The saiga, or saiga (lat. Saiga), is a genus of mammals that belongs to the artiodactyl order, the bovid family, the subfamily of true antelopes. The female saiga is the saiga, the male saiga is called the saiga or margach.
The Russian name for this genus arose thanks to the languages belonging to the Turkic group, in which the concept of "chagat" or "saiɣak" corresponds to this animal. The Latin definition, which later became international, arose, most likely, thanks to the works of the Austrian historian and diplomat Sigismund von Herberstein. For the first time the name “saiga” was documented in his “Notes on Muscovy”, which date back to 1549. IN AND. Dahl, while compiling his "Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language", noted that the concept of "saiga" or "margach" is assigned to males, while females are popularly called "saiga".
The saiga is one of the unique animals that have retained their appearance unchanged from the times when herds of mammoths roamed the surface of the Earth. Therefore, the appearance of this artiodactyl is distinguished by a peculiar personality, thanks to which it cannot be confused with any other mammal.
The saiga, or steppe antelope, is an animal with a body length of 110 to 146 cm (including the tail) and a height at the withers of 60 to 79 cm. 40 kg, although individual males can reach a body weight of 50-60 kg. The legs of steppe antelopes are rather short and thin, the body is not too massive, elongated.
A characteristic feature of all members of the genus is the saiga's soft, mobile nose, somewhat reminiscent of a short trunk. This organ hangs down rather low, overlapping the upper and lower lip, and also has large rounded nostrils, separated by a very thin septum. Due to the elongated vestibule of the nose, optimal air filtration from dust is achieved in summer and autumn, and in winter, the inhaled cold air warms up.
In addition, with the help of the nose-trunk, during the mating season, the males make special sounds designed to intimidate the rival and attract the attention of the females. In some cases, vocal superiority is sufficient, and males do not have to use their weapon - horns, which are a characteristic sign of sexual dimorphism.
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In their shape, the horns of the saiga resemble a curved lyre and grow almost vertically on the head. The average length of the saiga's horns reaches 25-30 cm, and two-thirds, starting from the head, are covered with horizontal ring-shaped ridges. The color of the horns is pale red. In adulthood, the horns of the animal become translucent with a yellowish-white tint. It is noteworthy that after the male reaches one and a half years of age, the growth of the horns stops. Saiga females are hornless.
The ears of the animal are short and wide. The small eyes of the saiga are set far apart, the eyelids are almost naked, the pupil is oblong, and the iris is yellowish-brown.
The short and rather rare summer fur of the saiga is yellowish-red in color, darker on the sides and back. The length of the fur reaches 2 cm. On the belly, the color of the coat is less intense. The lower torso, neck, and inner legs are white. With the onset of cold weather, saigas are covered with dense, thick wool with a grayish-whitish shade, up to 7 cm and more. Thanks to these features, a herd of saigas lying on a snow crust looks almost invisible to natural enemies. The change of fur, the moulting of the saiga, occurs in the spring and autumn.
Saigas are cloven-hoofed animals that have a well-developed sense of smell, due to which they feel the slightest smells of fresh greenery and past rain. Excellent hearing makes it possible to pick up any suspicious sounds at a considerable distance, but cloven-hoofed animals do not differ in good vision.
How long does a saiga live?
The life expectancy of a saiga in natural conditions depends on sex. Male saigas live from 4 to 5 years, while females live from 8 to 10-12 years.
Saiga species
The genus includes only 1 species - saiga (Latin Saiga tatarica), in which 2 subspecies are distinguished:
Saiga tatarica tatarica is a subspecies, the population of which in 2008 numbered no more than 50 thousand individuals. Saigas live in the steppes and deserts of Russia (North-Western Caspian region), Kazakhstan (Ustyurt, Betpak-Dala, Volga-Ural sands).
Saiga tatarica mongolica is a subspecies that lives in the northwest of Mongolia. Its number in 2004 did not exceed 750 individuals. The Mongolian subspecies differs from Saiga tatarica tatarica in smaller body size, horn length and habitat.
Where does the saiga live?
In the period after the Late Valdai glaciation, saigas inhabited a vast area, ranging from western Europe and the UK to Alaska and northwestern Canada. In the 17-18 centuries, animals occupied a smaller territory, from the foothills of the Carpathians to Mongolia and the western part of China. In the north, the border of the habitat passed along the Barabinsk lowland in the southern part of Western Siberia. As a result of human settlement, the number of saigas has significantly decreased. Currently, saigas live only in the steppes and semi-deserts of Kazakhstan (in the Volga-Ural sands, Ustyurt and Betpak-Dala), Russia (Northwestern Caspian), as well as in the western part of Mongolia (Shargin Gobi and somon Mankhan). In Russia, the saiga lives in the steppes of the Astrakhan region, Kalmykia and the Altai Republic.
In the spring-summer period, herds of saigas, the number of individuals in which ranges from 40 to 1000 heads, live in steppe or semi-desert climatic zones with a predominance of flat areas and the absence of elevations or ravines. In winter, during snowstorms, animals prefer to hide from the piercing winds in hilly areas. The attachment of saigas to flat places with rocky or clayey soil is associated with its amble. When moving in this way, the animal cannot jump over even a ditch that is small in width.
Saigas lead a nomadic life, showing activity during daylight hours. In times of danger, the speed of the saiga can reach 80 km / h, and when amble over long distances, the herd resembles a train rushing across the steppe at a speed of about 60 km / h. The direction of movement chosen by the leader can change abruptly without affecting the pace of movement.
Saigas spend winter in places where the depth of snow does not exceed 15-20 cm. In early summer, animals migrate to more northern regions.
What does the saiga eat?
The list of food included in the diet of saigas consists of hundreds of different steppe grasses, including even those species that are poisonous to livestock. In spring, flowers and herbs contain a large amount of moisture, so animals satisfy their need for water by eating wildflowers (irises and tulips), licorice and kermek, steppe lichen, fescue and wheatgrass, ephedra and wormwood. The daily requirement for green mass is from 3 to 6 kg per individual. With the onset of the hot period, such plants as prutnyak and hodgepodge are added to the diet of saigas, and steppe antelopes begin to migrate in search of food and water. Saigas are constantly on the move and even feed on the move, biting off the plants they pass by. Animals are reluctant to enter agricultural fields,as the loose soil and tall dense plants interfere with the free movement of saigas.
Reproduction of saigas.
The breeding season for saigas begins in late autumn. By this time, the strongest males, after mating tournaments, sometimes very fierce and bloody, become the owners of harems, the number of which can range from 4 to 20 or more females. A characteristic feature, thanks to which males can detect a rival even in the dark, are brown discharge with a specific pungent odor. They flow from special glands that are located near the eyes of the animal.
Saigas do not reach sexual maturity at the same time: females are ready for mating already in the first year of life (at 8-9 months), and margachi, males, acquire the ability to reproduce offspring only from one and a half years of age, and sometimes a little later. During the rut, the main task of the mugs is to create a harem, protect it from the encroachment of other males and, of course, mate with all the females of the group. Often, males simply do not have enough time to search for food or rest, so it is not surprising that a certain part of them die from exhaustion. Male survivors usually leave the herd and form so-called "bachelor groups".
Saiga pregnancy lasts for 5 months. In May, before the onset of the lambing period, pregnant females gather in small groups and leave the main herd, going deep into the steppe, away from water sources (rivers, lakes, swamps). This allows the offspring to be protected from the attack of the natural enemies of saigas - wolves, jackals or stray dogs, gathering at water bodies for watering.
Having chosen a flat area, almost devoid of vegetation, the female saiga prepares for birth. It is noteworthy that, unlike other animals, the saiga does not arrange special nests, but gives birth to cubs right on the ground. Usually one female gives birth to 1-2 babies, but there are cases of three babies being born at once. The average weight of a newborn saiga is 3.5 kg.
Due to the fact that a whole group of females are sent to lambing, up to six newborns can be at once on an area of one hectare. The first few days of life, saiga calves lie almost motionless, so it is almost impossible to notice them in areas devoid of vegetation even from two or three meters.
Soon after lambing, females leave the offspring to find food and water. During the day, they return to the babies several times to feed them. The offspring develops very quickly. After eight to ten days, the saiga calves can follow their mother. It is noteworthy that in males, the development of horns begins immediately after birth, and females by the end of autumn resemble three-year-old animals in appearance.
Enemies of saigas
Wild antelopes prefer to be diurnal, so they are especially vulnerable at night. The main enemy of saigas is the steppe wolf, which is considered not only strong, but also very intelligent. The saiga can only escape from it by flight. Wolves naturally select among the saiga herd, destroying those who move slowly. Sometimes they can destroy a fourth of the herd. Dangerous for saigas and stray dogs, foxes, jackals. Most often, cubs of wild antelope suffer from these predators. But the newborn cubs of this animal can be threatened by ferrets, foxes and eagles.
Reasons for the decline in saiga numbers
Saigas (especially adult males) are an important hunting object. They are exterminated because of their fur and meat, which, like lamb, can be boiled, fried, stewed. The horns of the animal are of the greatest value. The fine powder, which is obtained from them, has found wide application in traditional medicine in China. It is able to reduce fever and cleanse the body. It can be used to get rid of flatulence, treat fever. Chinese doctors use rubbed horns for some liver diseases. With this drug, you can get rid of headaches or dizziness, if a small part of it is mixed with other drugs.
The rapid increase in the world's population, the rapid onslaught of cities and industrial enterprises on the usual habitats of the saiga, and severe environmental pollution have gradually led to a significant reduction in the natural habitat of saigas. In addition, the uncontrolled shooting of these cloven-hoofed animals by hunters and especially poachers greatly influenced the catastrophic decrease in their population.
During the Soviet era, this almost did not affect the number of saigas, since there was a program to ensure the protection and protection of steppe antelopes, which even made it possible to increase the number to a million individuals. However, after the collapse of the USSR, work on restoring the population was curtailed, as a result of which, by the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, the number of saigas decreased so much that a little more than 3% of the original number of animals of this species remained.
In 2002, by the decision of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, saigas were classified as critically endangered. Ecologists began to develop and implement programs to promote the breeding of mammals in captivity, and began their semi-free breeding, so that in the future it was possible to settle individuals of this species in new habitats or preserve their breeding gene pool by relocating them to different zoos around the world.
Keeping saigas in the zoo
It is difficult to raise saigas in zoos. This is due to their excessive fearfulness and the ability to jump out of place in fear at high speed, which leads to injury. In zoos, saigas are often killed by gastrointestinal diseases and infections. In addition, juveniles sometimes do not live up to a year.
There is also a positive experience of keeping saigas in captivity. A small number of heads today live in the Cologne Zoo and in the Moscow Zoo. The following rules are observed here:
individuals of the female and male sexes are in different enclosures. This makes it possible to avoid injuries that aggressive males can inflict on themselves or other members of the herd, and also to adjust the breeding time. During the mating season, sexually mature males are allowed into the pen to the females one by one;
The mating time in the zoo was moved by a whole month (from December to January) so that newborn saiga calves do not die from the May night frosts, but are born in the warm season (in June);
the floor covering in the enclosures of these animals should be asphalt, not unpaved. This makes cleaning easier and allows more frequent disinfection of premises. In such pens, babies get sick less, and their level of survival is higher.
Feeding at the zoo depends on the season. Saigas eat more grass in summer and hay in winter. The diet is supplemented with mashed carrots, barley, quinoa, clover, etc. Salt is added to the feeders, which saigas lick from time to time with pleasure.
The best results in restoring the saiga population were achieved in already existing and specially created reserves, the natural conditions of which are suitable for semi-free keeping of these artiodactyls.
In June 2000, with the support of the Munich Zoological Society, which deals with the issue of saiga breeding in Kalmykia, a nursery was opened in the village of Khar-Buluk at a special center, whose purpose is to study and preserve wild animals in the republic. During the mass calving of female saigas, newborn calves were selected for artificial feeding in the reserve for artificial feeding, who did not experience fear of humans. This practice made it possible to form groups that could be kept and even propagated in captivity without any problems. Small herds of 8-10 saigas are housed in aviaries near livestock farms. For pets, a special diet has been developed here, taking into account all age characteristics of the development of these artiodactyls. Young animals are fed with diluted fresh milk,to which is added pounded chicken yolk, a complex of mineral and vitamin supplements. The transition to plant foods occurs gradually over 2.5-3 months.
The positive experience of semi-free keeping of saigas makes it possible to develop special farms that will not only remove the problem of species restoration from the agenda, but also prepare domesticated animals for pasture cattle breeding, traditional for Kalmykia.
Similar work is also underway in the Stepnoy State Nature Reserve, which is located in the Astrakhan steppes, and the Chernye Zemli biosphere reserve, where practically all the saiga populations inhabiting the Northwest Caspian Sea gather for the period of mating games and females lambing.
In Soviet times, the structure for the protection of saigas in Kazakhstan was entrusted to hunting industrial enterprises, which were under the jurisdiction of the State Committee of the Kazakh SSR for ecology and nature management. Their powers included control over industrial shooting and protection of the animal world from poachers. The control and security system was originally built incorrectly.
The state instructed the hunting industry enterprises to keep records of the livestock themselves, and lowered the shooting plan from the number. Usually it did not exceed 20 percent. In order to obtain higher figures for planned harvesting, the hunting industry enterprises doubled their livestock. According to the papers, it turned out that they shot 20 percent of the non-existent mythical herd, in fact, they shot 40 or more percent, if we count from the real livestock.
Since 1985, due to the high number of saigas in the republic, the Kazakh Zoological Combine has been transferred the responsibilities of commercial production of saigas and the sale of its horns on the foreign market. The enterprise was under the jurisdiction of the Kazakh Main Department for the Protection of Wildlife under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR. From the beginning of perestroika (1985) to 1998, 131 tons of horns were exported. Thus, in the early 1990s, the saiga population in Kazakhstan was about 1 million heads, but 10 years later, the number of animals dropped to almost 20 thousand. In 1993, the legal export of horns reached the maximum level of 60 tons.
In 2005, a moratorium on the shooting of saigas was introduced, which will remain in effect until 2021. In 2014, the number of saigas reached 256.7 thousand individuals. In general, the decline in the number of saigas in Kazakhstan is currently associated with incessant poaching and infectious diseases. Also, the death of saigas is observed due to icing of the steppes, which prevents the extraction of food. In Soviet times, in cold winters, they were rescued with specially equipped feeders. The Ministry of Education and Science in 2012-2014 allocated 332 million tenge for the study of infectious diseases among the saiga population.
Chronology of deaths of saigas in Kazakhstan
1981, April - 180 thousand heads of saiga perished on the territory of the former Turgai region.
1984, February - April - 250 thousand heads perished in the West Kazakhstan region.
1988, May - about 500 thousand saigas were killed.
1993 - due to the snowy winter, the Betpak-Dala population has more than halved from 700 to 270 thousand heads.
2010 - 12 thousand saigas died.
2015, May - on the territory of Kostanay, Akmola, Aktobe regions, more than 120 thousand saigas died en masse. The preliminary assessment of the CMS expert mission on the direct cause of the death of saigas was confirmed; the immediate cause was a bacterial infection with Pasteurella multocida, i.e. pasteurellosis.
In the novel by Chingiz Aitmatov "Plakha" hunting for saigas is described as follows:
And the helicopters-raiders, walking from two edges of the livestock, communicated by radio, coordinated, made sure that it did not scatter to the sides, so that they did not have to chase herds across the savannah again, and more and more they whipped up fear, forcing the saigas to run the harder the harder. they ran … They, the helicopter pilots, could clearly see from above how a solid black river of wild horror was rolling along the steppe, over white snow powder …
And when the chased antelopes poured into the great plain, they were met by those for whom the helicopters tried in the morning. The hunters, or rather, the gunmen, were waiting for them. On all-terrain vehicles - "UAZ" with an open top, the gunmen drove the saigas further, shooting them on the go from machine guns, point-blank, without aiming, as if mowing hay in the garden. And behind them, cargo trailers moved - they threw trophies one by one into the bodies, and people gathered a free crop. The big guys quickly mastered a new business, pinned up the dead saigas, chased the wounded and also finished off, but their main task was to swing the bloody carcasses by the legs and throw them overboard in one fell swoop! Savannah paid a bloody tribute to the gods for daring to remain savannah - mountains of saiga carcasses rose in carcasses.
The story of the Russian writer and journalist Yuri Geiko, which the author considers to be his most significant work of art, is based on a description of the illegal hunting of saigas, a tragic incident while hunting, and the subsequent proceedings.
Interesting facts about the saiga
The ancestor of modern saigas is the ancient species Saiga borealis (Pleistocene saiga), which lived in the era of grandiose glaciations. These long-extinct mammals inhabited cold savannahs and tundra-steppes near glaciers in northern Eurasia, Eastern and Western Siberia, and were found in Alaska and northwestern Canada during the life of mammoths.
The distance that a herd of saigas can cover in a day often exceeds 200 km.
According to Kalmyk and Mongolian beliefs, there is a deity in Buddhism who is the protector and patron of these steppe animals - the White Elder, the guardian of life and a symbol of fertility. The hunters must not shoot when the saigas are huddled together, since at this moment the Elder is donating their milk.
Eastern medicine suggests that the powder prepared from saiga horns has medicinal properties.