Last year, Kazakhstan experienced the worst flooding the area had seen in some 80 years. Reservoirs and creeks that had been dry for decades were suddenly filled. This year, winter was mild, and spring arrived early, creating ideal conditions for an explosion of fauna.
The Saiga
The unique-looking saiga antelope has roamed the vast steppe of the area that is now Kazakhstan for millennia. About 25 years ago, there were concerns the animal, which usually numbered in the millions, was headed toward extinction. Widespread poaching started after independence in late 1991, and by 2005 there were less than 40,000 saiga left in the country.
A ban on hunting saiga helped boost the population to some 250,000 by the mid-2010s, but then bacteria spread through the herds, greatly reducing their numbers again.
Renewed efforts to increase the saiga population proved successful, however, perhaps too successful. By 2021 their number had risen to some 842,000, and by the summer of 2022, there were more than 1.3 million saiga antelope in Kazakhstan.
Officials were warning back in 2022 that the saiga were competing with farmers’ herds for pastureland. Kazakhstan’s then-Ecology Minister Serikkali Brekeshev noted at the time that the growth rate was worrying as the saiga population was only some 110,000 in 2016. Brekeshev suggested a cull of 80,000 of the antelope was necessary.
However, Kazakhstan was receiving a lot of international praise for bringing the saiga off the endangered list. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reprimanded Brekeshev and ordered the ecology minister to find another way to deal with the problem. Limited culling of saiga was allowed starting in October 2023 but was again banned in February 2024.
The saiga population was back in the news at the end of May this year.
Kazakhstan’s Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament, discussed the issue on May 27. Deputy Ecology Minister Nurken Sharbiyev told a Mazhilis’ committee on agriculture that the saiga population continued to proliferate, numbering some 2.8 million in 2024 and now totaling nearly 4 million.
Herd owners in West Kazakhstan Province say the saiga are taking over pastureland in at least seven districts. There are also concerns that the saiga are mixing with cows and sheep in the fields and infected saiga might be spreading diseases among the herders’ animals.
Farmers in Akmola Province have formed groups to try to chase the saiga from agricultural fields but with mixed success. Locals complain that the large herds block roads and linger even when drivers honk their horns.
Smaller creatures than the Saiga are also thriving due to the favorable weather conditions.
The Usual Suspects
The combination of abundant water and warm weather has proven efficacious to the spread of some insects. Locusts are a perennial threat to crops across Central Asia. This year, in some parts of Kazakhstan, they are spreading so quickly that the authorities are having difficulties combating them.
Farmers in Aktobe Province say equipment for battling locusts has been breaking down and the pesticides being used are not producing the desired effect. In Atyrau Province, the “mass spread” of locusts threatens to strip grazing land and leave herds starving.
Videos posted on the internet show thousands of the creatures moving across areas in southern Kazakhstan. Authorities blame the early spring for the onslaught and say they are boosting efforts to eradicate the pests.
Less devastating, but still unpleasant, residents of the Abai Province are facing an explosion of beetles. The beetles are devouring plants in the province, but there are also large numbers of them entering homes in towns and villages. There are several types of beetles that have spread around the province, including the aptly-named “blister beetle,” whose bite, according to locals, leaves a “burn-like mark on the skin.”
Local authorities say the pesticide being used to kill mosquitos should also kill the beetles but suggest people with beetles in their homes purchase insecticides at stores.
Meanwhile, an “invasion” of caterpillars has hit the city of Karaganda and are destroying trees “by the thousands.” City officials say in just one of Karaganda’s parks, caterpillars have stripped the leaves off some 400 trees already, and there are fears up to one-third of Karaganda’s trees and bushes could fall victim to this pest. A warm winter and early spring are being blamed for the appearance of a large number of caterpillars, and there are concerns this is only the first wave with a second due in July.
Karaganda authorities are spraying trees with pesticides but “environmentalists are reminding that chemicals are not a panacea and have side-effects not only for insects, but also for birds, pets and humans themselves.”
With insects spreading around Kazakhstan in unusual numbers, there is also apprehension about an increase in the number of dreaded Karakurt spiders this year. The Karakurt is from the black widow family and has the same tell-tale look, a black body with red or orange markings. Its bite is not usually fatal to humans, but it does make people ill. A Karakurt bite can kill farm animals such as sheep, and even camels.
Eight people in the southern Shymkent Province were bitten in May, and two needed to be taken to the hospital. These incidents prompted local officials to initiate annual measures against the spiders earlier than usual. The Karakurt is usually found in western and southern Kazakhstan, but specialists warn that climate change is allowing the spiders to expand their habitat.
Climate change is also responsible for locusts, beetles, and caterpillars gradually spreading further north.
Man vs Nature
Mother Nature is out in force in Kazakhstan this year.
The devastating floods of 2024 caused widespread damage in Kazakhstan, but this was somewhat compensated for by the welcome abundance of water which, combined with mild weather and an early spring, should lead to excellent agricultural results this year.
However, it appears there will be a battle to keep the wild fauna of Kazakhstan from eating this bumper crop or taking up residence in people’s homes.
