20 years ago, the Saiga Antelope was put on the red list for nearing extinction. Poachers across Eurasia threatened the species’s existence. According to National Geographic, in 2003, these animals were cut down to six percent in their habitats.
The decline in Saiga Antelope numbers was caused not only by poaching but also by disease. This disease caused over 200,000 antelope deaths in 2015, which lowered their numbers even more. Another article written by National Geographic reports that these antelopes were dying in large numbers and bodies were being scattered around the grasslands of Kazakhstan. Scientists studied the dead antelope and found that they were dying from a fatal blood disease. After this wave of disease, only 100,000 Saiga Antelope were thought to still remain.
Thankfully, new laws have been put in place limiting poaching. The disease has also died down. The Saiga Antelope are thriving again. The antelope population levels are now growing. As BBC stated, from 2019 to 2021, the population had doubled and since then have only been raising even more. Their population is now over two million meaning they have been moved from the Red List, which represents critical endangerment, to “Near Threatened.” This is a huge growth.
