Posted on 01/07/2025 11:27:54 AM PST by Red Badger
An ambitious ecosystem restoration project has helped saiga bounce back from 40,000 to 2.8 million in the last 20 years.
Image credit: Yakov Oskanov / Shutterstock.com
In Kazakhstan lives an antelope that wouldn’t look out of place on the set of Star Wars. Saiga and their gloriously wibbly noses are one of the planet’s most remarkable species, but poaching and mass die off events saw their numbers crash. In 2024, however, the Earthshot Prize awarded an ecosystem restoration effort that’s enabled the saiga antelope population to recover from 40,000 to 2.8 million in the last 20 years.
As part of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are celebrating their international efforts to restore 75 million hectares of grassland, wetland, and desert in Kazakhstan, which is home to the once Critically Endangered antelope. As a keystone species, saiga are pivotal in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, and one that’s also relied upon by steppe eagles, sociable lapwings, kulan (wild ass), and the Przewalski’s horse, demonstrating there’s a lot more to these antelope than their alien-like proboscis.
It's great news for big-nosed wildlife, and just one of five stories from 2024 that prove we can still be hopeful about the future of our non-human neighbors.
“This year has secured major nature wins – from the historic sandeel fishing closure to saving species like Saiga antelope from extinction – the RSPB has demonstrated what can be achieved through vital conservation efforts,” said RSPB Chief Executive, Beccy Speight, in a statement emailed to IFLScience.
“This wouldn’t have been possible without the passionate help from our members, volunteers and supporters. Whilst nature still faces many challenges, the RSPB is committed to finding, implementing and championing solutions that will give hope to our precious wildlife and wild spaces for many years to come.”
wait a minute. — Good news??? What’s that??? Anyway thanks for posting this. It’s great news
Wow, that’s an ugly thing, isn’t it?
God created it!..................
They should have named it the ‘camel toe antelope.’
It’s still ugly.
Still, this is a great story.
It’s nice to hear SOMETHING good happening once in a while.
On our small plot of earth, we are trying to restore native wildlife after the land was logged clean, based on the average age of the trees that are now growing on it.
There are a few MASSIVE trees left and some ginormous stumps like 3-4 feet across or more, but most of the trees are not that old yet.
It’s coming along.....
They’re trying to do the same with these guys .... in West Texas ...
😅😂🤣
Put some yoga pants on its head and send it to a gym. It will soon have a tiktok channel where it complains men are staring at it.
Wow, that’s an ugly thing, isn’t it?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hey, her mate begs to differ. He thinks she’s beautiful!
Thanks to the teeth behind those folds, rural Kazakhstan has the world’s lowest rates of syphilis.
🙄............................
It’s got a schnoz only Jimmy Durante’s mama would love, but its eyes are lovely.
I’ll bet you anything that the nose is considered the best delicacy to the indigenous people there. You tube has videos of various native peoples cooking every part of an animal you could think of, and eating it. For Christmas dinner this year, we made Asian food. My sil is a Filipina, so in her honor I made humba, which is boiled, then deep fried pigs feet. She loved it. For some reason they have no trouble chewing hard as a rock pig skin. Whatever you’re used to, apparently.
I love pickled pig’s feet!................
A face only a mother could love.
I do not do gristle, so that’s out for me.
That thing looks like something you would see in a Star Wars movie
New Mexico issues, IIRC, 2 big-horn sheep tags a year.
You can see them from the river in the Grand Canyon, too.
I’ve eaten gristle ever since I was a kid. Chicken, Beef, Pork, all good.
It’s supposed to prevent arthritis and I’ll be 70 next week and have none!.................
IIRC-—THE BRISTLECONE PINE in the SIERRA NEVADA range is one of the oldest items.
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