What it is
The saiga (Saiga tatarica) is a small antelope of the dry steppe with a large, soft nose that droops over its mouth. Only males carry horns, which are pale and ringed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as Near Threatened.
Range
Dry steppe and semi desert of Central Asia, mainly Kazakhstan, with smaller herds in Kalmykia in Russia and in Mongolia.
What happened
Saiga herds crashed, and in 2005 only about 39,000 were left in Kazakhstan. Nearly two decades of work by Kazakhstan, its neighbours, scientists and conservation groups followed, with patrols against poaching, stronger law enforcement and large new protected areas, and the herds there grew to more than 1.9 million.
When / status
Near Threatened since December 2023, when it was moved up from Critically Endangered.
Human role
Poaching, illegal trade, disease, climate change and new roads, railways and fences still threaten it.