Total destruction? – the saiga mortalities of Central Asia in 2015

The saiga antelope is a ghost of the Miocene. Despite one of the highest reproductive rates of any mammal it finally succumbed to various anthropogenic pressures and was categorized as critically endangered by the IUCN in the... [ view full abstract ]

The saiga antelope is a ghost of the Miocene. Despite one of the highest reproductive rates of any mammal it finally succumbed to various anthropogenic pressures and was categorized as critically endangered by the IUCN in the first years of the new millennium. A major factor in their decline was the collapse of the Soviet Empire which had hitherto treated this species pretty well, an iconic game species of the vast steppes which was hunted under close management and thrived. Millions roamed the steppes up until the 21st Century when catastrophe struck with virtual extermination from poaching for horn and meat in response to the collapsing infrastructure and widespread food shortages. Fewer than tens of thousands survived. Monumental efforts to better protect the species were made successfully, from the National conservation and hunting community in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia supported by International players such as UNEP CMS, the Saiga Conservation Alliance and various NGOs most important being the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan and WCS in Mongolia. By the end of the first decade the population was in recovery with >250000 recorded in the core population in Betpak Dala central Kazakhstan in 2014.
Then they died.
This paper will describe the events and findings from this extraordinary unprecedented die-off of an antelope species, which bodes ill for the future of mammal species on earth.