which is located in the Republic of Tyva. The release of 48 bustards listed in the international Red Book took place as part of an international experimental program to return these birds to the wild in the northernmost limits of their habitat.

As MK was told in the press service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, a program to study and preserve the bustard population on the territory of the Republic of Tyva, in which the reserve is located, started in 2019. Then in Abu Dhabi (UAE) a trilateral agreement was signed between the International Bustard Conservation Fund, the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Environmental Protection of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia and the Ubsunur Hollow State Natural Biosphere Reserve. In subsequent years, scientists explored the territory of the reserve in search of the most suitable sites for the release of Asian bustards.

There are only four bustard nurseries in the world: two in the UAE, and one each in Morocco and Kazakhstan. Pupils of the Kazakh nursery are genetically closest to the Tuvan bustards, so the choice of scientists fell on them. Before release, rare birds underwent “pre-flight” training, which was supposed to contribute to optimal physiological adaptation in their natural habitat. The released bustards spent their childhood in special spacious enclosures, where contact with people was minimized. Birds were fed mainly live food and limited in water. Upon completion of the preparation, the birds were transported to the reserve and released into the wild.

“The data obtained as part of the pilot program will form the basis for further research that will improve the protocols for releasing birds,” the press service said.