Saiga Antelope Welfare: Mass Mortality Events and Climate Vulnerability (2026)

Saiga antelopes experienced catastrophic mass mortality events in 2015 and subsequent years, with climate warming triggering bacteraemia from Pasteurella multocida causing mass suffering and death across Central Asian steppes.

Key Facts

Over 200,000 saigas — more than 60% of the global population — died within weeks in the 2015 mass mortality event
Pasteurella multocida normally carried asymptomatically became lethal when environmental conditions triggered systemic disease
Abnormally warm, humid conditions in May 2015 were identified as the trigger for the die-off
Saiga populations recovered after 2015 but face continued vulnerability to climate-driven mortality events

Welfare Considerations

Saigas dying in mass mortality events experience septicaemia — systemic bacterial infection causing organ failure, haemorrhage, and death. The scale and speed of die-offs means the vast majority of affected animals receive no veterinary intervention. Surviving animals in affected herds are exposed to massive numbers of decomposing carcasses with associated pathogen and scavenger activity. Calves separated from dying mothers starve. The welfare of individual saigas in these events is catastrophic, and climate change increases the probability of future mass mortality events.

What You Can Do

Support Saiga Conservation Alliance monitoring programmes that aim to detect early warning signs of die-offs
Donate to veterinary intervention capacity development near saiga range for future emergency response
Advocate for greenhouse gas emission reduction to reduce climate warming that triggers mass mortality events
Raise awareness of saiga ecology and the climate vulnerability of Central Asian steppe biodiversity