Conservation advocates have expressed concern for the future of Mongolia’s saiga deer.

The saiga worldwide population numbered one million some twenty years ago. Today, however, experts say only some 50,000 have survived due to over hunting and the elimination of their traditional breeding and migration routes.

The siaga is an unusual looking animal. Weighing under 50 pounds and standing less than two feet tall at the shoulder, its most unusual feature is a very large nose. Scientists believe the nose may be used to warm air during Mongolia’s winters or filter air during dust storms.

Within recent decades, saigas were predominantly found migrating in Mongolia as well as Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kalmykia, and Kazakhstan.

The radical decline in the saiga population has been attributed to poaching for its horns which are used in traditional Chinese medicine and an inability to compete for survival with other livestock.

A study recently published indicates a ‘migration bottleneck’ threatens the saiga population in Mongolia. Saiga are reported to need to traverse a three mile wide corridor to connect with other saiga populations. However, competition for use of the corridor with livestock herds, and truck and motorcycle traffic is preventing siaga migration.

“Like other species of the steppes and deserts, saiga have avoided extinction by being able to migrate long distances as their habitat changed over time,” Dr. Joel Berger, a Wildlife Conservation Society conservationist recently told The Open Conservation Biology Journal. “Given the uncertainty of how global climate change might affect specific regions, and how and where species might persist, prudent conservation strategies must take into account the movements of highly mobile species like saiga.”

mongolia-web.com

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