Saiga

The extraordinary nose

The saiga’s most striking feature is its large, inflatable, trunk-like nose with downward-pointing nostrils. In summer, it filters the enormous dust clouds kicked up by migrating herds. In winter, it warms and humidifies the bitterly cold steppe air before it reaches the lungs. It is one of the most unusual noses in the mammal world and makes the saiga instantly recognisable.

Ice Age survivor

Saigas are living relics of the Pleistocene — they roamed the mammoth steppe alongside woolly mammoths, cave lions, and woolly rhinos. They survived the mass extinction at the end of the last ice age that killed most megafauna. In the early 20th century, hundreds of thousands grazed the Eurasian steppe. Soviet-era hunting reduced them to near-extinction; populations recovered dramatically and then collapsed again.

The 2015 mass die-off

In May 2015, more than 200,000 saigas — approximately 60% of the global population — died within three weeks in Kazakhstan. Scientists later determined the cause was Pasteurella multocida bacteria normally present harmlessly in saiga nasal passages that turned lethal under unusually warm, humid weather conditions. The entire event was linked to climate-driven temperature anomalies. It remains one of the largest and most rapid wildlife die-offs ever recorded.

Herd migrations

Saigas are gregarious nomads that migrate in herds of thousands across the steppe, following seasonal grass growth. Males grow translucent amber-coloured horns used in traditional Chinese medicine, which has historically driven poaching pressure.