Threatened by humans, but also nature.
Kazakhstan announced Friday that around 350 Saiga antelopes, endangered and emblematic of the Central Asian country, have been found dead in the steppe, probably killed by lightning.
This tragedy took place during the calving season of the saiga, an animal classified as critically endangered by the NGO World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology, lightning is probably at the origin of the tragedy "because there are traces of lightning strikes on their carcasses".
The saiga is an antelope (in danger of extinction) which is distinguished by its nose covering its mouth like a small proboscis.
This atypical nose allows it to filter dust in summer, and warm the cold air inhaled in winter.https: //t.co/JrC0t9XkcD pic.twitter.com/NEoV4ynnSW
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(@tuCpakoa) June 5, 2020
Recognizable by their twisted horns and their long rounded muzzle, like a small trunk, the saigas have come close to extinction several times.
Their origin dates back to the last ice age.
Poaching in the 1990s
In Soviet times, these cattle benefited from enhanced protection with a total ban on their hunting, followed by very strict hunting quotas from the 1950s. Their population then reached more than two million individuals.
Kazakhstan's independence in 1991 was followed by an explosion in poaching of Saiga antelopes, once again threatening them with extinction.
To read also These animals which disappear from the planet: the "SOS for nature" of the WWF
Today, around 50,000 antelopes are recorded, of which nearly 90% live in Kazakhstan.
However, the traditional medicine of China, a neighbor of this country, uses the horns of male saigas, feeding a juicy and devastating traffic.