Korgalzhynsky State Natural Reserve is situated 130 km. to the Southeast of Astana. The nature reserve was founded in 1968 for the sake of boggy water rights preservation, the habitat of flamingo, pelican and other birds.

The total area of the nature reserve is 2,371 sq. km. The larger part of the territory is occupied with salt and sweet ponds. The territory is some kind of a “double-lake”, i.e. the running lake Kurgaldgyn and the closed Tengiz. A multitude of biological samples are concentrated in the reserve their vital activity being incidental with the dry steppe lakes.

Four specimen of flora are preserved there. Boggy-water, water-meadow and steppe vegetation prevail here;
In general the flora counts about 331 kinds of flower plants which are 23% of the Central Kazakhstan flora. Among the flower species are two disappearing ones such as Shrenka Tulip and White Water Lily included in The Red Book.

The reserve is registered as the “A” group of the Ramsarovsk Convention list.

There also are nearly 8 species of moss-growth, some of them not having been found on the territory before.

On the territory of the reserve is a favorable habitat of vertebral.There live 41 kinds of mammals, belonging to 6 orders (it is about 26.5% of the fauna of Kazakhstan). The most numerous classes are the rodent (about 24 species).

About 299 species of 23 classes of birds (nearly 60%) are also found on the territory of the reserve. There are 32 species (14% of the ornitofauna of the reserve) of the birds included in The Red Book.

Pink pelican (about 80-120 couples) are frequently met on the territory of the reserve beginning with 1994.

Nesting flamingos is the biggest population in the Central Asia (16000 species), Lapponean goose counts about 5000 species.

Ihtiofauna is represented by 12 fish species, which is 10% of the ihtiofauna of Kazakhstan. The most numerous species are: the crucian, the perch, the roach, and the pike.

There are 3 species of the creepers: the steppe adder, the colored lizard, and the jumping lizard; 2 species of the amphibious: the green toad, the sharp muzzled frog.

Site: http://kor.bk.kz/ru/