Creation of nurseries and veterinary preventive measures for saigas of Betpakdala and Ural populations in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Preservation and maintenance of biological diversity of Earth’s life is one of the key tasks of mankind. Therefore, the search and substantiation of methods that will be able to stabilise and increase the number of endangered species of animals and plants, a key direction of modern science, consisted in the development of organisational and veterinary preventive approaches in the breeding of saigas of the Betpakdala and Ural populations in the conditions of the nurseries “ASAR Live” and “Akboken” in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The nursery stock was formed by the internment of new-born saigas removed from the natural population. Control over the growth and development of saigas was carried out by periodic weighing and determining the average daily weight gain. Dimensional characteristics of young animals were determined by selecting the measurements of the sexes of the body. The state of health of the animals in the premises was monitored by determining biochemical and haematological indicators – the content of protein, glucose, cholesterol. Approbation of the developed scheme of feeding new-born saigas in nurseries turned out to be quite effective, which was confirmed by high average daily weight gains at the level of 167-180 g up to 4 months of age and a 6-fold increase in live weight during this period. At the same time, the preservation of the animal population in nurseries was at the level of 97.3%. Accounting for all the necessary parameters to create optimal conditions for saigas in the nursery allowed increasing the population of saigas from 150 to 230 units already in the first year, considering that at the time of the formation of the herd it consisted of new-born animals. A comprehensive approach to solving the problem of preserving the local population of saigas in Kazakhstan allowed developing an effective system of measures tested in nurseries for the preservation and breeding of animals of the Betpakdala and Ural populations. The developed methods of preserving the endangered Tatar saiga population in nurseries, in addition to the reputational image of Kazakhstan as a country that solved the problem with the autochthonous species of fauna, contain recommendations for the development of a population of wild animals with minimal stress and adaptation consequences