| Guryhowdan Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
  Map of Turkmenistan | |
| Location | Ahal Province, Turkmenistan |
| Nearest city | Asgabat |
| Coordinates | 37°42′58″N58°35′56″E / 37.716°N 58.599°E [1] Coordinates: 37°42′58″N58°35′56″E / 37.716°N 58.599°E [2] |
| Area | 15,000 ha (37,000 acres) |
| Established | 1976 |
Guryhowdan Sanctuary is a sanctuary ( zakaznik ) of Turkmenistan.
Protected areas of Turkmenistan include nine nature reserves (zapovednik) and 13 sanctuaries (zakaznik) with a total area of 19,750 km2 or more than 4% of Turkmenistan's territory.
Zakaznik is a type of protected area in former Soviet republics such as Belarus, Russia, Ukraine that meets World Conservation Union's (IUCN) category IV, or more frequently category VI criteria. Many zakazniks have traditionally been managed as game reserves. Some protect complex ecosystems, colonies of birds, or populations of rare plants. They range in size from 0.5 ha to 6,000,000 ha.
Turkmenistan, formerly known as Turkmenia, officially the Republic of Turkmenistan, is a country in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north and east, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. The population of the country is 5.6 million, the lowest of the Central Asian republics and one of the most sparsely populated in Asia.
It is part of Köpetdag Nature Reserve. Its purpose of creation is studying, preservation of all natural complex of the Central Köpetdag, maintenance of necessary conditions of dwelling and rest for migrant birds, restoration of specific structure of rare and valuable kinds of animals, in particular kulans.
Köpetdag Nature Reserve is a nature reserve (zapovednik) of Turkmenistan.
The Turkmenian kulan, also called Transcaspian wild ass, Turkmenistani onager or simply the kulan, is a subspecies of onager native to Central Asia. It was declared Endangered in 2016.
