Life in the Regions: The Bear Fled in Panic — Talas Ranger Batyrkan Kutmanaliev Told about an Incident with Tourists

Viktor Sizov • 21.04.2026, 17:59 • Society / Exclusive

In the Talas region, in the Bakai-Ata district, lives 55-year-old Batyrkan Kutmanaliev, who works as a ranger. The information portal Turmush spoke with him.

Batyrkan was born in the village of Tuyto and completed school in 1987. Then he continued his education at an institution in the city of Andropov in the Yaroslavl region, where he studied ‘forestry’. After a year and a half, he was drafted into military service and spent three years and eight months in Germany. Returning to his homeland, he engaged in agriculture, bred livestock, and developed animal husbandry, working on a jailoo.

‘In 2016, I started working as a ranger, noticing how I labored in the mountains. Since then, my job is to protect nature. In recent years, I also hold the position of head of the tourism direction in the Talas region. We are always glad to see tourists and pay attention to each of them. During mountain walks, our main task is to ensure their safety. We monitor the condition of tourists, making pauses so they can rest and regain strength,’ he says.

The nature of Talas attracts many foreign tourists. Guests from Germany and other European countries react especially enthusiastically when they encounter wild animals. For them, observing argali, mountain goats, and other representatives of the fauna becomes a real event,’ adds Batyrkan.

Kutmanaliev also notes that tourists are interested in local medicinal herbs and their properties. ‘We share knowledge passed down from our ancestors, explaining how to use this or that herb. Sometimes, being in nature, tourists feel complete unity with it. Such moments remain in memory for both them and us. I jokingly say that we Kyrgyz experience similar feelings when we acquire something valuable, like a new car,’ he says.

Working in this field, Batyrkan encounters many interesting and sometimes unexpected situations. For example, once a girl from Germany met a guy during her visit, then returned to the country to marry him. Now they live together and raise three children, which clearly shows how tourism can unite people.

However, there are also dangerous moments. ‘Once a group of young people met a bear in the mountains and returned in panic. Such cases remind that one must always be careful in nature. The bear appeared unexpectedly, and as a result, both sides ran in different directions,’ he shares.

We conduct various events in the mountains, care for wildlife, and monitor the condition of animals in winter, preparing feed for them. From childhood, I dreamed of protecting nature, and I managed to fulfill this dream. I have a wife, with whom we raise three daughters and two sons. My children continue my path and grow with respect for nature. Here, in the mountains, the air is especially clean, and the water is transparent. Our ancestors said that when water hits the stones, it boils. When you get to the city, the contrast between these worlds is felt especially strongly,’ he emphasizes.