Tasbaqa: Central Asian Tortoise on the Ustyurt PlateauCEFR B2
31 Aug 2025
Adapted from Vlast.kz, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by GWANGJIN GO, Unsplash
The Ustyurt Plateau is a large clay desert that crosses Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and western Kazakhstan and is the natural home of the Central Asian tortoise, called Tasbaqa in Kazakh. Human activity now represents the main threat to the tortoise and other regional species: animals are traded, sometimes killed unintentionally, and can be caught in cattle trenches.
British director Saxon Bosworth completed a short documentary titled TASBAQA that focuses on the life of the threatened Central Asian tortoise. Bosworth first encountered the plateau in 2020 on the Karakalpak side of Uzbekistan while documenting artemia brine shrimp. He said he was struck by the 21–23 million-year-old rock layers that form the cliffs and valleys, which he described using local terms he called "chinks" and "sors." After long discussions with local researchers, he decided to tell the tortoise’s story.
The film follows what Bosworth describes as a day in the life of a tortoise; that single day represents the two-to-three month active window for Ustyurt tortoises. The animals emerge in late March to mate and feed and return in May to long hibernation. Tasbaqa of the Ustyurt can sleep for up to 10 months. Bosworth emphasises the long relationship between the tortoise and its ecosystem, a symbiosis he says has lasted more than 1 million years.
The documentary was shown in July at the Royal Geographical Society in London and includes a traditional Kazakh soundtrack recorded by two dombra masters: Kosaman Saparbayev from Zhanaozen in Mangystau performs Tokpe kuy, and Ali Akyltai from Almaty performs Shertpe kuy. The soundtrack is available as a live performance on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. Conservation groups and the filmmaker attach practical aims to the project: Yuliya Zaugg, director of the Tasbaqa Fund, said the film gives tortoises a voice, and Bosworth hopes it will raise awareness and draw attention and support to the Tasbaqa Fund to help protect the tortoise and the fragile Ustyurt ecosystem.
Difficult words
- plateau — a flat high area of land
- tortoise — a land turtle with a hard shelltortoises
- hibernation — a long period of sleeping in winter
- symbiosis — a close relationship where both species benefit
- ecosystem — all living things and environment interacting together
- documentary — a factual film about real events or people
- trench — a long narrow hole or ditch in the groundtrenches
- trade — to buy, sell or exchange goodstraded
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- What practical actions could help protect the Tasbaqa and the fragile Ustyurt ecosystem? Give reasons.
- How can a documentary and traditional music help raise awareness for conservation?
- What role should local researchers and international filmmakers play in protecting regional species?
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