Search

It is established that modern steppe pastures, where gramineous communities prevail, are of little use or absolutely unsuitable for the stable existence of saiga populations. Only separate dwelling places with an abundance of forbs continue to provide adequate nutrition for saigas and wellbeing for their local groupings.
A case study of this scenario is the saiga antelope (Saiga tartarica) which inhabits the semi-arid rangelands of Central Asia. Following a population crash at the end of the 1990s, the past three years have seen a very encouraging recovery in saiga population in Kazakhstan according to the official national estimates and the population estimate for 2006 stands more than twice the estimate for 2003. There is reason to believe however that the methods used are not reliable and that sightability may have altered due to changes in herd size distribution.
This project focuses on exploring the feasibility of community based trophy hunting of the Betpak-dala population of saiga antelopes (Saiga tartarica). Literature on trophy hunting and community based wildlife management was investigated as well as using a population model to assess approaches to sustainable hunting.