🦌 Saiga antelope goes from endangered to thriving

• The saiga antelope population in Kazakhstan has increased from 21,000 in 2003 to 1.3 million today.
• The species has been reclassified from "critically endangered" to "near threatened" on the international red list.
• The success is the result of extensive national and international conservation efforts.

A survivor from the ice age

The saiga antelope, a species that lived alongside mammoths and saber-toothed tigers during the ice age, has proven to be an exceptional survivor. While its ice age contemporaries went extinct 10,000 years ago, the saiga antelope has survived to this day, writes Actual News.

Despite its resilience, the saiga antelope was close to disappearing. In 2003, the number of saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan, where the majority of the animals live, had dropped to 21,000. After extensive national and international efforts to save the species from extinction, the trend has reversed. Today, the population has increased to 1.3 million animals.

This dramatic increase has led to the saiga antelope being reclassified from "critically endangered" to "near threatened" on the international red list.

Human threats and climate change

The decline of the saiga antelope can be traced to several factors, with human impact being a major cause. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, poaching increased dramatically, as both the meat and horns were in demand. Additionally, the animals' habitats were fragmented by human settlement and infrastructure.

Climate change has also played a significant role. The central Asian steppe, home to the saiga antelope, has become drier, making it more difficult for the animals to find water. Climate change has also increased the risk of diseases. In 2015, 200,000 saiga antelopes - over half of the population at the time - died due to a bacterial infection exacerbated by unusually warm and humid weather.

International cooperation for conservation

The turning point for the saiga antelope came through extensive international cooperation. Nations, research organizations, and conservation groups such as WWF have worked together over the past two decades to save the species.

Efforts have included stricter enforcement of anti-poaching laws, protection of natural areas, and education of local communities. WWF has focused on restoring waterholes, which are crucial for the antelopes' survival.

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