Saiga Antelope

Fascinating facts about the Saiga Antelope

• In the 2000s to mid-2010s, the populations declined enormously, as much as 95% in 15 years. Kazakh saiga populations numbered just 21,000 in 2003. As of 2022, there is an estimated number of 1.38 million saiga surviving in Kazakhstan, per an April aerial count. As of December 2023, the global saiga antelope population is estimated to number 922,600-988,500 mature individuals. In 2025 the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative announced that populations in Kazakhstan have reached 3.9 million adults in spring 2025. This rebound shows how rapid, large-scale protection can pull a species back from the brink, turning a near-extinction into a thriving herd.
• In May 2015, uncommonly large numbers of saigas began to die from a mysterious epizootic illness suspected to be pasteurellosis. More than 120,000 carcasses had been found by late May 2015, while the estimated total population was only 250,000. Herd fatality is 100% once infected, with an estimated 40% of the species' total population already dead. Pasteurella multocida, a bacterium, was determined to be the cause of death. 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, illustrating how swift disease control can halt a collapse and allow recovery.
• A prominent feature of the saiga is the pair of closely spaced, bloated nostrils directed downward, giving the animal its iconic snout. Only males have horns, which are thick and slightly translucent, wax-coloured and show 12 to 20 pronounced rings; the Russian saiga's horns measure 28-38 cm (11-15 in) in length, while the Mongolian subspecies reaches up to 22 cm (8.7 in). Saiga antelopes are approximately.6 m to.8 m tall at shoulder height and are approximately 1 m to 1.5 m long, weighing 26-69 kg (57-152 lb).
• Saigas form very large herds that graze in semideserts, steppes, grasslands, and possibly open woodlands, eating several species of plants, including some that are poisonous to other animals. During the breeding season, saigas congregate into groups consisting of 5 to 10 females and one male, and after the season they form herds of 30-40 individuals. They are known for extensive migrations across the steppes that allow them to escape natural calamities, such as snowstorms and droughts.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Saiga Antelope

In the vast, windswept steppes of Eurasia, the saiga antelope roams with an air of haunting elegance, its bulbous nose twitching as it navigates the harsh, treeless expanse with a quiet determination. As it moves, its slender legs seem to barely touch the ground, giving the impression of a ghostly apparition drifting effortlessly across the landscape. With its distinctive, trumpet-like snout and tawny coat, the saiga antelope is a remarkable, if fleeting, vision of wild beauty, its very existence a poignant reminder of the fragility and wonder of life on Earth.

Seen on screen

More mammals to discover

Browse Feravox