Programme Coordinator – Nikolai Karpov, Moscow Zoo, Russia
The main subjects of the programme are both threatened species of mountain ungulates, such as the markhor (included in the Appendix I of CITES and IUCN Red List (Critically Endangered, CR)), the West Caucasian tur (IUCN – EN), the East Caucasian tur (IUCN – VU), the wild goat (IUCN – VU), the Altai argali (CITES Appendix II, IUCN – VU) and other subspecies of the argali, and species that are rare in zoo collections: the Siberian ibex, the urial, the Severtzov’s argali, the Armenian mouflon, and other ungulates of the Eurasian mountain fauna.
Mountain ungulates of Eurasia, for instance, the markhor, the Siberian ibex, the Altai argali and the Kara Tau argali, the Marco Polo sheep, and several other species and subspecies represent a unique biological complex threatened with extinction. The main reasons for the decline of their population and limiting factors include destruction of natural habitats as a result of livestock grazing, poaching, increased pressure from predators (wolves), climate change, and negative impacts of armed conflicts arising on political, ethnic, or religious grounds.
Main goal of the programme:
Establishing stable, genetically valuable breeding ex situ populations of the Eurasian mountain ungulates, with the focus on rare species including the markhor and mountain sheep for creating a reserve of animals for gene conservation and reintroduction of animals into the wild.
Primary objectives of the programme:
- development of standard requirements for projecting, designing, and construction of enclosure complexes for the management and breeding of mountain ungulates, taking into account high specialization of these animals;
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developing approaches to the selection of animals suitable for breeding and release into the wild;
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assessment of landscapes and pastures for the identification of the release sites, forage harvesting areas for the animals kept in enclosures, etc.;
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developing principles and methods of establishing groups of mountain ungulates in enclosures;
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predicting and preventing critical physiological conditions of the animals (stress reaction, exhaustion, tachypnea, developmental abnormalities, reduced breeding success, etc.), based on the use of non-invasive techniques;
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assessment of the long-term changes in animal phenotypes caused by keeping of ungulates in enclosures;
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development of a standard technique for intensive captive breeding of the markhor and mountain sheep, using the entire range of advanced methods for breeding of agricultural animals (artificial insemination, preservation of reproductive material and other approaches);
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elaborating a wide range of biotechnical issues including veterinary care of captive animals, transportation methods, development of diets for different seasons of the year, study of phenotypic variability, keeping international Studbooks, and experimental work of general biological nature.
