60,000 Antelope Dies Within Four Days, Nobody Can Say Why


A similar occurrence has been happening off the coasts of Alaska and Canada, where several different species of whales have been washing up dead on the shore for no apparent reason. Neither case has connected man to the cause, which may point to some much bigger problems.

Saigas, which are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, live in a few herds in Kazakhstan, one small herd in Russia and a herd in Mongolia. The herds congregate with other herds during the cold winters, as well as when they migrate to other parts of Kazakhstan, during the fall and spring. The herds split up to calve their young during the late spring and early summer. The die-off started during the calving period.

Field workers were able to take detailed samples of the saigas’ environment — the rocks the animals walked on and the soil they crossed — as well as the water the animals drank and the vegetation they ate in the months and weeks leading up to the die-off.

The researchers additionally conducted high-quality necropsies of the animals, and even observed the behavior of some of the animals as they died. The females, which cluster together to calve their young, were hit the hardest. They died first, followed by their calves, which were still too young to eat any vegetation. That sequence suggested that whatever was killing off the animals was being transmitted through the mothers’ milk, Zuther said.

Source: nbcnews.com
Photo: Albert Salemgareyev

If the cause is environmental, veterinarians believe it is due to the saiga having a weakened immune system. However, the bacteria that’s causing it doesn’t normally harm animals, which begs the question of what’s weakening their immune system, and how can it be stopped?

For more information go to:

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/60-000-antelope-died-four-days-no-one-knows-why-n421056



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