Gaplaňgyr or Kaplankyr is a mountain plateau and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

(''

zapovednik Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which ...

'') of northern

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

. It was established in 1979. It is a place for the protection and restoration of indigenous flora and fauna, it is located on the Gaplaňgyr Plateau at the southern spur of the

Ustyurt Plateau The Ustyurt or Ust-Yurt (from kk, Үстірт; uz, Ustyurt; tk, Üstyurt; — flat hill, plateau) is a transboundary clay desert shared by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The plateau's semi-nomadic population raises sheep, goats, an ...

at the border with

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

in the north-west of Daşoguz Province. It covers an area of 2822 km².

Fauna and flora

26 species of mammals, 147 species of birds, and 918 species of higher plants have been recorded in Kaplankyr reserve. Protected rare species of animals found in the reserve include, Central Asian

gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

, the

Ustyurt mountain sheep The Ustyurt mountain sheep (''Ovis vignei cycloceros''), often referred to as the Turkmenian mountain sheep, is a subspecies of the urial that inhabits the mountain plateau regions of parts of Central Asia, especially the Ustyurt plateau from whic ...

ratel The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is listed a ...

as well as substantial populations of saiga antelopes that migrate here from Karakalpakstan in the winter are also protected in the nature reserve. Plants include the Khiva thistle, Turkmen tulip, Antonia's gypsophila, Karelin sand acacia, and 55 other endemic species. The Gaplaňgyr nature reserve also incorporates two sanctuaries: Sarygamyş Sanctuary, which established in 1980 as a lake-coastal ecosystems, and Şasenem Sanctuary, to preserve the kulans, ''Equus hemionus kulan'', a subspecies of

onager The onager (; ''Equus hemionus'' ), A new species called the kiang (''E. kiang''), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E. hemionus kiang'', but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct ...

, the Asian wild ass, and which was established in 1984 for stony desert preservation.

References

*''National Program for the Protection of the Environment'', Ashgabat, 2002, pp. 149–151 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaplangyr Nature Reserve Nature reserves in Turkmenistan Protected areas established in 1979