Conservation authorities are calling for immediate land use restrictions at and near a national park in northern Kazakhstan to protect threatened and endangered species of eagles recently discovered inhabiting the park.
Burabay State National Nature Park is confirmed to be home to several important yet threatened species of eagles, conservation officials say in a new report. They are recommending immediate restrictions on logging and grazing in and around the park to help maintain the small population of endangered raptors found surviving there.
They said studies taken since late last year show that the park is an important nesting and breeding habitat for rare imperial eagles, steppe eagles, greater spotted eagles, and booted eagles, all species classified as threatened or endangered. Golden eagles were also spotted in the park, the researchers said.
Their findings were published in the journal Raptors Conservation. Burabay State National Nature Park official Yevgeniy Arkhipov and Janosch Becker of the State Bird Conservation Center in Baitz, Germany led the study.
“Imperial eagles were observed throughout the area on a daily basis,” the authors reported. They also reported witnessing “the first case of breeding of the greater spotted eagle” in the popular park.
The conservationists said they fear for the eagle species’ survival as the nearest additional viable habitat for them is hundreds of kilometers away. Restrictions on logging and grazing should be put in place not only for the park itself but at lands immediately adjacent to this officially protected area, the authors argue in their report.
They’re recommending that government authorities in Kazakhstan “introduce a ban on any logging within a radius of 1.5 kilometers from eagle breeding territories,” and “limit the presence of livestock and people within 500 meters of eagle nests during the breeding season.” They also recommend daily patrols to ensure that the park’s visitors are keeping a safe distance from the rare eagle species.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the steppe eagle as “endangered” in its Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN says the species has “undergone extremely rapid population declines within its European range.”
“However recent information suggests that the population outside Europe may be exposed to greater threats than was previously thought and has also undergone very rapid recent declines across much of the range,” IUCN added.
IUCN classifies the greater spotted eagle as threatened due to a declining population trend.
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Park Info
Park Name:
Burabay State National Nature Park
Location:
Kazakhstan
