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Home » Kazakhstan animals world. Tours and excursions in the fauna of southern Kazakhstan.

Snakes of Caspian Sea.

Hypertological tours in Mangyshlak.

“The true goodness of a person in all its purity and freedom can manifest itself only in relation to one who does not have any power. The true moral test of mankind, that most important test (hidden so deeply that it escapes our sight) is rooted in its attitude towards those who are given to it in power: to animals. And here a person suffers a complete collapse, so complete that it is from him that all the rest follow.

Milan Kundera. "Unbearable Lightness of Being."

Snakes on Mangyshlak.

Video film: Bull-calves in Sarytash Bay on Caspian Sea. Mangistau region. Western Kazakhstan.

Sarytash berth is located in the Mangistau region of the Mangistau region on the southern coast of the Sarytash Gulf. The berth is currently not working. In the 30s of the last century, a narrow-gauge railway with a length of 26 kilometers was laid to the pier, along the "narrow-gauge railway" coal was transported from mines in the vicinity of the Taushyk village.
Only 11 kilometers of this road were laid along the plain and the shore of the southern part of Sarytash Bay, the remaining 16 kilometers were laid along the Kumakapa River. It should be noted that the narrow gauge road was laid to the Donspan building in the Taushyk tract, which is located 5 kilometers northwest of the Taushyk village.
Coal mines were located 2 kilometers west of the village of Taushyk. From coal mines to the Donspan building, coal was transported by truck. At this time, an embankment of large stones has been laid to the pier, on both sides of the embankment, among the stones this place was chosen by a large number of bull-calves, this is already water (Natrix tessellata).
Watery spends time in water much more than ordinary watery one. It feeds mainly on fish (60%), less often amphibians. Spends the night on land, in the morning it warms up in the sun and goes hunting for water.
Having caught the prey, it crawls back to the shore, where it swallows it and either goes for new fish, or arranges to digest the prey. Often hunts gobies, for which he received the nickname "bull-calves". It also winters on land, in spring appears in March - April, the mating season in April - May.
He leaves for the winter in October-November. The main enemies of snakes are birds of prey and mammals. Watermark is not aggressive, at the sight of a person he usually tries to hide in water or in shelter. Bites are extremely rare. For humans, they practically do not pose any danger.

Authority and photos:
Alexander Petrov.