4.5 hours of protecting a Kazakh wild donkey through GPS

Originally, wild donkeys were widespread in the grasslands of Kazakhstan, a vast country in the heart of the Eurasian continent. Poaching wiped out the kulans of Kazakhstan around 1930. Today, the species is classified as “critically endangered” (IUCN, 2016). But without wild donkeys, there would be no intact steppe! As large herbivores, they are the gardeners of the grasslands, sowing, mowing, fertilizing and harvesting: Kulans distribute plant seeds over long distances, keep vegetation low and thus reduce the risk of fires. Their hooves stabilize the soil and they are also a source of food for predators and scavengers. As so-called “megaherbivores,” they also play an important role for smaller herbivores. In summer, they can dig water holes in dry riverbeds and in winter, uncover grass under thick layers of snow. Poaching, the loss of pasture land to the benefit of growing herds of livestock and the conversion of huge areas of steppe into arable land drove the kulans out of the grasslands of central Kazakhstan around a hundred years ago. Thanks to an ambitious reintroduction project led by the Kazakh NGO ACBK (Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan), the first animals are now returning to the steppe. In practical terms, this looks like this: Kulans are transported from a large population in the south of the country to the central steppe. There they spend a few months under close observation in a large release enclosure. Once it is clear that the animals are healthy and have adapted well to their new environment, they are released into the wild. In order to continue to protect them there and to establish a stable population in the long term, monitoring the animals is essential. GPS collars ensure greater security: They transmit the exact position of the resettled kulans three times a day. The Kazakh rangers therefore know exactly where the animals are and can therefore protect them better. This increases the kulans’ chances of survival and contributes to the preservation of Kazakhstan’s steppe.