Did Bacteria Kill Kazakhastan's Saiga Antelopes?

Months after they began dying in hordes, scientists are yet to discern what killed off nearly half of world's Saiga Antelope population in Kazakhstan.

Nearly 120,000 saigas began to die in May and June under mysterious circumstances. The death of herds separated by hundreds of miles flummoxed scientists who now suspect environmental factors. Though they are not close to demystifying the deaths, field observations have yielded some clues.

According to IB Times, scientists have learnt that female saigas which clustered to rear the young died followed by death of young calves. Testing of tissue from carcasses showed toxins caused by Pasteurella and Clostridia bacteria had caused internal bleeding in the endangered species and eventually causing death.

The finding however has not convinced everyone as the bacteria are known to be present in ruminants and is not known to cause any harm.

"There is nothing so special about it [Pasteurella]. The question is why it developed so rapidly and spread to all the animals," geoecologist Steffen Zuther, international coordinator for Kazakhstan's Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, reportedly said.