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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.