In the Kostanay region, an Asian steppe cat has been captured by camera traps for the first time, reports Tengri Life, citing the Kazakhstan Biodiversity Conservation Association (ASBK).
This may be linked to the northward expansion of its habitat due to climate change—this subspecies of steppe cat had not been previously observed in the region.
Several individuals have been recorded by the camera traps, and during a monitoring session, staff member Georgy Timoshenko managed to photograph a wild cat.
"In our 15 years of activity in this region, we have never seen wild cats 'in person'," emphasized the significance of the event, stated the director of the Altysay Eco-Park, Alexey Timoshenko.
Experts believe these findings hold particular importance.
"Over the past 30 years, there has been a rapid northward and westward expansion of its range, and as a result, the steppe cat has now inhabited the southern part of the steppe zone, a strip of semi-desert, almost throughout its extent, from the southern districts of the West Kazakhstan Region to the Abai Region," noted ASBK researcher Ilya Smelyansky.
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