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Established: 1990
Area: 121,901 ha (1,219 km2) on two
territories
Buffer zone: 90,000 ha (900
km2)
Contact information: Bodmayev, Victor
Sangadjievich, Director
Russia 359240, Kalmykia Republic,
Chernozemelsky raion, Komsomolsky
Tel: (7-847-43) 9-12-54
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 A
cloud of dust extends like a train across the
parched steppe - or plain. Ahead of the cloud, a
herd of several thousand saiga antelope races away
from a pack of lanky wolves at speeds of nearly 80
km per hour. Hunted by people and wolves, saiga now
take refuge in the Cherny Zemly Zapovednik in the
Kalmykia Republic in southwestern Russia. The
nature reserve conserves valuable saiga breeding
and calving grounds - flat, semi-desert plains
extending to the horizon in every direction with
neither tree or bush to interrupt the endless
vista. Once the bottom of the Caspian Sea, now
water is scarce on the barren plain, and every
creature's survival is linked to finding a drop
here or a puddle there. The remains of any unlucky
animals are quickly picked away by hungry vultures,
eagles, and buzzards. A smaller section of the
zapovednik in northwestern Kalmykia differs
dramatically from the desert-like plain further
south. Here, colonies of egrets, cormorants, and
rare pelicans are protected on the shore and
islands of the shallow Manych-Gudilo Reservoir, a
saline body of water flowing into the Don
River.
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Photo ©
2000 Igor
Shpilenok
Zapovednik Images
Zapovednik Facts
Cherny Zemli in
Russian Conservation
News
journal:
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Facts:
Cherny Zemly Bioshpere
Zapovednik
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Animals
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Cherny Zemly Zapovednik was created primarily to
conserve important breeding and calving grounds of
the unique saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica).
This small antelope with a rather squarish body on
thin legs can run over the plain at speeds of up to
80 km per hour. The antelope has a funny looking
hump on its long, soft nose which filters out dust
as it runs across the dry steppe. The antelope has
large black eyes that protrude slightly from its
head. The males have short spiky horns, yellowish
in color, with black rings near the base. Hunted
for its meat and horns, used in stomach remedies in
oriental medicine, saiga populations have decreased
dramatically in the last part of the 20th century.
Saiga numbers fell from 220,000 in 1996 in Kalmykia
to fewer than 55,000 according to a 1999 census.
Worldwide, there are about 700,000 saiga antelopes,
the majority of which are in Kazakhstan. Some
experts say that the main reason for the saiga's
decline is the inordinate number of wolves
(Canis lupus) in the region, which prey on
young and sick animals. Habitat loss due to
cultivation of steppe lands has also taken its
toll. As a result, the saiga is now listed in CITES
Appendix II, and hunting in Kalmykia has been
halted.
European hare (Lepus europaeus) and eared
hedgehog (Erinaceus auritus) are smaller
mammals found in the protected steppe of Cherny
Zemly Nature Reserve. The lanky corsac fox
(Vulpes corsac) trots across the level plain
in search of rodents, sometimes catching
long-legged jerboas. Three species of jerboas are
found in Cherny Zemly Zapovednik: great, small
five-toed, and Northern three-toed jerboa
(Allactaga major, A. Elater, Dipus sagitta).
The range of the endangered marbled polecat
(Vormela peregusna) has been shrinking over
the past 200 years due to grazing and cultivation
of prairies. The Caspian Sea and Caucasus region,
where Cherny Zemly Zapovednik is located, is one of
only two areas where the marbled polecat is still
found in Russia; the other region is in the Altai
foothills in Western Siberia. The rather large
polecat, with a long bushy tail and light-colored
mask on its face, has an effective way of defending
itself from foxes and wolves. The polecat stands up
on its hind legs, throws its furry tail up in the
air, displays its viscous set of fangs, and growls
like a dog. This display and the foul odor
emanating from the polecat's glands are often
enough to deter would be predators.
A filling meal for the marbled polecat consists
of hamsters (Cricetulus spp.), voles
(Micr otus spp.), or pygmy ground squirrels
- also called sousliks (Spermophilus
pygmaeus). The sandy-colored ground squirrels
dig elaborate dens in the steppe, where colonies of
several families live together. Ground squirrels
feed on seeds and grasses while keeping watch for
predators. When danger is sensed, a ground squirrel
stands up on its hind legs and gives out a long
whistle, sending all the others underground within
seconds.
Ground squirrels are also the favored prey of
many birds of prey in the Kalmykian steppe. Twelve
species of raptors have been sited in the reserve,
including rare steppe eagles (Aquila
nipalensis) and imperial eagles (A.
heliaca). Long-legged buzzards (Buteo
rufinus) build their nests on mounds of earth
left from old settlements and burial grounds, often
bringing pieces of saiga fur into the nest for
bedding. White-tailed sea-eagles
(Haliaëetus albicilla) soar above the
steppe, hundreds of miles from the sea. Four kinds
of harriers (Circus spp.) frequent the
zapovednik, flying low over the plain in search of
prey. Egyptian vultures (Neophron
percnopterus), cinereous vulture (Aegypius
monachus), and Eurasian griffon (Gyps
fulvus) flock to saiga birthing grounds to feed
on helpless saiga babies, minutes after they are
born.
Endangered worldwide, the demoiselle crane
(Anthropoides virgo) is oddly one of the
most visible birds in the steppe. Smaller than the
common crane, this rare bird is one of the most
beautiful of the crane species. The bird's body is
dove gray in color, with long black feathers on its
chest, wings, and tail. Brilliant white wisps of
feathers stream off the back of its slender black
head like a pony tail. Beady red eyes are set
slightly above the base of its bright yellow beak.
The birds, which choose a mate for life, stay near
their nest in spring, a bare indentation in the
earth with two large, greenish eggs with
reddish-brown spots.
The other section of the Cherny Zemly
Zapovednik, along the edge of the saline
Manych-Gudilo Reservoir in northeastern Kalmykia,
is a haven for nesting shorebirds. The rare
Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia),
with a rounded shovel-like tip at the end of its
long, reddish bill, feeds on insects and mollusks
in silty soils near the shore. Rare Eastern white
pelicans (Pelecanus crispus), listed in the
Russian Red Book, nest in colonies of up to 400
pairs. Dalmatian pelicans (P. Onocrotalus)
are much less numerous; only five pairs nested in
the reserve in 1997. Great cormorants
(Phalacrocorax carbo) also nest in large
colonies on islands of the Manych-Gudila Reservoir.
Great and little egrets (Egretta alba, E.
garzetta) build their nests up with dead reeds
on islands, flying to bodies of freshwater to feed
on small fish, frogs, and insects. Herring gulls
(Larus argentatus) make their nests along
side the egrets, often preying on their helpless
chicks. Whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus), mute
swan (Cygnus olor), ruddy shelduck
(Tadorna ferruginea), and others are among
the 202 species of birds found in Cherny Zemly
Zapovednik.
Amphibians and reptiles in the reserve include
the toad-headed and spotted toad agama
(Phrynocephalus mystaceus, P. Guttatus),
rapid fringed-toed lizard and steppe runner
(Ememias velox, E. arguta), sand boa
(Eryx jaculus), Montpellier snake
(Malpolon monphlessianus), and Renard's
viper (Vipera ursini).
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Vegetation
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The endlessly flat and unbroken plain - or
steppe - stretches to the horizon in every
direction. Not a single tree breaks up the wide
open space. In spring, the brownish steppe
transforms into a carpet of greenish-grey grasses.
The red, white, and yellow flowers of rare tulips
(Tulipa biebersteiniana, T. biflora, T.
schrenkii) bring a sprinkling of color to the
unvaried plain. White tufts of feathergrass
(Stipa capillata, S. lessingiana, S.
zalesskii) sway in the summer breeze. Bulbous
bluegrass (Poa bulbosa) grows beneath the
dangling pennants of downy chess (Bromus
tectorum) and rare Japanese brome (Bromus
japonicus). The sweet smell of wormwood
(Artemisia tschernieviana, A. austriaca, A.
pauciflora, A. salina, A. lerchiana) wafts over
the open plain in spring and summer. Ground
squirrels eagerly tear open the green tops of
oriental eremopyrum (Eremopyrum orientale)
to get at the tender seeds inside. These species,
along with sword-flag (Iris pumila), mullein
(Verbascum austriacum), and groundsel
(Senecio noemus) are some of the 179 types
of plants found in the reserve.
Before the nature reserve was created, dry
steppe lands here were under constant grazing
pressure from sheep, cows, and horses. Some four
million sheep once grazed on the open plain. As a
result of overgrazing, many lands were stripped
bare of vegetation and began to turn into deserts.
Blowing sand piled up in long mounds, which moved
over time. Although protection and re-cultivation
of the steppe has allowed vegetation to regenerate
gradually on some lands, still 25,000 ha, or nearly
one-third of this section of the reserve, is
covered with bare soils and sand dunes.
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Geographical
Features
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Cherny Zemly Zapovednik is located on two
separate territories in the Republic of Kalmykia.
The larger portion of the reserve (91,000 ha), in
the Komsomolskoye and Yashkule administrative
regions, protects semi-desert plains of the
near-Caspian lowlands. A buffer zone of 56,000 ha
surrounds this portion of the reserve. The
elevation here is 24 meters below sea level, since
the region was once the bottom of the Caspian Sea.
Cherny Zemly, meaning "black lands" in Russian,
gets its name due to the fact that, in wintertime,
strong winds blow away most of the snow cover, and
the lands look black and barren. While winters are
cold and harsh, with temperatures dropping as low
as -30oC, snow is moderate to scarce.
Summers, on the other hand, are hot and dry.
Temperatures soar above 40oC all summer
long, and hot winds pick up over the endless plain.
Rain is scarce and even the rangers have to truck
their drinking water in to the reserve.
The second, smaller section (30,900 ha) of the
Cherny Zemly Zapovednik is located in the very
northwest corner of the Kalmykian Republic on the
Manych-Gudilo Lake, also known in this part as
Proletarskoye Reservoir. Water from the reservoir
flows into the Don River, which then dumps into the
Azov Sea. The lake is long and narrow, covering an
area of 344 km2, with an average depth
of only half a meter. The southeastern shore of the
Manych-Gudilo Reservoir is protected in Cherny
Zemly Zapovednik. The protected area has a buffer
zone of 34,000 ha. This section is markedly
different from the dry plain in the protected
territory in the center of Kalmykia. Water is
everywhere, but the lake is so saline from runoff
and the lack of freshwater inlets, that hardly any
fish can live here. The numerous small islands near
the shore are safe places for bird colonies,
although the birds must fly to bodies of freshwater
to feed. Rolling hills line the lake shore,
dropping off gradually to the into the shallow and
silty waters of the reservoir.
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Conservation
Status
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Conservation of important habitat for the saiga
antelope is perhaps the most important function of
the Cherny Zemly Zapovednik. However, saiga herds
roam over a large area, and can cover several
hundred kilometers per day. Once out of the
reserve, poachers pursue the saiga herds on
motorcycles and by car, sometimes shooting dozens
of animals in one night. A republic level agency -
the Department for Conservation, Monitoring, and
Management of Game Resources of the Republic of
Kalmykia - is responsible for protecting the
species outside of the reserve, but these rangers
cannot always be in the right place at the right
time. In 1999, the agency caught and fined 350
poachers in Kalmykia. Actual poaching levels are
probably significantly higher. In the winter of
1998-1999, for example, an enormous herd of nearly
100,000 saiga migrated several hundred kilometers
south to Dagestan. A few weeks later, only small
groups of saiga returned north to Kalmykia.
Eyewitnesses on the Dagestan side reported that the
snow was red from the massive saiga massacre. The
Dagestan government refused to provide any
additional information to Kalmykian authorities.
During breeding and calving seasons, the saiga
generally return to the zapovednik, where they are
granted protection from poachers. However, wolves
are also protected in the zapovednik; these
numerous predators inflict considerable harm on
saiga populations, especially by preying on the
young right after they are born. Scientists
estimate that wolf kills account for nearly 35,000
saiga deaths per year, or more than half the
current population. Some experts think that wolf
populations should be controlled in order to save
the saiga antelope. Others say that poaching must
be reined in, and still others declare that more
saiga habitat needs to be placed under protection.
Probably some combination of these three measures
is necessary to ensure that the saiga antelope will
thrive in Kalmykia.
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References
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Zabelina, N.M., L.S. Isaeva-Petrova, and L.V.
Kuleshova. Zapovedniks and National Parks of
Russia. Logata publishing agency. Moscow, 1988.
Text written by Laura
Williams based on personal interviews with
staff of Cherny Zemly Zapovednik and the head of
the Department for Conservation, Monitoring, and
Management of Game Resources of the Republic of
Kalmykia.
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