Current view: Text account
Site description (2007 baseline):
Site location and context
Ikh Nartiin Chuluu is located 300 km southeast of Ulaanbaatar in Dalanjargalan and Airag
soums, Dornogobi aimag. The site is an ‘island’ of rocky terrain and canyons, rising up from the surrounding desert steppe. Willow and elm trees grow among the rocks and ravines. Freshwater springs supply the Ikh Nart valley, where there are many streams and
ponds. Khalzan, a historical spar, is located in the northwest of the site. This area is an important winter shelter for local people and their livestock. There are many abandoned mines at the site, which, in the absence of rehabilitation activities, have contributed to soil erosion. Disturbance, poaching and pollution from artisanal mining are the main threats to biodiversity at the site. Livestock and human waste are polluting the freshwater springs, while illegal hunting and domestic dogs are threatening the populations of wild ungulates.
The site supports one Globally Threatened bird species, Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni (VU), as well as the Near Threatened Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus (NT). The site also supports an assemblage of species restricted to the Eurasian steppe and desert biome.
Non-bird biodiversity: Several Globally Threatened mammals occur at the site, including Argali Ovis ammon (NT), Siberian Ibex Capra sibirica, Goitered Gazelle Gazella subgutturosa (VU), Mongolian Gazelle Procapra gutturosa and Asiatic Wild Ass Equus hemionus (EN). In winter, hundreds of Mongolian Gazelle remain in the area.
Fully protected by Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve (Mongolia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ikh-nartiin-chuluu-nature-reserve-iba-mongolia on 25/12/2024.
