SaigaAntelope

Recuperate， Search for a More Appropriate Place to Introduce

Basic Information

In the early 2000s， Saiga antelope was considered as a population of ungulates experiencing the fastest decline in the world. Saiga antelope （also known as "Saiga"） is a migratory animal on arid steppe of Central Asia. They often seasonally migrate between reproduction areas and lambing areas. However， after the collapse of Soviet Union， due to poaching， disease and other reasons， Saiga antelope populations reduced by 90% in a few years. Now Saiga mainly distributes in Kazakhstan， Mongolia， Russia， Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. They seasonally migrate into Xinjiang Junggar Basin through Alashankou.

EndangeredStatus

Since the Saiga antelope horn has the effect of "cooling blood detoxification， heat antispasmodic"， it is considered as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine "antelope horn." Therefore， it could not escape the fate of being hunt. China's Saiga antelope became extinct in the middle of 20th century. In 1989， Saiga antelope was listed as national key protected wild animal. In 1995， Saiga antelope was also listed on "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora" （CITES） Appendix Ⅱ species.

Actions

At the end of 1980s， Chinese government launched a Saiga antelope reintroduction project. From 1988 to 1991， Chinese government introduced 16 Saiga antelope from Germany and the United States. Saiga is neurotic animal and is very prone to react violently under strong stress and react even to death after stimulation. Only 11 out of 16 Saiga first introduced survived on the way to Wuwei Endangered Animal Research Centre in Gansu Province. In 1997， Gansu Endangered Animal Research Center introduced 20 Saiga antelopes from United Republics of Kalmyk Russia， but only five survived when shipped to Wuwei. The introduction of these two groups of Saiga antelope laid the foundation of China Saiga antelope reintroduction plan. After several twists and turns， nine years later， Saiga propulations increases to 31. By 2014， these antelopes increased to over 170. It should be noted that Wuwei is located in the southern edge of the Tengger Desert， with annual temperature of lower than the surrounding area which is not the most appropriate introduction place for Saiga. It is necessary to study the reasons why the reintroduced Saiga population grows slowly in China. Through the system model analysis of the geographical information， it shows that we need to find a more suitable Saiga reintroduction field area.