“At this time, we can say that Kazakhstan has lost 90% of the saker falcon population. For example, the largest population in Kazakhstan’s Ustyurt from 1,600 pairs at the beginning of 2000 has decreased today to 200–300 pairs,” Karyakin said at the III International Scientific and Practical Conference “Eagles of the Palaearctic: Study and Protection” in Almaty.
The main threat in Russia and Kazakhstan is illegal bird catching.
“According to our estimates, about 2-3 thousand saker falcons were exported from our country every year, every year this figure decreases, poachers switch to gyrfalcons, because the resource of the saker falcon is exhausted,” he said.
Photo source: picture from an open source