KZBlog

Posting this article is little more than an excuse to post this great picture of a Saiga that I found the other day.The hunting ban on Saiga has been extended until 2021 in Kazakhstan. Saiga, related to antelopes, are now found only in this part of the world: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, bits of Uzbekistan and Russia, but at one point had quite a wide-range including even the British Isles and even Alaska and Canada! Apparently in the 1920s they were practically wiped out, but brought back so that by the 50s, there were around 2 million in the Soviet Union alone. Now they may be down to 90,000 total.

They are hunted for their horns, which are used in Chinese medicine and even in some Kazakhstan/Russian medicinal potions. That and a recent breakout of Pasteurellosis, which killed half of the 26,000 saiga in the Uralsk.

Bizarrely, if you google Saiga, the first two hits are about a Russian weapon company of that name, suggesting that the link between Saiga antelopes and hunting is quite strong!