In May 2015, the mysterious mass death of over 200,000 saiga antelopes over the space of a couple of weeks shocked the entire world.

The deaths took place in central Kazakhstan and represented over half of the species’ global population. Environmental factors are thought to have contributed to the incident – climate change may have helped transform a normally harmless bacteria into a lethal pathogen^*1.

In response, the Central Asian country in May announced^*2 that it plans to watch over the remaining 108,000 antelopes on its steppes 24/7. With the support of scientists, Kazakhstan hopes to monitor and better protect the critically-endangered animal.

“The scientists’ recommendations will help us increase the population of saiga antelopes across the country,” said the country’s Minister of Agriculture, Askar Myrzakhmetov.

Such ambitious efforts are vital for the protection of endangered species. The pan-European region has the second highest percentage of threatened domestic animal breeds globally, with 34 per cent of mammalian and 51 per cent of avian breeds at risk.

The Convention on Migratory Species, concluded under the aegis of UN Environment, includes a Memorandum of Understanding signed by five states and ten organisations for the conservation of Saiga antelopes. Illegal trade of the species is a major threat to its livelihood and the fight to protect it goes on.

^*1 Dr. Richard A. Kock, of the Royal Veterinary College in London, UK,  http://nyti.ms/2qFrk8K

^*2 Azinform - Kazakhstan to introduce 24/7 watch over saiga antelopes, http://bit.ly/2ssxDwW