19 May 2015: Approximately 10,000 saigas have been found dead in the Amangeldy district of the Kostanay region in Central Kazakhstan, an area that covers around 16,000 hectares, within the range of the saiga’s Betpak Dala population, the country’s largest. This is the third mass mortality episode that has occurred in recent years, with the Ministry of Agriculture reporting the first mortality cases on 12 May 2015. Investigations by state authorities are underway, with samples being collected for further analysis regarding the cause of the deaths.

Saiga populations have in the past suffered from mass mortality episodes, the worst case taking place in 1984, when about 100,000 or 67% of the saigas died in the Ural population in Kazakhstan. Similar symptoms caused saiga deaths of 12,000 and 500 saigas in May 2010 and May 2011, respectively, and the cause of death remains unknown. Since 2010, veterinary training sessions have helped to build capacity in Kazakhstan, with the objective of improving the post-mortem analysis and documentation of the current mass mortality event.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Conservation of Saiga Antelopes, which entered into force in 20016, aims to conserve the endangered saiga. Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the five range states of the saiga, have signed the MOU. A Third Meeting of MOU Signatories is anticipated for autumn 2015 to discuss saiga conservation, including disease management, contingent on funding. [CMS News Story] [CMS MOU on the Conservation of Saiga Antelopes]