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Every spring and autumn, rivers of saiga antelope once flowed across the steppes of central Asia. In herds of 200,000 the nomadic animals migrated thousands of miles in search of fresh grass and fairer weather.

Dating back to the Ice Age, saiga once roamed from Britain all the way to Canada, alongside woolly rhinos and mammoths. They are even depicted in rock art found in 19,000-year-old caves in Marseille, France.

Today, their range has diminished, as disease and poaching caused populations to collapse. The majority live in Kazakhstan, with smaller populations in Uzbekistan and Russia. Another isolated population lives in Mongolia.

But recent conservation efforts by organizations like the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative are helping saiga numbers rebound, and so this Ice Age antelope continues to roam the vast grasslands of central Asia.

The saiga’s most distinctive feature is its nose. Their nostrils are so large that the ancient Greek historian Strabo thought they were used for drinking. Whilst he was wrong, their large nostrils do serve a purpose. In summer, they help to filter dust, and in winter, they warm up the frigid steppe air, which can get as low as minus 45 degrees Celsius (minus 49 degrees Fahrenheit).

Albert Salemgareyev/ACBK

Saiga travel hundreds of kilometers during their spring and autumn migrations.

Rob Field/RSPB

Hunting and poaching have long been threats for saiga. During the Soviet era, the antelopes were hunted for their meat and hides, with up to 150,000 killed in annual “legal harvests” between 1957 and 1962, according to the IUCN Red List. The males’ horns are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of international borders, poaching of males surged, causing the population to plummet. In 2002, the species was declared critically endangered, with numbers in Kazakhstan reduced to 21,000 in 2003.

FotoSoyuz/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Kazakh government banned hunting in 1999 and education programs and training for border guards have helped them to crack down on smuggling. In this 2017 image, an officer holds a saiga horn that was seized by UK Border Force officers at London's Heathrow Airport. The measures have largely been successful, and the saiga population has increased to around 2.8 million. The IUCN downgraded its classification to “near threatened” in 2023.

Simon Dawson/Reuters

The <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Faltyndala.org%2Fthe-initiative%2F" target="_blank">Altyn Dala</a> (meaning “Golden Steppe” in Kazakh) Conservation Initiative was founded in 2006 to protect the steppe wildlife,<strong> </strong>including the saiga, <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Fworld%2Fgallery%2Fprzewalskis-horse-photos-c2e-spc%2Findex.html">Przewalski’s horse</a>, and the kulan, a type of wild ass. It works across more than 75 million hectares of steppe ecosystems, about quarter of the country, and has been named a World Restoration Flagship by the UN. Since the initiative began, 5 million hectares of land, an area the size of Denmark, has been made into protected areas. According to Daniyar Turgambayev, chair of the forestry and wildlife committee at Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the government has <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fastanatimes.com%2F2024%2F11%2Fuk-ambassador-highlights-strengthened-climate-initiatives-in-kazakhstan%2F%23%3A%7E%3Atext%3DKazakhstan%2520has%2520also%2520committed%2520to%2C10%2525%2520of%2520its%2520land%2520protected." target="_blank">committed</a> to designate 30% of its land as a protected area. “Naturally, given that Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world, this is a huge territory,” he told CNN.

The Altyn Dala (meaning “Golden Steppe” in Kazakh) Conservation Initiative was founded in 2006 to protect the steppe wildlife, including the saiga, Przewalski’s horse, and the kulan, a type of wild ass. It works across more than 75 million hectares of steppe ecosystems, about quarter of the country, and has been named a World Restoration Flagship by the UN. Since the initiative began, 5 million hectares of land, an area the size of Denmark, has been made into protected areas. According to Daniyar Turgambayev, chair of the forestry and wildlife committee at Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the government has committed to designate 30% of its land as a protected area. “Naturally, given that Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world, this is a huge territory,” he told CNN.

Abduaziz Madyarov/AFP/Getty Images

Despite restoration efforts and the crackdown on poaching, saiga are not totally safe. They are susceptible to diseases, and mass die off events are not uncommon. Since 2010, they have been affected by four major disease outbreaks, including one in 2015 when at least 200,000 saiga, more than half the global population at the time, died in the space of three weeks. According to the IUCN, the bacterial infection behind the deaths was likely triggered by warmer temperatures during calving season, conditions that are expected to increase in frequency with climate change.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Agriculture/Reuters

Conservation initiatives hope to keep the diseases at bay with regular monitoring. Despite their vulnerability to disease, the species can quickly recover, as around 60% of saigas give birth to twins. This high birth rate, combined with conservation work and growing awareness means that now the steppes of central Asia are a little less empty.

Albert Salemgareyev/ACBK

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Saiga: Back from the brink