One of the «red book’s» habitants of the Kaplankyr state nature reserve is a honey badger. This representative of weasel is considered by many specialists to be one of the fearless mammals in the world. It has a well-muscled body, strong olfaction a hot temper, that allow it to quickly hunt up prey and uncomplying fight with a larger animal. The honey badger excellently root, it can quickly climb the trees and bushes, that considerably simplify the food procure process.
In some measure, precisely because of its mores the Turkmen people call honey badger “it-ayi” – dog-bear. The honey barger inhabits in places allowing it to lead hidden lifestyle. In the nature reserve the honey badger was observed in bushes near Zergi-baba lake, and on Kaplankyr highlands. Its activity usually depends on the daytime temperature. Thus, this animal, which doesn’t like hot weather, is nocturnal in summer, in other seasons it is observed during the twilight hour, and in winter sometimes on the daytime.
This preying animal, though it is considered as a lover of honey, it gladly eats various food, including small animals, lizards, birds and other. According to observations of the nature reserve specialists, minimum 6-7 honey badgers permanently inhabit the protected area.
Fauna of Kaplankyr nature reserve counts many species of preying animals among which are wolf, jackal, dog fox, fox, caracal lynx, dune cat. Preservation of their population promote a particular landscape of area where locate a part of desert and plateau, Sarakamysh lake and tugai bushes, as well as taken by the specialists’ multiple measures, preserving the local vegetal and animal world. The workers of the Kaplankyr nature reserve successively observe the species inhabiting in the protected area, their migration, and with regard to the collected data, if necessary, correct the conservation work methods. The further improvement of their activity serve the five-year plan of nature reserve management, elaborated in cooperation with the large nature protection and scientific organizations of the country.
Batyr Urayev
