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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/saiga/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<title>News on Saiga</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/saiga/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>A saiga time bomb? Bad news for Central Asia’s beleaguered antelope</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/a-time-bomb-for-the-saiga-bad-news-central-asias-beleaguered-antelope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/a-time-bomb-for-the-saiga-bad-news-central-asias-beleaguered-antelope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jan 2018 16:51:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=202964</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Atlantic Forest, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Antelope, Bacteria, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Diseases, Environment, Global Warming, Grasslands, Hunting, Mammals, Over-hunting, Poaching, Research, Saiga, Temperatures, Ungulates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In May 2015, more than 200,000 saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) suddenly died. Entire herds perished, their bodies littering the steppe grasslands of central Kazakhstan as if dropped from the sky. Biologists were left stunned, baffled and very concerned. Already critically endangered, the mass die-off reduced the species by two-thirds globally. Only around 31,000 remained in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In May 2015, more than 200,000 saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) suddenly died. Entire herds perished, their bodies littering the steppe grasslands of central Kazakhstan as if dropped from the sky. Biologists were left stunned, baffled and very concerned. Already critically endangered, the mass die-off reduced the species by two-thirds globally. Only around 31,000 remained in Kazakhstan and 100,000 worldwide. Research indicated the saigas were likely killed by hemorrhagic septicemia caused by a type of bacteria called Pasteurella multocida. But P. multocida generally exists harmlessly in healthy saigas and other animals, so the question remained: Why did so many saigas become infected so suddenly and severely by a normally benign type of bacteria? Dead saigas litter the ground during at Torgai Betpak Dala, Kazakhstan, in May 2015. Photo by Photograph courtesy of the Joint saiga health monitoring team in Kazakhstan (Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity, Kazakhstan, Biosafety Institute, Gvardeskiy RK, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK) A newborn saiga calf nestles in the arms of a scientist of the joint health monitoring team. Scientists think the saiga&#8217;s distinctive nose helps filter out dust kicked up during summer migrations and warms up inhaled air in the winter. Photo by Photograph courtesy of the Joint saiga health monitoring team in Kazakhstan (Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity, Kazakhstan, Biosafety Institute, Gvardeskiy RK, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK) In 2016, disaster struck the saiga again. This time in Mongolia and from a known entity: a virus from domestic goats and sheep. Between December 2016&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/a-time-bomb-for-the-saiga-bad-news-central-asias-beleaguered-antelope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-202964</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After mass die-off, saiga antelope numbers go up in Kazakhstan</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/06/after-mass-die-off-saiga-antelope-numbers-go-up-in-kazakhstan/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/06/after-mass-die-off-saiga-antelope-numbers-go-up-in-kazakhstan/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jun 2016 07:09:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/06/01201142/211-66-KN.100830.070748-n1-c-520x320.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=187189</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kazakhstan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Environment, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, Poaching, Saiga, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Last year, catastrophe hit saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan. About 200,000 of these critically endangered antelopes died in Betpak-Dala in May, deeply worrying conservationists. The deaths, scientists eventually found, were most likely caused by bacterial infection. But there may be hope for these severely threatened migratory mammals. A recent aerial survey of saigas carried out from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Last year, catastrophe hit saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan. About 200,000 of these critically endangered antelopes died in Betpak-Dala in May, deeply worrying conservationists. The deaths, scientists eventually found, were most likely caused by bacterial infection. But there may be hope for these severely threatened migratory mammals. A recent aerial survey of saigas carried out from April 18 to May 3, 2016 has revealed that the numbers of all three saiga populations in Kazakhstan—Ural, Betpak-Dala and Ustyurt — are going up. The surveys were conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan in partnership with the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) and JSC &#8220;Kazaviaspas&#8221;, Kazakhstan government announced on Tuesday. &#8220;The news about recovering saiga populations in Kazakhstan is a sign of hope after the catastrophic mass saiga die-off event in 2015,&#8221; Bradnee Chambers, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), said in a statement. About 200,000 saiga antelopes died last year likely due to a bacterial infection. Photo by Klaus Nigge. Saiga distribution map. Image copyright: Steffen Zuther. The surveys counted a total of 108,300 adult saigas. The Ural population has about 70,200 individuals, up from 51,700 in 2015, while the Ustyurt population has around 1,900 individuals, up from 1,200 in 2015. The Betpak-Dala population also showed promise with about 36,200 individuals, the results revealed. “This is far below the 242,000 animals we counted in spring 2015, before the mass-die off,” Albert Salemgareyev from ACBK, co-leader of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, said. “But we are&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/06/after-mass-die-off-saiga-antelope-numbers-go-up-in-kazakhstan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/06/after-mass-die-off-saiga-antelope-numbers-go-up-in-kazakhstan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-187189</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conservationists appeal to donors after mystery kills 134,252 saiga</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/conservationists-appeal-to-donors-after-mystery-kills-134252-saiga/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/conservationists-appeal-to-donors-after-mystery-kills-134252-saiga/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jun 2015 15:10:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/06/conservationists-appeal-to-donors-after-mystery-kills-134252-saiga/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Asia, and Kazakhstan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Antelope, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Critically Endangered Species, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Mammals, Saiga, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Saiga perish by the thousands in the Betpak-Dala region of Kazakhstan. Photo by: Sergei Khomenko/FAO. The good news: conservationists believe that whatever killed off over a hundred thousand saiga in Kazakhstan in less than a month has abetted. The bad news: the final death tally is 134,252 saiga or around half the population of an [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Saiga perish by the thousands in the Betpak-Dala region of Kazakhstan. Photo by: Sergei Khomenko/FAO. The good news: conservationists believe that whatever killed off over a hundred thousand saiga in Kazakhstan in less than a month has abetted. The bad news: the final death tally is 134,252 saiga or around half the population of an animal already considered Critically Endangered. Given the dire situation, conservationists are now asking for emergency donations to the Saiga Conservation Alliance (SCA) to help keep the species from extinction (donors in the U.S. can give here). &#8220;It seems like the crisis is over now,&#8221; E.J. Milner-Gulland, saiga-expert and Chair of the SCA, told Mongabay. The government of Kazakhstan has submitted a report to the World Organization for Animal Health with the total number dead in Kazakhstan&#8217;s Betpak-Dala region. Male and female saiga. Photo by: Eugene Polonsky. Saiga are antelope with long, trunk-like noses. They once roamed the Central Asian plains in the millions, but decades of poaching, habitat loss and development projects in migration routes pushed the population down to 20,000 before conservationists helped the species recover partially over the last 15 years. Prior to the mass mortality event, conservationists estimated a total global population around 260,000. The Betpak-Dala population was among the largest until now. Still, researchers remain uncertain about what caused the mass mortality. &#8220;It seems like there was a mixture of factors, which is likely to include the females being weakened by calving, one or more latent infections which were present in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/conservationists-appeal-to-donors-after-mystery-kills-134252-saiga/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-23550</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>120,000 dead: half of the world&#8217;s saiga die in less than a month</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/05/120000-dead-half-of-the-worlds-saiga-die-in-less-than-a-month/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/05/120000-dead-half-of-the-worlds-saiga-die-in-less-than-a-month/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2015 16:35:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/05/120000-dead-half-of-the-worlds-saiga-die-in-less-than-a-month/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Asia, and Kazakhstan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Critically Endangered Species, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Hunting, Mammals, Poaching, Saiga, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A male saiga. Photo by: Seilov/Creative Commons 3.0. No one knows what&#8217;s killing them, but scientists estimate that almost half of the world&#8217;s saiga (Saiga tatarica) have perished since May 10th. To date, researchers on-the-ground unofficially estimate that 120,000 saiga have died in Kazakhstan from what appears to be a wildly virulent disease, although no [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A male saiga. Photo by: Seilov/Creative Commons 3.0. No one knows what&#8217;s killing them, but scientists estimate that almost half of the world&#8217;s saiga (Saiga tatarica) have perished since May 10th. To date, researchers on-the-ground unofficially estimate that 120,000 saiga have died in Kazakhstan from what appears to be a wildly virulent disease, although no cause has been ruled out. Saiga are bizarre-looking, Ice Age antelopes that once roamed Central Asia in the millions, but are now listed as Critically Endangered. &#8220;It&#8217;s very dramatic and traumatic, with 100 per cent mortality,&#8221; UK veterinarian Richard Kock, who has traveled to Kazakhstan to help, told New Scientist. &#8220;I know of no example in history with this level of mortality, killing all the animals and all the calves.&#8221; Kazakhstan&#8217;s Agriculture Ministry said they believe the saiga-killer may be a bacterial infection known as pasteurellosis. However, saiga-expert, E.J. Milner-Gulland with the Saiga Conservation Alliance (SCA), was not fully convinced. &#8220;The fact that you are getting positive reports of Pasteurella doesn&#8217;t mean the bacterium is the underlying reason the animals are dying,&#8221; she told Radio Free Europe. &#8220;[The bacteria] is there naturally and it&#8217;s a kind of opportunistic.&#8221; Research are also looking at several other disease possibilities, including mosquito-borne illness. Only a few decades ago, there were millions of saiga, but the fall of the Soviet Union led to massive poaching. The population dropped to only around 20,000 animals at the beginning of the century, but then with intensive conservation efforts the saiga started to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/05/120000-dead-half-of-the-worlds-saiga-die-in-less-than-a-month/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-23613</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New eco-tour to help save bizarre antelope in &#8216;forgotten&#8217; region</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2011/05/new-eco-tour-to-help-save-bizarre-antelope-in-forgotten-region/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2011/05/new-eco-tour-to-help-save-bizarre-antelope-in-forgotten-region/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2011 17:50:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2011/05/new-eco-tour-to-help-save-bizarre-antelope-in-forgotten-region/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Culture, Economics, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Grasslands, Green, Habitat Loss, Mammals, Migration, Poaching, Poverty, Poverty Alleviation, Rivers, Saiga, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Medicine, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Saiga calves. Photo by: Igor Shpilenok. Imagine visiting a region that is largely void of tourists, yet has world-class bird watching, a unique Buddhist population, and one of the world&#8217;s most bizarre-looking and imperilled mammals: the saiga. A new tour to Southern Russia hopes to aid a Critically Endangered species while giving tourists an inside [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Saiga calves. Photo by: Igor Shpilenok. Imagine visiting a region that is largely void of tourists, yet has world-class bird watching, a unique Buddhist population, and one of the world&#8217;s most bizarre-looking and imperilled mammals: the saiga. A new tour to Southern Russia hopes to aid a Critically Endangered species while giving tourists an inside look at a region &#8220;largely forgotten by the rest of the world,&#8221; says Anthony Dancer. Few species have fallen so far and so fast in the past 15 years as Central Asia&#8217;s antelope, the saiga. Its precipitous decline is reminiscent of the bison or the passenger pigeon in 19th Century America, but conservationists hopes it avoids the fate of the latter. Not long ago, a million and a quarter saiga roamed the Central Asian plains; today there are less than 50,000. To make matters worse, 12,000 saigas perished last year in Kazakhstan of disease. &#8220;The causes [of the overall decline] are complex but a combination of the collapse of rural economies following the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the reopening of the border with China in the late 1980s, led to extensive and unregulated poaching&#8221; for food and for traditional Chinese medicine, explains Dancer, an ecology student at Imperial College in London, who works with the Saiga Conservation Alliance (SCA). Male saiga. Poaching has largely been driven by the trade in traditional Chinese medicine, which uses male saiga horns. Photo by: Navinder Singh. With SCA, researchers in the saiga&#8217;s remaining range nations—Russia,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2011/05/new-eco-tour-to-help-save-bizarre-antelope-in-forgotten-region/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-32604</doi>				</item>
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