Oigon Lake (28310)
Mongolia, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Oigon Lake
Central coordinates: Latitude: 49.1167, Longitude: 96.6000
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1664 to 1664
Area of KBA (km2): 200.19887
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This is a beautiful steppe lake located in a valley between Bulnai and Khan Khokhii mountains. The site comprises Oigon Lake and two nearby lakes: Shorbog Nuur; and Nogoon Nuur. Several small rivers enter the lake from the north, creating a marshy and wet grassland delta. Some streams have stopped running because of drought, however.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas)
Additional biodiversity: The Globally Threatened Saker Falcon Falco cherrug (EN) occurs at the site. The site regularly supports at least 1% of the flyway population of Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea, while Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula and Herring Gull Larus argentatus occur in numbers that almost meet the 1% threshold. Non-bird biodiversity: Grey Wolf Canis lupus, Red Fox Vulpes vulpes, Pallas’s Cat Felis manul (NT) and Siberian Marmot Marmota sibirica (EN) occur at the site.