Safeguarding a habitat for Saiga antelopes
Conservation focus:
Saiga antelope
Scientific name:
Saiga tatarica
Scientific classification:
Mammals, Artiodactyla, Bovidae
IUCN status:
EDGE status:
NT (near-threatened)
Not listed
Threatened evolutionary history:
Not evaluated
Conservation priority by EDGE rank / ecosystem
Why it matters
Migratory steppe ungulates are among the species most affected by habitat fragmentation, as they need vast areas for surviving in their arid habitat with patchy resources, such as water and fodder. Building new roads, railways, fences or even power lines can suffice to block ancient migration routes of such species. Saiga in particular have, in addition, suffered from catastrophic losses (over 95%) due to infectious diseases. Although this species is currently rebounding in some areas, the fundamental problem of steppe species - their need for vast untouched areas - remains unchanged.
Project fast facts
Focal species' population trend
Increasing
Local conservation attention
High
Range / Project area
Ecological role
Keystone migratory ungulate species roaming steppes and semideserts of central Asia in about five distinct sub-populations. Forms very large herds. This wild grazer is vital for a healthy steppe ecosystem and to prevent degradation of the steppe vegetation. The saiga’s nose is an adaptation to continental steppe climate, warming and moistening inhaled air during the winter, filtering out airborne dust during the dry summer migrations, and helping to regulate body temperature.
Threats
Overhunting and endemics. Saiga horn is absurdly considered an aphrodisiac in East Asia. Nearly complete extermination in the 1920s and again in the 1990s, from more than 1 mio saiga in 1991 to about 30,000 in 2003 - one of the most sudden and dramatic population crashes of a large mammal ever seen. Critically endangered until end 2023, then reclassified as "near-threatened" after a population rebound. However, mass die-offs from Pasteurella multocida continue to pose a large-scale risk for the species.
Grant
First awarded:
$ 1,000
22 December 2023
Not listed
Programme owner
Imperial College London, London, UK
Programme contact
E.J. Milner-Gulland, Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berks., SL5 7PY, UK
Project location
Kazakhstan
Aralkum Desert, Kazakhstan
Addressing the need: Project goals
Contribute to secure the long-term conservation of saiga
The saiga is a relic of Ice Age fauna living in some of the harshest land in the world. It migrates long distances between summer and winter lands. Saiga herds once numbered in the millions, but today only 160,000 survive — a 95% population crash in just fifteen years, the fastest decline ever recorded for a mammal species.
Saigas are hunted for their meat and their horns (the latter being used as so-called "medicine" in East Asia). After the collapse of rural economies in the former USSR in the early 1990s led to widespread poverty, saiga poaching increased dramatically. The species is also threatened by increasing livestock numbers competing for pasture.
Conservation actions
This work will create a safe range for the species, which is currently rebounding from near-total losses in the last decades. The Saiga Conservation Alliance (SCA) works across the saiga’s range to secure its future.
