Around 120,000 Endangered Antelopes Have Died In Kazakhstan And The Reason Is Unknown
Around 120,000 endangered antelopes have died in Kazakhstan since mid-May and officials have no idea why.
"Not a single animal survived in the affected herds," said the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, a UN-backed effort also known as CMS.
Die-offs are not unusual among saigas. In 2010, an event killed 12,000 and in 1984 100,000 were killed, according to CMS, although the causes of those mass deaths "could not be conclusively identified".
The die-offs often take place "in the birth period, when saiga females come together in vast herds to all give birth within a peak period of less than one week", CMS said. This spring's deaths affected four such herds, primarily killing mothers and calves, it added.
The CMS further noted that the final counting is yet to be released, which could surpass 120,000 figure.
"Saiga antelopes often have twins and populations are able to rebound quickly," CMS executive secretary Bradnee Chambers said. "Our hope is that if we can control what is driving these mass mortality events as well as tackle the No.1 threat to saigas - wildlife crime and poaching - populations will be able to recover."
"The loss of such a large proportion of the saiga population in such a short time is really sad," said Noah Greenwald, the Center for Biological Diversity's endangered species director.
"Unfortunately mass die-offs of wildlife from previously unseen diseases is becoming all too familiar," he added.
