The Commission of the Institute of Zoology, formed by order No. 30-P dated November 14, 2023, reviewed and made changes to the list of Kazakh animal names and zoological terminology based on decisions made during discussions. On May 10, 2024, a meeting was held to reconsider the Kazakh name of the Przewalski’s horse, with the participation of Daniyar Galymovich Turgambaev, Chairman of the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This was due to disagreements among historians and ethnographers regarding the correspondence of the Kazakh name “керқұлан” (“kerqulan”). Historians and ethnographers proposed replacing the Kazakh name of the Przewalski’s horse with “кертағы” (“kertaghy”).
The meeting was attended by the director of the Institute of Zoology, R.V. Yashchenko; the chairman of the commission on Kazakh animal names and zoological terminology, P.A. Yesenbekova; commission members: B.E. Eszhanov, Doctor of Philosophy A.B. Eszhanov, candidate of historical sciences R.N. Shoibekov, research fellow M.Q. Arystanbayev, advisor to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources S.A. Kalkamanov, Doctor of Historical Sciences and ethnographer A.U. Toktabay, candidate of historical sciences N. A. Alimbay, deputy director of ASBC S.L. Skliarenko, head of the biocenology and hunting laboratory of the Institute of Zoology K.N. Plakhov.
During the meeting, each participant expressed their thoughts, relying on literary sources, and shared their reasoning. As a result, it was decided that the Kazakh name of the Przewalski’s horse remains “керқұлан” (“kerqulan”) as it was before, and “кертағы” (“kertaghy”) is added with a comma. This decision was made based on the fact that historical sources often mentioned it as “кертағы” (“kertaghy”). Now in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, the Przewalski’s horse will be designated as “керқұлан, кертағы” (“kerqulan, kertaghy”).
May 16, 2024