The Red List status of the Saiga antelope has been changed from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened, thanks to effective national and international conservation efforts.
This rare triumph is thanks to significant conservation efforts over two decades, which have seen the remarkable recovery of Saiga populations in Kazakhstan from a perilous low in 2005 of just 39,000 to today’s estimated population of nearly 2 million. There has been a considerable effort to restore the population by the Kazakh and other range state governments, research organisations, national and international NGOs – see list below.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme [12 Dec], Oxford Professor Dame E.J. Milner Gulland, who is co-founder and chair of the Saiga Conservation Alliance, emphasised the importance of the cooperation involving governments, academics, charities – and especially local people.
Read More: University of Oxford
On the Steppe: Two Saiga (Photo Credit: Albert Salemgareyev)