Wildlife
Saigas are weird looking antelopes, equipped with a large, proboscis-like nose that is key to their survival in the seasonal extremes of their range. Large air sacs in the nose extract valuable moisture from exhaled air and also warm up the cold air as it is breathed in.
Scientific name: Saiga tatarica
Rank: Species
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Migration from the cold
When the winter sets in, it is time to move further south.
When the winter sets in, it is time to move further south.
Saiga antelope
Saiga antelope are perfectly adapted for the Russian Steppe.
One of the fastest declining mammal species in the world is the saiga antelope. This migratory species of the steppe grasslands of Asia has declined by a massive 95% since 1995, mainly due to uncontrolled poaching following the break-up of the Soviet Union. And they still face severe problems. In May 2010, 12,000 individuals - mainly females and young calves - were found dead in western Kazakhstan, a significant proportion of the remaining population. Harsh winters, continued poaching and the destruction of their key habitats and traditional migration routes means the future looks bleak for these cold weather specialists.
Nose for survival
The saiga's bulbous nose plays a part in winter-proofing.
The saiga's bulbous nose plays a part in winter-proofing.
The following habitats are found across the Saiga distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Critically Endangered
Population trend: Decreasing
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The saiga (Saiga tatarica) is a critically endangered antelope which originally inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe zone from the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains and Caucasus into Dzungaria and Mongolia. They also lived in North America during the Pleistocene. Today, the nominate subspecies (S. t. tatarica) is only found in one location in Russia (steppes of the northwest Precaspian region) and three areas in Kazakhstan (the Ural, Ustiurt and Betpak-dala populations). A proportion of the Ustiurt population migrates south to Uzbekistan and occasionally Turkmenistan in winter. It is extinct in China and southwestern Mongolia. The Mongolian subspecies (S. t. mongolica) is found only in western Mongolia.
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Migration
Camouflage
Acoustic communication
Herbivorous
Maternal care
Polygynous
Active at birth
Social
Cold tolerant
Adapted to running
Chemical communication
Sexual dimorphism
Visual communication
Viviparous