Buyratau National Park

Buyratau National Park is quite a new environmental establishment, which appeared in Kazakhstan on March 11, 2011.

The National Park is the result of merging of the following protected areas: the Buyratau Natural Park, Belodymovsk and Ereymentau zoological reserves. Also the park comprises the territory, which was originally intended for Ereymentau State Reserve. Thus, the total area of the national park «Buyratau» is 88,963 hectares. The northern parts of the buffer zone (60.814 ha) are located in Ereymentau district of Akmola province and the southern (28 154 ha) - in Osakar district of Karaganda province.

The park area is permeated with unique prairie ecosystems belonging to the type of dry steppes. Another value of the Buyratau Park is its relic alder forests and birch forests, both are located at the southern boundary of the park.

The avifauna of the national park includes 227 species of birds of which 127 are nesting species.

The vegetation of the park is represented by over 450 species of vascuiar plants, which is about 20% of the flora of the entire Central Kazakh Hummocks. About 30 species of the total amount are classified as very rare and even endangered because their habitats are gradually decreasing. This is the sticky alder and Adonis spring, wind-flower and Siberian hawk’s beard, spleenwort and bladder-fern, plants such as peony steppe, raven eyes. Woods Elbe and tulip Gesner.

The fauna of the national park Buyratau is represented by 45 species of mammals making 5 units and 15 families. Of these most important are populations of argali (the northernmost Ereymentau population of over 200 heads lives in the park). Quite numerous is the deer Population, this species has been successfully acclimatized in the park not long ago. Today its Population is made up of hundreds of heads.

The most important species in the park are the inhabitants of the Red Baok of Kazakhstan: Spoonbill, swan, white-headed duck, belladonna, bustard, steppe eagle, lapwing, imperial eagle, ferruginous duck, common scoter, common crane, little bustard, owl.