Spotted for the first time: red-listed animal filmed in Almaty region

Tengrinews.kz – A forest dormouse listed in Kazakhstan’s Red Book has been spotted in the Almaty region. This small nocturnal rodent is extremely rare and is considered an understudied species facing the threat of extinction.
The footage
The video was posted on the official Instagram account of the Charyn National Park. The forest dormouse was caught on camera — a small creature that lives in forests and shrubs. In Kazakhstan, it is listed under category "D" in the Red Book, meaning "insufficiently studied species under threat of extinction."
Park staff managed to record the rare animal using a phone camera.













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Публикация от Чарынский Национальный Парк (@charyn___official)


What the National Park says
We reached out to the national park for comment. They stated that this is the first time the forest dormouse has been spotted in the area.

“This small creature is considered extremely rare and poorly studied in Kazakhstan. The exact size of the population within the park is still unknown,” the park’s press service said.

Major threats to the dormouse include deforestation and habitat destruction, poaching, and climate change.

“The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also classifies the forest dormouse as a rare species. In Kazakhstan, it can be found in several nature reserves and sanctuaries, where it is under protection,” the park officials noted.

To preserve the species, it is important to study its population and habitat range, as well as protect its natural environment, they added.