On January 18^th, the Akim of Mangystau (head of the regional government), Nurlan Nogaev met with environmental activists from Mangystau and ornithologists from Almaty. The main topic of discussion was the pressing issue of the mass die-out of swans on Lake Karakol, as reported by the press service of the Akimat.

According to the latest data, as of January 18^th the number of dead swans in Mangystau has reached 1,018 birds, 41 of which were found on the seashore in the Karakiyan district, and the rest on the lake itself.

According to the biological scientist and ornithologist, Victoria Kovshar, despite the fact that the peak of bird flu has already passed, this figure will only continue to grow. “Bird flu is a phenomenon widespread all over the world. Instances of this disease are regularly recorded on the Caspian Sea, as was the case two years ago when black-footed boobies and Caspian terns died en masse. At the time, it was assumed that the cause was related to oil emissions, but a government commission found that bird flu was to blame.

“The virus usually targets certain species of birds, for example, in 2015 there was a bird flu that affected the dalmatian pelican without affecting the pink pelican, which nests with it in the same colonies and is directly related. It follows that the death of swans on Lake Karakol is not a unique case. We can see that mostly young individuals which were unprepared for the winter have died here. This is a natural process that is not subject to manual intervention. Saving swans now is comparable to if you were to confront an avalanche with your bare hands. It is important to prevent the infection of poultry such as ducks and geese, and it should be noted that the virus can remain active in the carcasses of dead birds for a prolonged period of time. However, given the extremely low temperatures on the lake currently, this would not be the case.”

According to the head of the regional territorial inspection of the Committee for Veterinary Control and Supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Temirbek Nurtazin, veterinary services are regularly monitoring the epizootic situation among poultry, and as of now no cases have been found among poultry in private farms.

Speaking after his briefing, the head of the region, Nurlan Nogaev said he is concerned about the significant number of swan deaths, but urged against an overly emotional reaction.

“I thank the experts, Victoria Kovshar and Fedor Karpov, for their active participation in the search for the real cause of swan deaths on Lake Karakol,” Nogaev said. “The situation around this issue is of public interest, and I also express my gratitude to the eco-activists involved in solving the problem. A team of scientists is expected to arrive in the coming months to study the biodiversity of this unique body of water. It is important that experts, including ornithologists, are involved in gathering information.”

As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, on December 27^th in the process of monitoring water sources associated with Lake Karakol, inspectors found that permissible pollution levels had been exceeded. At that juncture, the reasons for the die-out were a cause for conjecture, and an unscheduled inspection of the Rixos Aktau hotel took place.