In a decline on par with that suffered by the American bison in the Nineteenth Century, in the 1990s the saiga antelope of the Central Asian steppe plummeted from over one million individuals to 50,000, dropping a staggering 95 percent in a decade and a half. Since then new legislation and conservation measure have helped the species stabilize in some areas but in others the decline continues.
Working for six years with the Saiga Conservation Alliance, Founding Member and Executive Secretary Elena Bykova has helped bring the species back from the very brink of extinction.
"I remember the time when the saiga was hunted and traded, and we all believed that it was one of most numerous game species in Eurasia," Bykova, a native of Uzbekistan, says, but then she and other biologists began to notice that something had gone very wrong for the species. "We visited saiga habitat in Uzbekistan under this project and were shocked: so much of the Ustyurt plateau, where saigas once lived in Uzbekistan, looked like a dinosaur cemetery. It was covered by saiga’s skulls with succise horns, skeletons, and bones – terrible vision!"
Working with saiga's sometimes means surviving severe winters. Elena Bykova in Ustyurt. Photo by: Alexander Esipov.
It was after witnessing the toll poaching had taken on the species that Bykova says "we all understood very clearly that it’s not enough for us to be only scientists - we must do something toward saving the saiga as conservationists."
While "poaching, both for meat and for its horn used in traditional Chinese medicine, has been the primary factor driving the decline of this unique nomadic mammal," Bykova explains that political and economic upheaval are behind the poaching epidemic.
"The saiga’s fate has been closely tied to economic changes in the former Soviet Union, whose breakup in 1991 was accompanied by the collapse of rural economies causing widespread unemployment and poverty."
It is very clear that Bykova is fascinated by the strange saiga and her enthusiasm is contgious: with its weird trunk-like nose and tall horns the animal looks like it arrived from a fantasy novel, but it is lone survivor of a long ago era: "Unbelievably, this ice age relic lived in the same time and in the same habitat as the mammoths and wooly rhinos 60,000-70,000 years ago! They survived thanks to great adaptation potential and their unique ability to move huge distances," Bykova says.
The decline of the saiga throughout Central Asia has affected the entire steppe ecosystem.
"And of course, the most remembered feature of the saiga is its strange nose, which looks like a short trunk. The saiga's nose isn’t decoration. It’s a big filter to clean dusty air in summer and warm it in winter," Bykova says, explaining the saiga's most unusual appearance. "
The saiga is a keystone species of the steppe. It inhabits dry lands and saline lands, where it feeds on food plants (salsola and wormwood) unsuitable for others ungulates and domestic cattle. These plants are very important for the steppe and the saiga considerably influence the character of natural vegetation of this ecosystem."
While Bykova adds that the situation is complicated and scientists are unsure just how much impact the saiga decline has had, she explains that some species have been particularly impacted by the decline of the saiga, including "wolves and birds of prey that were their main predators, and small rodents and ground-nesting birds that require grazed vegetation."
Despite such a precipitous decline, Bykova says that the saiga has not received the attention from the media and public it deserves.
"People outside Central Asia know very little about the saiga antelope. It’s strange that they know a lot about extinct mammoths, but no one hears anything about its neighbor – the living relic, saiga."
In order for the species not to follow the mammoth into oblivion, Bykova says more awareness, political pressure, and funding are needed.
In a September interview with mongabay.com, Bykova spoke about the saiga's natural history, its precipitous decline, and the work to bring it back from the edge of extinction.
Bykova will be presenting at the upcoming Wildlife Conservation Network Expo in San Francisco on October 3rd.
INTERVIEW WITH ELENA BYKOVA
Mongabay: What is your background? How did you become interested in the saiga antelope?
Elena Bykova and her husband Alexander Esipov, also a member of the SCA Steering Committee. Photo by: Stacey Iverson.
Elena Bykova: I work in Uzbekistan at the Institute of Zoology on national and international projects on endangered species status assessments, including INTAS Red list project on endangered species of Central Asia. One day when we conducted the saiga status assessment I became very worried about the dramatic decline of the antelope. I remember the time when the saiga was hunted and traded, and we all believed that it was one of most numerous game species in Eurasia. My friend and colleague E.J.Milner-Gulland, Professor in Conservation Science from Imperial College London, UK invited me and my husband Alexander to take part in an international project on investigating saiga reproductive biology. We visited saiga habitat in Uzbekistan under this project and were shocked: so much of the Ustyurt plateau, where saigas once lived in Uzbekistan looked like a cemetery of dinosaurs. It was covered by saiga’s skulls with succise horns, its skeletons and bones – terrible vision! After finishing this project when all conclusions were made, we all understood very clearly that it’s not enough for us to be only scientists - we must do something toward saving the saiga as conservationists. It’s why we created the unit under the roof of the Saiga Conservation Alliance. During the last 6 years I have worked for saiga conservation in my country and internationally, and I am very happy to spend my efforts on this amazing species. I really believe that we can save it. I would be happy if new enthusiastic people joined us for this noble aim
Mongabay: What makes the saiga unique?
Elena Bykova: The saiga doesn’t have relatives. It is a unique species with its own genus, Saiga. The saiga is one of the ancient species in the world. Unbelievably, this ice age relic lived in the same time and in the same habitat as the mammoths and wooly rhinos 60,000-70,000 years ago! They survived thanks to great adaptation potential and their unique ability to move huge distances. Saigas are real nomads. They migrate round the year. As perpetually mobile, they move without stopping to look for the food, water, and suitable places. Saigas are also excellent runners. And of course, the most remembered feature of the saiga is its strange nose, which looks like a short trunk. The saiga's nose isn’t decoration. It’s a big filter to clean dusty air in summer and warm it in winter.
Mongabay: In a single decade the population of saiga antelopes has dropped by 96 percent. What happened? 
Recording saiga tracks. Photo by: Alexander Esipov.
Elena Bykova: The saiga antelope is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and in the Red Data Book of Uzbekistan as the species with the fastest decline ever recorded for a mammal species. Poaching, both for meat and for its horn used in traditional Chinese medicine, has been the primary factor driving the decline of this unique nomadic mammal. The saiga’s fate has been closely tied to economic changes in the former Soviet Union, whose breakup in 1991 was accompanied by the collapse of rural economies causing widespread unemployment and poverty. Poaching is facilitated by poor management of conservation agencies due to limited resources and often the indifference of authorities. The Chinese market, which opened up for post Soviet countries after the collapse of the FSU turned out to be extremely lucrative for sales of natural ram materials including saiga’s horns. Since ancient times saiga horns have been used in traditional Chinese Medicine for treatment of wide range of ailments (cold, high blood pressure, detoxication, pulmonary diseases, etc.). Description of the use of saiga antelope’s horns can be found in Shengnong Bencao, a medical tractate published 2,000 years ago. As a result of opened boundaries and emerged demand, rates of saiga antelope poaching increased multiple-fold, putting it on the brink of extinction.
Mongabay: How has the dramatic decline of the saiga affected the rest of the steppe ecosystem?
Elena Bykova: The saiga is a keystone species of the steppe. It inhabits dry lands and saline lands, where it feeds on food plants (salsola and wormwood) unsuitable for others ungulates and domestic cattle. These plants are very important for the steppe and the saiga considerably influence the character of natural vegetation of this ecosystem. It’s hard to know what effect the loss of the saiga population has had on the steppe ecosystem, because at the same time there was a similarly dramatic collapse in the numbers of livestock using the steppe. This was also because of the collapse in the rural economy after the break-up of the Soviet Union, before which there were millions of sheep and goats sharing the rangelands with saigas. There are also other big changes such as climate change and the drying of the Aral Sea that complicate the story. Species that may have been very much affected by the loss of saigas and other small ungulates include wolves and birds of prey that were their main predators, and small rodents and ground-nesting birds that require grazed vegetation.
Mongabay: What are the current threats to the saiga antelope? 
Production of school handicrafts from a club in Jaslyk. Supported by SCA. Photo by: Alexander Esipov.
Elena Bykova: Factors that limit saiga numbers include weather conditions—during a severe winter up to 50% of the animals can die; wolves which kill sick adults or those weakened by the rut; and foxes and golden eagles which mostly hunt for new babies. And, of course, disease can lead to population declines. But all of these factors have a natural character and saigas, during their long history, have adapted to them. Currently the main threat for saigas is poaching. Analysis of the current situation of saiga exploitation in Uzbekistan, as well other range states as Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan, showed that it was predominantly local people who are engaged in poaching. High demand for the saiga’s horns in conditions of general economic depression and increasing unemployment rate, and an almost complete lack of control over biodiversity use in the region triggered the incentive for poaching. Our assessments show that the income derived from poaching equals to nearly 10% of the total household revenue in the communities. Poaching is still at high levels in many parts of the saiga’s range.
Mongabay: How has the male saiga’s horn contributed to the species’ decline?
Elena Bykova: Because only saiga males bear the precious horn, poachers have disproportionately slaughtered males. This caused a reproductive collapse, accelerating the rate of population decline to the brink of extinction. However, saiga males can mate with many females, so the population can breed normally even when there are only 5% males in the population. Nowadays male numbers are not so dangerously low, and the populations appear to be breeding OK.
Mongabay.com is an environmental science and conservation news website.
