Residents of Almaty have filmed rats freely running along the paths of the Botanical Garden. The footage shows rodents dashing onto the pavement before disappearing into the bushes.
"It's a rather unpleasant sight and even dangerous, given how many children play in the Botanical Garden. Rats are carriers of various diseases. Why isn't deratisation being carried out here?" says the author of the video.
According to Tengrinews.kz, the situation was commented on by Bayankospenbayeva, PR Director of the Institute of Botany and Plant Introduction.
She explained that the Botanical Garden is a specially protected natural area where only gentle methods of rodent control are used.
"The Botanical Garden has a large number of green spaces, which naturally become a wonderful home for a vast number of animals, insects, and birds. We have many squirrels, pheasants, and a huge variety of birds here. In other words, our territory is practically a wild landscape with its own ecosystem. If we were to use any pesticides to poison rats, it would affect the entire ecosystem, killing not only the rats but also the squirrels and other animals," explains Kospenbayeva.
According to her, rats feed on plant debris and hide in plant rhizomes, so it is impossible to get rid of them completely.
"We prohibit picnics on the territory of the Botanical Garden. Because people bring food with them, leave it behind, and this attracts rats. Therefore, we only allow visitors here to walk along the designated paths and trails, look at our nature, and leave, having no impact on this nature whatsoever," the specialist notes.
She added that the number of rats has increased in recent years. This is linked not only to the Botanical Garden but also to the general situation in the city.
"I know that it’s not just the Botanical Garden facing this; in principle, there are very many complaints. I have personally seen rats crawling along the aryks. And that is another problem; no matter how hard we try to exterminate rats on our own territory, they will come from the city streets, because they find a favourable environment here," concluded Bayan Kospenbayeva.
For the record, it was previously reported that in Aktau, instances of rodents appearing on the city embankment have become more frequent. Local residents are filming videos of rats freely running along the promenade. The recordings are actively being shared on social media.