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Lake Balqash
Aral Sea
Caspian
Sea
TURKMENISTAN
IRAN
AZERBAIJAN
UZBEKISTAN
KYRGYZSTAN
KAZAKHSTAN
RUSSIA
RUSSIA
North-West
Pre-Caspian
CHINA
MONGOLIA
Saiga antelope population
Terrestrial protected areas
Caspian
Sea
Overall direction of migrations
(North in summer, South in winter)
Source: ACBK, 2011; WWF Mongolia, Web-based GIS database on
biological diversity of Mongolia; UNEP-WCMC, Protected Planet web
database; Russian Committee for the UNESCO MAB Programme.
Saiga antelope populations
Ural
Ustiurt
Betpak-dala
Mongolia
Threats to migratory pathways and critical sites
While a number of Saiga populations are starting to stabilize, three
continue tobe inaprecarious state (North-West Pre-Caspian,Ural and
Ustiurt populations). Recent disease-related mass mortality events
in the Ural population, during which 12,000 and 450 Saigas died in
May 2010 and May 2011 respectively, have reduced this population
by one-third. The two transboundary populations (Ural, Ustiurt) are
declining most severely. Well-equipped commercial poachers are
The Saiga antelope is a migratory herbivore of the steppes and deserts of Central Asia and Russia, capable
of travelling hundreds of kilometres north to south on its annual migrations. Saigas have been hunted since
prehistoric times and today poaching remains the primary threat to this critically endangered species. The Saiga
is particularly valuable for its horn, which is used in Chinese traditional medicine, but is also hunted for its meat.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Saiga populations crashed by more than 95 per cent within a decade.
In response, the Saiga was listed on Appendices II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and CMS. These two treaties collaborate closely to address both Saiga
population management and illegal trade in synergy. Since 2006, a CMS Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
on the Saiga Antelope has been in force, which has been signed by all range states.
Saiga antelope
(
Saiga
spp.)
CMS STATUS
CMS INSTRUMENT(S)
Appendix II
MoU concerning Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use of the Saiga Antelope
Figure 11:
Saiga antelope populations
.