The Gaplangyr State Reserve was established on August 19, 1979 , and is located in the northwestern part of Turkmenistan, in the Dashoguz region . The main goal of the reserve is to protect desert areas, flora and fauna. Among the important measures are the preservation and restoration of the Ustyurt mountain sheep , gazelles , kulans , and itays . It is claimed that the name “Gaplangyr” comes from the fact that the “sand leopard” (cheetah) once inhabited these places.
The reserve covers an area of 282.2 thousand hectares, in addition, the Shasenem and Sarykamysh reserves with a total area of 821 hectares have been established under its jurisdiction. The tasks of the reserves are to protect birds living in the water bodies of Lake Sarykamysh, to increase the number of gazelles, mountain sheep and saigas, as well as to re-adapt and reproduce the kulanly to its former habitat.
The unique landscape of the reserve is created by various landforms, such as rugged terrain, rocky and sloping fields, steep cliffs, depressions, dry valleys, and beautiful sand dunes.
The average annual temperature here is +11°C. In the coldest month, January , the average temperature drops to -5°C, while the average temperature in July is +28°C. The number of sunny days per year is 210. According to the nature of atmospheric precipitation, the reserve is located in arid regions of Turkmenistan, where the amount of precipitation is less than 100 millimeters. Most of the moisture in the soil is consumed by April. Therefore, in the summer months, herbaceous plants cannot grow due to a lack of moisture in the upper layers of the soil.
The flora of the reserve currently includes about 300 species of plants. More than half of them belong to the families of sedges, asteraceae, complex sedges, cereals and legume plants. This area is characterized by plants typical for the southern and northern lower zones of the desert. The vegetation cover of the Gaplangyr ridge consists of short, semi-shrubby plants, mainly sedge. Among the herbaceous plants, one can find annual sedges, rarely sedge, some ephemerals and many other herbs. The low-growing black sedge is also very rarely found in the ridge. In years of heavy rainfall, the surface of Gaplangyr is covered with a thick cover of many types of ephemerals, and in addition, the Karashor depression is distinguished by the absence of any vegetation.
The sands of the Upper Uzboy region are densely covered with plants. On the white sands near Lake Sarykamysh, mixed sedges are widespread. In the lowlands between the sand hills, you can also find black sedges. Among the rare plants found in the reserve are the Khiva saltwort and the Krasnovodsk sandwort (soft-seeded). These are plants listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan. These plants are scientifically studied in the reserve, and work is underway to transplant them to their natural habitats and cultivate them in the cultivated zone. Also, the reserve is closely studying the provision of ungulates with fodder and its effect on animals.
The fauna of this place is unique and rich in rare and valuable species. On the territory of the reserve and reserves, you can meet 26 species of wild animals and more than 150 species of birds. Of these, 10 species of mammals, 11 species of birds, and 6 species of reptiles are included in the Red Book of Turkmenistan.
Among the reptiles, you can find rattlesnakes and shield lizards, 8 species of snakes, desert snakes, takyr, zemzen and several types of amphibians in the reserve. Of the animals in the reserve, the most interesting are mountain sheep, gazelles (deer) and gulans. All of them are listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan. Although the gazelle is one of the rarest animals, it can be found in all parts of the reserve. However, until people began to mass exterminate such animals with the help of machinery, their number was more or less stable. As a result of intensive human development of the deserts, the natural range of gazelles (range) was reduced, some severe winters led to their mass extermination from lack of food, and, on top of all, poaching by some unscrupulous people with the help of modern technology led to a very rapid decrease in the number of gazelles, and in some places they became even rarer or even disappeared. After the creation of the reserve, the number of these animals began to increase significantly.
Mountain sheep are also one of the rare animals in the reserve, listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan. They can be found mainly on the steep cliffs of the southern Ustyurt, connecting to the Kaplangyr gorge and in the Kaplangyr gorge.
The kulan was considered one of the extinct ungulates in Dashoguz province. In 1983-87, through the efforts of the reserve staff, more than 100 kulans were brought from the Badhyz reserve to the Sarykamysh depression and released. The kulans quickly adapted to their former habitat. Currently, herds of kulan can be found in the vicinity of Lake Zengibaba, in the Sarykamysh depression, at the foot of the Ustyurt ridge, and in the Yedikhovuz takyrs. In addition, among the ungulates, you can meet saigas and wild boars. The saiga is also listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The reserve is also home to predators such as wolves, steppe cats, badgers, foxes, jackals, sables, and porcupines. You can also encounter porcupines, which are listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan.
The main rodents living in the reserve are rabbits, yellow and thin-toed shrews, voles, house mice, and deer.
There are more than 340 species of birds in Turkmenistan, of which about 150 are found in Dashoguz province. They also differ from each other in their lifestyle. Some live in the desert, while others settle near water. Some fly away, while others live permanently. The largest number of birds belongs to the sparrow order. Among them, the most widespread are the sparrowhawks. The reserve also attracts attention with its diversity of birds of prey. Here you can meet eagles, falcons, mountain voles, buzzards, falcons, and similar birds.
There are 83 species of birds around Lake Sarykamysh, 7 of which (red and black-backed terns, shrike, red-breasted goose, black-backed gull, black-backed gull, white-tailed eagle) are listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan.
One of the rare birds listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan in the reserve is the mountain jay. It is one of the least studied birds. This bird is very small in number and is strictly protected.
