Thesaiga antelope (Saiga tatarica,/ˈsaɪɡə/) orsaiga is a species ofantelope which duringantiquity inhabited a vast area of theEurasian steppe, spanning the foothills of theCarpathian Mountains in the northwest andCaucasus in the southwest into Mongolia in the northeast andDzungaria in the southeast. During thePleistocene, it ranged across themammoth steppe from the British Isles toBeringia. Today, the dominant subspecies (S. t. tatarica) only occurs inKalmykia andAstrakhan Oblast of Russia and in theUral Mountains,Ustyurt Plateau andBetpak-Dala regions of Kazakhstan. A portion of the Ustyurt population migrates south to Uzbekistan and occasionally to Turkmenistan in winter. It is regionally extinct in Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, China and southwestern Mongolia. The Mongolian subspecies (S. t. mongolica) occurs only in western Mongolia.[3][4]
S. t. tatarica(Linnaeus, 1766): also known as the Russian saiga, it is only to be found today in central Asia.
S. t. mongolicaBannikov, 1946: also known as theMongolian saiga, it is sometimes treated as an independent species, or as subspecies of thePleistoceneSaiga borealis;[1] it is confined to Mongolia.
In 1945, American paleontologistGeorge Gaylord Simpson classified both in thetribe Saigini under the same subfamily,Caprinae. Subsequent authors were not certain about the relationship between the two, untilphylogenetic studies in the 1990s revealed that though morphologically similar, theTibetan antelope is closer to the Caprinae while the saiga is closer to the Antilopinae.[8]
In a revision of thephylogeny of thetribeAntilopini on the basis ofnuclear andmitochondrial data in 2013, Eva Verena Bärmann (of theUniversity of Cambridge) and colleagues showed that the saiga issister to theclade formed by thespringbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) and thegerenuk (Litocranius walleri).[9] The study noted that the saiga and the springbok could be considerably different from the rest of the antilopines; a 2007 phylogenetic study suggested that the two form a clade sister to the gerenuk.[10] The cladogram below is based on the 2013 study.[9]
Fossils of saiga, concentrated mainly in central and northern Eurasia, date to as early as the latePleistocene (nearly 0.1Mya).[11] Several species of extinctSaiga from the Pleistocene of Eurasia and Alaska have been named, includingS. borealis,[12]S. prisca,S. binagadensis andS. ricei, although more recent studies suggest that these prehistoric representatives were merely geographical variants of the extant species that was formerly much more widespread.[13] Fossils excavated from the Buran Kaya III site (Crimea) date back to the transition from Pleistocene toHolocene.[14] The morphology of saiga does not seem to have changed significantly since prehistoric times.[2]
Before the Holocene, the saiga ranged across themammoth steppe from as far west as modern-day England and France to as far east as northern Siberia, Alaska, and probably Canada.[15] The antelope gradually entered the Urals, though it did not colonise southern Europe. A 2010 study revealed that a steep decline has occurred in the genetic variability of the saiga since the late Pleistocene-Holocene, probably due to apopulation bottleneck.[16]
A prominent feature of the saiga is the pair of closely spaced, bloated nostrils directed downward. Other facial features include theproboscis, dark markings on the cheeks and the 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) long ears. Its head-and-body length is typically between 100 and 140 cm (39 and 55 in) with a 6–12 cm (2.4–4.7 in) short tail, and it stands 61–81 cm (24–32 in) at the shoulder. It weighs 26–69 kg (57–152 lb).[2][17]
Thecoat shows seasonal changes. In summer, the coat appears yellow to red, fading toward the flanks. The Mongolian saiga can develop a sandy colour. The coat develops a pale, grayish-brown colour in winter, with a hint of brown on the belly and the neck. Theventral parts are generally white. The hair is 18–30 mm (0.71–1.18 in) long in summer and can grow up to 40–70 mm (1.6–2.8 in) in winter. This forms a 12 to 15 cm (4.7 to 5.9 in) long mane on the neck. Two distinctmoults occur, one in spring from April to May and another in autumn from late September or early October to late November or early December.[2][7]
Only males have horns that are thick and slightly translucent, wax-coloured and show 12 to 20 pronounced rings. With a base diameter of 25–33 mm (0.98–1.30 in), the horns of the Russian saiga measure 28–38 cm (11–15 in) in length; the horns of the Mongolian saiga reach a maximum length of 22 cm (8.7 in).[2][7]
Saigas form very large herds that graze insemideserts,steppes, grasslands, and possibly open woodlands, eating several species of plants, including some that are poisonous to other animals. They can cover long distances and swim across rivers, but they avoid steep or rugged areas. The mating season starts in November, when stags fight for the acceptance of females. The winner leads a herd of five to ten, occasionally up to 50 females.[2] In springtime, mothers come together in mass to give birth.[18]
Herd of saiga antelope gathered at the water's edge in westernKazakhstanFawn hidden in the grasses
In the mid-2010s, the populations declined enormously – as much as 95% in 15 years.[20] This led the saiga to be classified ascritically endangered on theIUCN Red List. In more recent years, the saiga has experienced massive regrowth. As of 2022, there is an estimated number of 1.38 million saiga surviving in Kazakhstan, per an April aerial count.[21] As of December 2023, the global saiga antelope population is estimated to number 922,600–988,500 mature individuals.[1]
In May 2010, an estimated 12,000 of the 26,000 saiga population in theUral region of Kazakhstan were found dead. Although the deaths are currently being ascribed topasteurellosis, an infectious disease that strikes the lungs and intestines, the underlying trigger remains to be identified.[22] In May 2015, what may be the same disease broke out in three northern regions of the country.[23] As of 28 May 2015, more than 120,000 saigas had been confirmed dead in theBetpak-Dala population in central Kazakhstan, representing more than a third of the global population.[24] By April 2016, the saigas appeared to be making a comeback, with an increase of population from 31,000 to 36,000 in the Betpak-Dala area.[25] In April 2021 a survey in Kazakhstan found that the saiga population had risen from an estimated 334,000 to 842,000. The population increase was partially attributed to the government crackdown onpoaching and the establishment of conservation areas.[26] UK charityRSPB reported in 2022 that, partly due to their conservation efforts, as well as the designation of the Bokey Orda-Ashiozek protected area by the Kazakhstan government, the population had now risen to a peak of 1.32 million.[27]
The saiga was not present in Europe during theEemian.[28] During thelast glacial period, it ranged from theBritish Isles throughCentral Asia and theBering Strait intoAlaska and Canada'sYukon andNorthwest Territories. By the classical age, they were apparently considered a characteristic animal ofScythia, judging from the historianStrabo's description of an animal called thekolos that was "between the deer and ram in size" and was wrongly believed to drink through its nose.[29]
Considerable evidence shows the importance of the antelope toAndronovo culture settlements. Illustrations of saiga antelopes can be found among thecave paintings that were dated back to seventh to fifth century BC. Moreover, saiga bones were found among the remains of other wild animals near the human settlements.[30]
The fragmented information shows an abundance of saigas on the territory of modern Kazakhstan in the 14th-16th centuries. The migratory routes ranged throughout the country's area, especially the region between theVolga andUral Rivers was heavily populated.[31] The population's size remained high until the second half of the 19th century, when excessive horn export began. The high price and demand for horns drove radical hunting. The number of animals decreased in all regions and the migratory routes shifted southward.[32] Populations in Ukraine were driven to extirpation in the 18th century.[1]
After a rapid decline, they were nearly completely exterminated in the 1920s, but they were able to recover. By 1950, two million of them were found in the steppes of the USSR. Their population fell drastically following the collapse of the USSR due to uncontrolled hunting and demand for horns in Chinese medicine. At one point, some conservation groups, such as theWorld Wildlife Fund, encouraged the hunting of this species, as its horn was presented as an alternative to that of arhinoceros.[33]
The horn of the saiga antelope is used intraditional Chinese medicine and can sell for as much as US$150. Demand for the horns drives poaching and smuggling, which has wiped out the population in China, where the saiga antelope is aclass I protected species.[35]
In June 2014, Chinese customs at the Kazakh border uncovered 66 cases containing 2,351 saiga antelope horns, estimated to be worth over Y70.5 million (US$11 million).[36]In June 2015, E. J. Milner-Gulland (chair ofSaiga Conservation Alliance) said: "Antipoaching needs to be a top priority for the Russian and Kazakh governments."[18]
Saigas have been a target of hunting since prehistoric ages, when hunting was an essential means to acquire food. Saigas' horns, meat, and skin have commercial value and are exported from Kazakhstan.
Saiga horn, known asCornu Antelopis, is one of the main ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine that is used as an extract or powder additive to the elixirs, ointments, and drinks. Saiga horn's value is equal torhinoceros horn, whose trade was banned in 1993. Cornu Antelopis is thought to be a cheaper substitute of rare rhino horn in most TCM recipes.[37]
In the period from 1955 to 1989, over 87 thousand tonnes of meat were collected in Kazakhstan by killing more than five million saiga.[38]In 2011, Kazakhstan reaffirmed a ban on hunting saiga and extended this ban until 2021.[39] Hunting of the species was allowed in Kazakhstan in 2025 due to concerns over damage to crops and rapid population growth.[40]
Saiga meat is compared tolamb, considered to be nutritious and delicious. Numerous recipes for cooking the antelope's meat can be found.[41] Both meat and byproducts are sold in the country and outside of it. About 45–80 dm2 of skin can be harvested from one individual depending on its age and sex.[32]
Agricultural advancement and human settlements have been shrinking habitat areas of the saigas since the 20th century.[32] Occupants limited saiga's passage to water resources and the winter and summer habitats. The ever-changing face of steppe requires saigas to search for new routes to their habitual lands. Currently, saiga populations' migratory routes pass five countries and different human-made constructions, such as railways, trenches, mining sites, and pipelines.[32] These physical barriers limit movement of the antelopes. Cases of saiga herds being trapped within fenced areas and starving to death have been reported.[42]
Saigas are dependent on weather and affected by climate fluctuations to a great extent due to their migratory nature.[43] Harsh winters with strong winds or high snow coverage prevent them from feeding on the underlying grass. Population size usually dramatically decreases after severe cold months.[32] Recent trends in climate change have increased the aridity of the steppe region, leading an estimated 14% or more of available pastureland to be considered degraded and useless.[44] Concurrently, small steppe rivers dry faster, limiting water resources to large lakes and rivers, which are usually populated by human settlements; high temperatures in the steppe region lead to springtime floods, in which saiga calves can drown.[32]
Forungulates,mass mortalities are not uncommon. In the 1980s, several saiga die-offs occurred, and between 2010 and 2014, one occurred every year. The deaths could be linked to calving aggregation, which is when they are most vulnerable.[18] More recent research involving a mass die-off in 2015 indicates warmer weather and attendant humidity led bacteria common in saiga antelopes to move into the bloodstream and causehemorrhagic septicemia.[45]
In May 2015, uncommonly large numbers of saigas began to die from a mysteriousepizootic illness suspected to bepasteurellosis.[18][46] Herd fatality is 100% once infected, with an estimated 40% of the species' total population already dead.[47] More than 120,000 carcasses had been found by late May 2015, while the estimated total population was only 250,000.[48]
Biologist Murat Nurushev suggested that the cause might be acuteruminal tympany, whose symptoms (bloating, mouth foaming, and diarrhea) had been observed in dead saiga antelopes.[49] According to Nurushev, this disease occurred as a result of foraging on a large amount of easily fermenting plants (alfalfa,clover,sainfoins, and mixed wet, green grass).[49] In May 2015, theUnited Nations agency which is involved in saiga conservation efforts issued a statement that the mass die-off had ended.[citation needed] By June 2015, no definitive cause for the epizootic had been found.[50]
At a scientific meeting in November 2015 inTashkent, Uzbekistan, Dr. Richard A. Kock (of theRoyal Veterinary College in London) reported that his colleagues and he had narrowed down the possible culprits. Climate change and stormy spring weather, they said, may have transformed harmless bacteria, carried by the saigas, into lethal pathogens.[51]
Pasteurella multocida, abacterium, was determined to be the cause of death. The bacterium occurs in the antelopes and is normally harmless; the reason for the change in behavior of the bacterium is unknown.[52]
Now, scientists and researchers believe the unusually warm and wet uncontrolled environmental variables caused the bacterium to enter the bloodstream and become septic.Hemorrhagic septicemia is the likely cause of the most recent deaths[53] The change of the bacteria may be attributed to "the response of opportunistic microbes to changing environmental conditions".[54]
The Betpak-Dala saiga population in central Kazakhstan, which saw the most deaths, increased from 31,000 after the epidemic to 36,000 by April 2016.[52]
In late 2016, a large loss of the population happened in Mongolia. The etiology was confirmed to begoat plague in early 2017.[55]
^Neronov, V. M.; Arylova, N. Yu.; Dubinin, M. Yu.; Karimova, T. Yu.; Lushchekina, A. A. (2013). "Current state and prospects of preserving saiga antelope in Northwest Pre-Caspian region".Arid Ecosystems.3 (2):57–64.Bibcode:2013ArEco...3...57N.doi:10.1134/S2079096113020078.S2CID18451816.
^Linnaeus, C. (1766)."Capra tatarica".Systema Naturae: per Regna tria Natura, secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Vol. t.1, pt. 1 (Regnum animale) (1766) (12th ed.). Impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. p. 97.
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^Nadachowski, A.; Lipecki, G.; Ratajczak, Urszula; Stefaniak, K.; Wojtal, P. (2016). "Dispersal events of the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) in Central Europe in response to the climatic fluctuations in MIS 2 and the early part of MIS 1".Quaternary International.420:357–362.Bibcode:2016QuInt.420..357N.doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.11.068.
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