National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The Ustyurt mouflon, or urial, is a locally distributed subspecies that is on the brink of extinction. It is listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan, the IUCN Red List, and Appendix II of the CITES Convention. According to the Red Book of Uzbekistan, the urial’s habitat in Uzbekistan includes the southern Ustyurt region — mainly the Kazakhly-Kaplankyr area, “Dry Lake,” and the cliffs of the Sarykamysh depression. The population is steadily declining, and it is part of a transboundary group that also inhabits parts of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

The Turkmen caracal is also a patchily distributed and declining subspecies, listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan and in Appendix I of the CITES Convention. During summer, the caracal is active at night, while in other seasons, it may also hunt during the day. It feeds on hares, rodents, sometimes ungulates, birds, hedgehogs, foxes, reptiles, snakes, arthropods, and occasionally carrion. Its lifespan can reach up to 19 years.

For reference: The “Southern Ustyurt” National Nature Park was established on November 11, 2020, in the Kungrad district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. It is home to 149 species of animals, 36 of which are listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan.