The Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a felid native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. The Snow leopard is adapted to living in a cold, mountainous environment and is capable of killing most animals in its range.
The Snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a large, white owl of the true owl family. It has a number of unique adaptations to its habitat and lifestyle, which are quite distinct from other extant owls. Most owls sleep during the day and hunt at night, but...
The Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) is a critically endangered antelope that during antiquity inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe. During the Pleistocene, they also occurred in Beringian North America and the British Isles. It is extirpated...
The Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus ), also known as the Himalayan red bear, isabelline bear or Dzu-Teh, is a subspecies of the brown bear and is known from northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, west China and...
The Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) is a threatened species of tortoise found only in Central Asia. Human activities in its native habitat contribute to its threatened status.
The Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) is the world's third most endangered species of crane. Amongst cranes, its serrated bill makes it unique and enables it to easily feed on underground roots and slippery prey items. Among the cranes,...
The Great bustard (Otis tarda) is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus Otis. It is one of the heaviest birds alive today that can fly. Great bustards are found in Europe and Portugal and Spain now have about 60% of the world's...
The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is a small Old World vulture widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa to India. The contrasting underwing pattern and wedge-shaped tail make this bird distinctive in flight as it...
The Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) is a large graceful bird of prey that breeds in Eurasia. Like all eagles, the Eastern imperial eagle is a member of the family Accipitridae. Furthermore, its well-feathered legs mark it as a member of the...
The saker falcon (Falco cherrug ) is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia, the...
The Steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) is a large and impressive raptor. Its well-feathered legs illustrate it to be a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as the "booted eagles". The Steppe eagle is in many ways a peculiar species of eagle....
The urial ( OOR-ee-əl; Ovis vignei ), also known as the arkars or shapo, is a wild sheep native to Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
The Swan goose (Anser cygnoides) is a large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, northernmost China, and the Russian Far East. While uncommon in the wild, this species has been domesticated. Introduced and feral populations of its...
The Siberian musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) is a musk deer found in the mountain forests of Northeast Asia. The small shape of these animals allows them to hide from predators through tiny openings in the rocky terrain and also allows them to run...
The long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis ), formerly known as oldsquaw, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only...
The greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga ), occasionally just called the spotted eagle, is a large bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs indicate it as a member of the subfamily Aquilinae,...
The common pochard (; Aythya ferina ) is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ferina, "wild game", from ferus, "wild".
The Caspian seal (Pusa caspica or Phoca caspica ) is one of the smallest members of the earless seal family and unique in that it is found exclusively in the brackish Caspian Sea. They are found not only along the shorelines, but also on the many...
The marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna ) is a small mammal belonging to the monotypic genus Vormela within the mustelid subfamily Ictonychinae. Vormela is from the German word Würmlein, which means "little worm". The specific name peregusna comes...
The goitered or black-tailed gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa ) is a gazelle found in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, parts of Iraq and Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and in northwest China and Mongolia....
The horned grebe or Slavonian grebe (Podiceps auritus ) is a relatively small waterbird in the family Podicipedidae. There are two known subspecies: P. a. auritus, which breeds in the Palearctic, and P. a. cornutus, which breeds in North America....
The Russian desman (Desmana moschata ) (Russian: выхухоль vykhukhol' ) is a small semiaquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga, Don and Ural River basins in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It constructs burrows into the banks of ponds and slow-moving...
The red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis ) is a brightly marked species of goose in the genus Branta from Eurasia. It is currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
The white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala ) is a small diving duck some 45 cm (18 in) long. The male has a white head with black crown, a blue bill, and reddish-grey plumage. The female has a dark bill and rather duller colouring. Its breeding...
The beluga, also known as the beluga sturgeon or great sturgeon (Huso huso), is a species of anadromous fish in the sturgeon family (Acipenseridae) of order Acipenseriformes. It is found primarily in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, and formerly in...
The white-naped crane (Antigone vipio ) is a bird of the crane family. It is a large bird, 112–125 cm (44–49 in) long, about 130 cm (4.3 ft) tall, and weighing about 5.6 kg (12 lb), with pinkish legs, a grey-and-white-striped neck, and a red face...
The haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Melanogrammus. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas, where it is an...
Pallas's fish eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus ), also known as Pallas's sea eagle or band-tailed fish eagle, is a large, brownish sea eagle. It breeds in the east Palearctic in Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, China,...
The lesser white-fronted goose (Anser erythropus ) is a goose closely related to the larger white-fronted goose (A. albifrons ). It breeds in the northernmost Palearctic, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe. There is a re-introduction scheme in...
The sociable lapwing or sociable plover (Vanellus gregarius ) is a critically endangered wader in the lapwing family of birds. The genus name is Medieval Latin for a lapwing and derives from vannus a winnowing fan. The specific gregarius is Latin...
MacQueen's bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii ) is a large bird in the bustard family. It is native to the desert and steppe regions of Asia, west from the Sinai Peninsula extending across Kazakhstan east to Mongolia. In the 19th century, vagrants were...
The European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic including north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to winter.
The slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris ) is a bird in the wader family Scolopacidae. Isotope analysis suggests the majority of the former population bred in the Kazakh Steppe despite a record from the Siberian swamps, and was migratory,...
The yellow-breasted bunting (Emberiza aureola ) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae that is found across the Boreal and East Palearctic. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific aureola is Latin...
The greater noctule bat (Nyctalus lasiopterus ) is a rare carnivorous bat found in Europe, West Asia, and North Africa. It is the largest and least studied bat in Europe with a wingspan of up to 46 centimetres (18 in) and is one of the few bat...
The Eurasian carp or European carp (Cyprinus carpio), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The native wild populations are considered vulnerable to...
The marbled duck, or marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris ) is a medium-sized species of duck from southern Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia. The scientific name, Marmaronetta angustirostris, comes from the Greek marmaros,...
The velvet scoter (Melanitta fusca ), also called a velvet duck, is a large sea duck, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic west of the Yenisey basin. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas "black" and netta...
Altai argali (Ovis ammon ammon ) is a traditional subspecies of argali, a wild sheep that roams the highlands of the Altai Mountains in Central Asia.Altai argali are the largest sheep in the world and also have the heaviest horns. The horns of...
The rustic bunting (Emberiza rustica ) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific...
The yellow-eyed pigeon or pale-backed pigeon (Columba eversmanni ) is a member of the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). It breeds in southern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, north-east Iran and extreme...
The Menzbier's marmot (Marmota menzbieri ) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae from Central Asia. Its name commemorates Russian zoologist Mikhail Aleksandrovich Menzbier.
