Camera trap records rare argali in Nurota
A camera trap installed in the Nurota State Reserve in the Navoiy region has captured images of the Kyzylkum wild sheep (arkhar), which is listed in the Red Book. According to the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change, their population stood at 2,130 heads during the spring census of 2026.
Camera trap records rare argali in Nurota
According to the Committee, in the 60s and 70s of the last century, there were only 60–70 heads of Kyzylkum argali left in the Nurota mountain ranges.
In 1975, the Nurota State Reserve was established, and the argali were put under protection. This made it possible to save the endangered population. Over the next decade, their number stabilized.
According to the Committee, the number of argali is increasing due to the ongoing conservation measures. In the latest spring count, 2,130 heads were recorded.
As a vulnerable, declining, and locally distributed subspecies, the Kyzylkum argali is included in the Red Data Book of Uzbekistan, the IUCN Red List, and Appendix II of the CITES Convention.
Currently, these animals survive in the Nurota and Oqtogʻ ranges, the Tomditogʻ residual mountains, and the Turkestan range. The Committee's report notes that they may also be found in the Molguzar range.
Kyzylkum argali live in the middle and upper parts of mountains, at altitudes of 500–2000 meters above sea level.