Saiga antelopes are among the most remarkable conservation stories, recovering from near extinction before catastrophic disease events, highlighting the fragility of recovered populations.
The 2015 mass mortality event caused enormous individual suffering - saiga died of hemorrhagic septicemia across vast grassland areas faster than rangers could respond. The welfare implications of climate-sensitive disease are profound: as weather patterns become more extreme, conditions triggering bacterial virulence in normally commensal organisms may become more common. Individual welfare protection requires both anti-poaching enforcement to protect recovering individuals and climate adaptation to reduce disease outbreak risk.