On 14 October, Professor Herwig Leirs, Rector of the University of Antwerp (Belgium), visited the Institute of Zoology of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Professor Leirs arrived in Kazakhstan as part of the Belgian delegation accompanying the King of the Belgians during his visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan.

On 9 October 2026, the Institute of Zoology hosted an informational and methodological seminar for young researchers on preparing and submitting applications for the Zhas Galym research grant competition.

Research in the Western Tien Shan has led to the rediscovery of a little-known species and the description of a new subgenus, Graeserotodes

Researchers from the Laboratory of Paleozoology of the Institute of Zoology of the Republic of Kazakhstan visited the museum at Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University. Their attention was drawn to a dinosaur skeleton discovered during excavations in the Turkistan Region.

As part of the “Zhas Galym” grant funding program for research by young scientists for 2026–2028, project leader Sanzhar Kantarbayev, Junior Researcher at the Center for Biocenology and Game Management of the Institute of Zoology of the Republic of Kazakhstan, completed an internship at the Evenstad Campus of Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN University, Norway).

On September 24, the premiere of the Kazakhstani documentary “SAVE THE TORTOISE”, dedicated to the work of the TASBAQA Nature Conservation Foundation to conserve the Central Asian tortoise and its habitat, was held at SmArt Space in Almaty.

Researchers from the Institute of Zoology participated in the International Scientific and Practical Conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Aksu-Zhabagly State Nature Reserve.

On September 9–12, 2026, the International Scientific Conference “Bird Migration in Asia in the 21st Century: Results, Challenges and Prospects” was held to mark the 60th anniversary of the Shaqpaq Ornithological Station of the Institute of Zoology of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan continues to manage zoonotic disease risks, with veterinary surveillance in Almaty Region detecting brucellosis in 149 cattle and 20 small ruminants during the first half of 2026. Against this backdrop, professionals from four protected-areas, wildlife researchers and biosafety specialists met in Almaty from 15 to 17 September to strengthen practical approaches to reducing zoonotic spillover risks.

On August 26, 2026, a meeting took place at the Institute of Zoology between Ramaz Gokhelashvili, the new Director of WWF Central Asia, and Aydin Baurzhanovich Yeszhanov, the Institute’s Director General.