Saiga antelopes are Central Asian grassland specialists with a dramatic recent history of catastrophic die-offs. Their welfare at population scale is shaped by climate change and disease dynamics.
Saiga welfare at the population scale involves suffering on an almost incomprehensible scale during mass mortality events. The 2015 die-off killed 200,000 animals in days — entire herds including pregnant females and calves died from hemorrhagic disease. Animals in mass die-off events likely experience acute systemic infection symptoms before death. Climate change is projected to increase the frequency of conditions triggering these events, creating recurring mass mortality crises. Between die-offs, saiga populations face pressure from infrastructure fragmenting migration routes and poaching for horns. Range country governments, Saiga Conservation Alliance, and WWF work on anti-poaching enforcement, migration corridor protection, and population monitoring. The saiga story illustrates how climate change creates new welfare threats beyond habitat loss.