Jahresbericht 2004 - Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt

Bestandsentwicklung der kasachischen Saiga-Population (Saiga tartarica)
Population Development of the Saiga Antelope (Saiga tartarica) in Kazakhstan
Ustyurt
Ural
Betpak-Dala
Kasachstan gesamt | Kazakhstan total
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
be attributed to animals returning from other regions. Still the numbers are grounds
for optimism and we intend to intensify and expand our efforts. We are pleased to
report that our project funds were able to attract external matching support to triple
the funds available to run the project.
Another large mammal at the centre of our conservation strategy in Europe is the
European Bison. In Poland we are working to increase its distribution in its original
habitat. The FZS is thus supporting in Poland’s Bialowieza National Park efforts
to link different Bison habitats in the park with other forest areas in the immediate
vicinity. The goal is to transform the isolated populations and individual herds
in Polish forests into a single, linked meta-population. Suitable corridors for this
project were identified in 2004 and corresponding land is now being purchased.
Individual Bison are being outfitted with transmitters that will provide information
on distribution behaviour which will form a database for determining the best location
for corridors and land purchase. An initial interim goal will have been reached
if the herd in the northwestern part of the Knysynski Forest can be directly linked to
the herds in the Bialowieza Forest.
FZS Annual Report 2004
35