Number of desert monitors reduced almost twice in Kyrgyzstan

The number of desert monitors has halved over the past 20 years in Kyrgyzstan. UNDP reports.

The organization and the State Committee on Ecology and Climate organized a research expedition to the Western Tian Shan to study the habitat of the red-listed desert monitor.

During the expedition, the expert team met with the residents of the nearby villages and carried out the awareness-building activities telling them about the special status of the endangered endemic and the necessity to preserve this unique species of the fauna in the region.

«According to the local residents, the population of the desert monitor has reduced almost twice over the past 20 years, and this has happened despite the fact that it has been red listed for over 35 years. As a result of the expedition, we have found out that actually the main limiting factor is poaching. The cases of illegal hunting and sale of rare reptiles due to allegedly useful meat and fat are known. Sometimes the local residents have received the orders even from the foreign countries,» the statement says.