Wildlife Shelter of Sutav

Wildlife Shelter of Sutav is located in the West Azerbaijan Province with the geographical direction of East 46°11' and North 36°33'. Sutav fields in Bukan are now the main habitat for great bustards in the country.
Thanks to the desirable and unique conditions of this zone, it has become a major habitat for the rare birds of the great bustard in the country.
Sutav, which is a hill stretching 400 hectares in the village of Hammamian in the town of Bukan, receives 20 to 25 of this rare bird each year. Recently, the Administration of West Azerbaijan Province Protection has announced the region as the shelter for great bustards in the province.
The areas these birds live throughout the province include Azad, Bajvand, and Kani Sib in Mahabad, Sutav, Hammamiyan, and Yengjeh in Bukan.
The birds have been under the threat of extinction due to limiting their natural habitats, irregular hunting and interfering in their habitat and their oviposition.
The bustards as rare birds in the globe are currently recorded on the red list of International Union for Conservation of population and natural resources law.
Called Che Rag in the local language, the bird is of the family of Hubregan which lives in the expansive fields void of trees, steppe lands, wide fields of grains, and meadows.
The birds have long neck and legs with wings and wide beak as well as colorful feathers and make their nest on the ground. Great bustards lay 2 to 4 eggs every time during spring and after 25 to 27 days the chicks are born.
Considered the largest birds in the country, they resemble turkeys in many ways in terms of their shape and body. In the past they used to live in scattered stretches of land in the northwest of the country but nowadays, Bukan has become the last habitat for the rare birds throughout the country.
The scarce bird, now on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Population and Natural Resources, is seen in the fields in Bukan and 33 of them in the region have strengthened the hope for maintaining the lives of these migratory birds.